The Professional Squash Association will begin using athlete data supplied by Sports Data Labs to enhance its broadcasts and provide third-party organizations with real-time information.
With the partnership, squash becomes the first professional sport to commercialize real-time human physiological information captured on the court. Sports Data Labs, which previously worked with the PSA to track data at its JP Morgan Tournament of Champions in January, will use a number of cameras and sensors to collect and analyze real-time biometrics and then provide that data to official broadcasters, health and wellness organizations, and sports betting companies.
“We are thrilled to partner with the PSA and pioneer how in-game physiological data, and assets derived from that data, can be utilised for real-time performance applications and commercial use cases in professional sport, including sports betting,” said Sports Data Labs CEO Mark Gorski in an announcement on Wednesday. “We look forward to providing our turnkey solution for the 2018/19 season and creating entirely new value for PSA stakeholders,”
The agreement will last the full 2018/19 PSA Tour season and will also help players use their own data to analyze and improve their performance. Revenue from the commercial sale of biometric data will be shared between the PSA, its athletes, and Sports Data Labs.
“It is great news that we are finally partnering up with Sports Data Labs officially. The work they’ve done over the past season through the trials was tremendous, it really showcases the severity of our sport,” said Ali Farag, the second-ranked player in world squash and the president of PSA’s men’s division, in the announcement. “The tangible data proving that squash players play for a few consecutive minutes over the 180+ bpm heart rate acquired by Sports Data Labs has definitely raised the profile of our sport and this can definitely have a positive effect on the growth of our game.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Sports Data Labs is cementing its place in the professional sports industry with its pioneering platform and data collection techniques. It had broken onto the scene both through its work with the PSA and a trial of its platform at the ATP Tour’s BNP Paribas Open in March 2017. Now, Sports Data Labs will become the first organization to supply real-time athlete health and performance data that will be sold to outside vendors. With rising concerns over data privacy around the world, this deal will be a test of the future direction of data capture.