Sports engineering
Sports engineering is a sub-discipline of engineering that applies mathematics and science to develop technology, equipment, and other resources for sport. The terms sports engineering and sports technology are sometimes used interchangeably, although sports technology is often understood as the more general concept. This interdisciplinary approach further integrates knowledge from engineering, biomechanics, and physics to improve athletic performance, safety, and the scientific understanding of human movement. Engineers of this field create and analyse a wide range of products and systems, such as sporting goods, protective gear, clothing, footwear, and wearable sensors. It also covers sporting facilities, officiating and regulatory technologies, performance monitoring and training tools. Together, these technologies form an ecosystem that supports athlete participation, competition, performance, and safety.
Sports engineering was first introduced by Isaac Newton’s observation of a tennis ball. In the mid-twentieth century, Howard Head became one of the first inventors to apply engineering principles to improve sports equipment. Dedicated to showing the innovations in this field, the International conference for sports engineering and the journal Sports Engineering were introduced.
This discipline requires an understanding of a variety of engineering topics, including physics, mechanical engineering, biomechanics, materials science, and computational engineering. Many practitioners hold degrees in those topics rather than in sports engineering specifically. Specific study programs in sports engineering and technology are becoming more common at the undergraduate and graduate level in the USA, central Europe and the Asia-Pacific area.
In terms of materials, the discipline replicates the broad variety of products and facilities. From "pure" metals and polymers to composites and natural materials, a wide range can be found. Sports engineers are therefore trained to adapt to the distinctive requirements in the particular field. This allows not only to incorporate suitable technology in different applications, but also to improve the material selection and processes to optimize the athlete-equipment interaction, safety, and performance.