Virtual Reality (VR) in sports

The younger generation is watching less and less sport on television. Where people used to stay at home to watch that football match on TV, it is now of course very easy to only view the summary or highlights. The growth of Esport competitions also ensures stiff competition within the viewing figures of the physical sports. Because more and more people are participating with Esports and more and more prize money is involved (the Fortnite World Cup offers €10 million in prize money) Esports become more interesting to watch. The rising popularity of streaming platform 'Twitch' also ensures a monthly return of 100 million viewers per month. But how does Virtual Reality get into the world of sports? And how can VR be used to make viewers look at sports in a different way? In this blog we will explain four examples of VR in the sports world for you.

Kun je wedstrijden in VR zien? 

While most people prefer to be further away from their TV screens, VR could change how we watch sports and attract more new viewers. By capturing matches with a 360 degree camera, the audience can view and experience the match in a completely different way. This makes for a much more immersive viewing experience via mobile or VR glasses. The capabilities of VR allow viewers to see what they want to see or, for example, to follow their favorite player closely. The American company 'NextVR' is one of the most successful start-ups to offer such VR experience by broadcasting the most popular leagues such as the NFL, NBA and Wimbledon via VR. Another major player, Turner Sports, is also partnering with Intel to provide NBA experiences through VR.

By placing small 360-degree cameras on athletes' bodies, viewers can enhance their experience by viewing the game from the athlete's point of view. FirstVision (a Spanish startup) uses this technique to record basketball matches in the Euroleague. So in a not too long time it will no longer be necessary to go to an arena to watch your favorite players play, just put on VR glasses and find yourself in the middle of the match next to Cristiano Ronaldo!

Is het mogelijk om zelf via VR te sporten? 

In addition to watching VR, viewers can be the athlete themselves by immersing themselves in the VR world. Thanks to today's virtual technology, sports games have become more realistic than ever. Ten years ago, Wii Sports enabled people to play bowling or tennis from the comfort of their living room. Now VR can offer much more and more realistic experiences. The content is much more attractive and interactive. All VR glasses often have their own gaming platform where you can download various VR sports games. VR Sports Challenge and BoxVR are good examples of VR sports games that provide a realistic and fun experience for the player. with the rise of VR new games are being developed at breakneck speed, so we expect to be able to add a lot of new (sports) games in the coming months.

How do you train athletes and athletes with VR?

Virtual Reality can provide significant training benefits from both the athlete's and the coach's perspective. The key to modern athlete training technique is to capture and understand the player's movements as much as possible. with VR technology allows coaches to observe their team members from different angles to better understand the behavior, while athletes can also observe their performance from real competitions and training sessions. Another great way to use VR in sports is for indoor training. For sports such as baseball, basketball and tennis, athletes can practice in simulations and adjust their technique based on system feedback. Companies such as 'StriVR' and 'Eon Sports' created solutions that can train both amateur and professional athletes. Many professional teams in NFL, NBA and NCAA have already adopted VR in their training. Virtual Reality training has the advantage that it is a very suitable way to train the player mentally for a sport, without physically influencing the body.

Can you scout new players with using VR?

Just as coaches can use VR to train athletes, they can also use VR technology to scout potential athletes. with this capability allows coaches to scale up scouting by observing the performance of athletes through game simulations or VR sports games. We may not see any more scouts attending tournaments soon. Instead, they will observe athletes from their office with using VR headsets.