A webinar on ‘Big Data Analytics and Sports’ was conducted by Dr. Mansaf Alam - Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science - Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. The webinar was organized by Amity Institute of Physical Education and Sports Sciences. He shared that Big Data has been contributing a great deal in sports with IOT, Cloud Computing and Machine Learning & Deep learning forming the integral elements. He talked about the human face of big data with a huge amount of information stored in the mind, including while playing sports. A sports coach provides information about a game that further helps the player understand what to do on the field that’s stored in their mind permanently. Dr. Alam also decoded on what AI can do in the various segments of human life. He added that to make a strategy in a game, one has to get the data generated from the various matches on the playground, weather; store the data using cloud computing; Process the data using AI algorithms to understand the pattern and make the strategy for with actionable insights. He further averred that Machine learning and Deep learning is also used in sports to analyse data and devising strategies to be implemented on the field. The present and future of big data and the impact it will have was also shared.
He stated that there are four types of Big Data Analytics including Descriptive, Diagnostic, Predictive and Prescriptive that needs to be used in the sports field to devise the perfect game plan and winning strategy & also used to reduce cost, for faster & better decision making. He averred that data has become an integral part of sports analysis that is helping in preventing injuries along with physical form analysis. He stated that this is done by detecting patterns that lead to long-term injuries. Further by keeping track of team’s activities, the analysis can be used to enhance performance. He shared that Big Data in sports can be used for Immediate decision making; understanding of fan behaviour; better coaching decisions; better competitor analysis; for advance safety; improve player’s game; improved marketing decisions for business and also provide career opportunities as data scientist. Concluding with future of Big Data in sports, Dr. Alam shared that teams should effectively consume the data to derive insights. He stated that predicting the entire outcome of the game is impossible and technology alone cannot improve a human’s performance. He averred that human decision making still dominates technology as most teams have similar data but their performance varies