Catapult, NRL and Channel Nine collaborate to broadcast live player stats in a world first for women’s sport
For the first time in history, the Holden Women’s State of Origin game was broadcast with live GPS player statistics. This was also the first time that any women’s sport globally achieved this milestone.
Over the past three years, Catapult Sports has worked alongside the NRL and Channel Nine to provide live data for the Holden Men’s State of Origin Series, but for Friday’s match between the Harvey Norman Queensland Maroons and Harvey Norman New South Wales Blues, live data was fed through the Telstra Tracker, marking a new era in fan engagement for the women’s game.
The partnership between Catapult, the NRL and Channel Nine drew on data obtained from Catapult’s wearable global positioning system (GPS) technology, and was used to provide fan engagement content for the event.
Catapult’s devices were used by both teams to measure metrics including speed, distance covered, intensity, and sprint efforts on the field.
NRL General Manager of the Women’s Elite Program, Tiffany Slater said the extension of Catapult’s devices to capture data across elite female athletes during Origin was another example of the level of professionalism that was increasing within women’s rugby league.
“Our mantra refers to the same game – our way and it’s fantastic to have high-tech devices available for our elite female athletes and coaches, providing real-time performance, data and results to coaches and fans alike,” Slater said.
Nine’s Head of Creative and Innovation, Alex Rolls, said; “At Wide World of Sports our aim is to bring viewers as close to the action as possible. The Telstra Tracker is another broadcast innovation that enables us to this – knowing what a player is doing at any second of a match gives us incredible insights into these phenomenal athletes. To be part of this world first is something to be proud of.
“I’d like to thank Telstra for their ongoing commitment and investment to enable us to bring our viewers these insights. Catapult, for this world class technology, Alston Elliot, Nine’s Rugby League graphics provider for interpreting and displaying the enormous amount of data we receive, and of course the NRL and the players for continuing to believe in this technological space.”
Catapult’s Head of Australia and New Zealand Partnerships, Nicole Pensko, said: “The partnership with the Women’s State of Origin series shows a turning point in the integration of sports science and fan engagement for the women’s game.
“Through providing live player performance data, we can contribute to the well-deserved exposure the women’s teams are receiving, and we were pleased to be able to play a significant part in this innovation.”
Image: NRL
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