Data collection and use on the rise across Australian sports -
time to exercise caution?
The last decade has seen an explosion in the collection and use
of data analytics within Australia, across professional sport codes
such as the AFL, A-League, NRL, Big Bash Cricket, as well as in
their amateur Sunday League counterparts. This growth is expected
to continue, with the sport data analytics industry expected to
grow globally to a staggering US$6.34 billion by
2030.1
This has been made possible by the growing popularity of a range
of smart devices, watches, trackers, garments and patches. For
example, heart rate, VO2 max, body fat composition, hydration
status, blood glucose levels and sleep and movement patterns, are
amongst some of the physiological and performance data types which
sports entities may gather. Sports entities may share certain data
about player injuries or illnesses for the purpose of nursing
players back to full health, or store data for future
