It is incredible that computers are related with every aspect of our lives! Sport is not an exception. Computer science in sport is an interdisciplinary discipline that has its goal in combining the theory as well as practical aspects and methods of the areas of informatics and sport science. The main point is the application and use of computer-based and mathematical techniques in sport science. Computer science become an important partner for sport science due to the fact that the use of data and media , the design of models, the analysis of systems, etc., increasingly requires the support of suitable tools and concepts which are developed and available in computer science.
Computers were used for the first time in 1960s for accumulate sports information. Database were created in order to launch documentation, publications, books and articles. Due to the progress of computer science and the invention of more powerful computer hardware in the 1970s the real history of computer science in sport began. This was as well the first time when this term was officially used and the initiation of a very important evolution in sports science. Scientists started to analyze sports games by collecting and looking at such values and features in order to interpret them. With the continuous improvement of computer hardware, in particular microprocessor speed, new concepts are introduced. For example ,modeling, simulation, pattern recognition, design, and data mining that is the computational process of discovering patters in large data sets involving methods at the intersection of artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistic and database systems. One important facts is that as result of this development the term computer science in sport has been added in the encyclopedia of sports science in 2004.
A demonstration very clear about the evolution and propagation towards computer science in sport is also the fact that nowadays people do research in this area all over the world. Since the 1990s many new national and international organizations about the topic of computer science in sport were recognized. These associations are regularly organizing congresses and workshops with the aim of dissemination as well as exchange of scientific knowledge and information on all topics regarding the interdisciplinary discipline. One example is in Australia and New Zealand, where scientist have built up the MathSport group. This group organizes biennial meetings under the name “Mathematics and Computers in sport Conferences” and now MathSport. The main topics are math models and computer applications in sports, as well as coaching and teaching methods based on informatics.
In conclusion, computer science in sport is in evolution and the first international e –journal on this topic was released already .The internationalization is confirmed by the fact that three conferences already took place outside of Europe. National organizations exist in Austria, British, Chinese, Croatia, India, Portugal and Turkish. Computer science is an important partner for sport science because the use of data and media, the design of models, the analysis of systems, etc., increasingly requires the support of suitable tools and concepts which are developed and available in computer science. As I said at the beginning, computers is in all areas of our lives.