Wimbledon 2010: How the Tournament is Embracing Technology
Wimbledon is one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world and it is steeped in tradition. However, over the years, the tournament has been getting more and more technologically advanced. From things like hawk-eye technology, to data collecting teams, to a retractable roof over centre court, technology has fully embedded itself into the tennis tournament.
The first major thing to happen to Wimbledon was the electronic scoreboard that is run by the major computing company IBM. In fact IBM handles all of the tournament's computing requirements. Wimbledon this year will see some very interesting technological advances for everyone involved, from the umpires to the fans onto the players and even coaches.
Hawk-eye technology was introduced a few years ago into tennis, with players being able to challenge the calls of umpires by viewing a replay using the technology. Hawk-eye technology was introduced in Wimbledon in 2007 and has been a great introduction for the benefit of players and fans ever since. This technology uses special cameras to track the exact movement of the ball as it lands on the court to see whether it was actually out or was it in play when the call was made.
Apart from hawk-eye, which was a major technological advance in the game, many smaller changes are taking place this year which will be just as important. First of all umpires will be given PDAs and will use them to update the score and keep track of vital parts of the game that they are chairing. Another innovation this year will be the fact that data collectors will be using technology to collect as much data as they possibly can feeding it into a central system which will follow exactly how many and what types of shots were played in a particular rally. This will tell coaches exactly where a player missed a shot or should have played a shot and will also give players a chance to view their progress and measure their successes in rallies.
Fans this year will be treated to a host of new technology that will help them to keep in touch with their favourite game. Smart-phone users will be able to access an application that will give them instant information about current games and players updates. Because of the use of so much technology in people's lives it was just a matter of time before the big sports got involved. The Wimbledon website which was initially launched a decade ago was a bit early for its time because in those early days they did not really have too many visitors. However these days they have started to stream matches live on their website for the benefit of the fans, which has brought in a huge amount of traffic their way. They also have interactive sessions on the site with players allowing fans to interact with them and ask them questions. This year the website expects to see an even greater number of viewers and users logging on to experience Wimbledon in a digital format.
After many years, finally this year centre court has had a makeover with the introduction of a retractable roof. At the cost of £80 million it is not in any way cheap but it allows tennis to be played in all seasons. This introduction was a long time coming because of the fact that tennis courts are not that large and can easily but expensively be covered with a roof. The building of a retractable roof to keep out the rain was a needed addition which will see the game being played in all sorts of weather.
IBM, the tournament's IT partners are ensuring that this year's event goes off without any technical hitches and all the technology being used conforms to the standards it is meant for. Soon, they along with TV broadcasters and the organisers at Wimbledon will be trying to get 3D technology in place for future tournaments. This will enable the viewers of the event in the near future to experience it in full 3D
Whatever technological advances are in store for Wimbledon in the future, it is a very encouraging sign that the oldest tennis tournament in the world is so ready to adapt to technology. With technology becoming embedded in our lives on a daily basis, we will see more sports becoming technologically advanced in years to come.
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