World Premiere: KINEXON Showcases Live Player Tracking Data in Handball
Munich/Vienna — The European Handball Federation (EHF) asked KINEXON Sports to showcase its player tracking technology to the Austrian Handball Federation and top TV channels. The EHF aims to introduce the sensors to the team handball court to give coaches and players more options for evaluating and enhancing their performance and to make handball more appealing for the fans. Here’s a look at what happened.
To date, indoor sports could not yet profit from the use of tracking data due to technological limitations. In short, GPS technology does not work in an indoor environment.
But KINEXON Sports is one of the first companies offering a real-time indoor tracking system that allows for centimeter-accurate tracking of athletes, therefore providing complex tactical analyses that have never been possible.
To learn more about KINEXON PERFORM IMU and its ability to track players indoors, click the link below.
Player Tracking Demonstration For EHF
Just seconds after the final whistle blew, players from the Margareten Fivers were gathering in front of a laptop impatiently awaiting for the results. Markus Kolar, captain of the Fivers team, explained the situation: “Everybody wanted to run the furthest and now we’re all looking to see who won.”
Enabled through KINEXON Sports’ cutting-edge technology, players’ performance and positioning data was tracked during a training session of the Austrian serial champion and Champions Leauge participant Magareten Fivers.
“The mix of a technical and tactical demanding sport with an enormous dynamic makes it highly fascinating.”
Tracking Both The Players and The Ball
For the evaluation, all players of the Fivers, the referee as well as the handball were equipped with a small Kinexon sensor. Six receivers were positioned around the field communicating with the sensor and transmitting the radio signal to a small mobile server, which then processed the data in real-time. Statistics were immediately displayed on laptops and the tablets at the sideline.
According to KINEXON Sports CEO Maximilian Schmidt,handball is the ideal sport to demonstrate Kinexon’s unique technology: “The mix of a technical and tactical demanding sport with an enormous dynamic makes it highly fascinating but also challenging and complex.”
For example, Henry Stummer scores a goal in minute 26. It was hard to tell from the sideline why the shot has passed the defense – but a look at the screen confirmed Peter Eckl’s assumption: One of the defense players has been positioned too far right and has not followed the tactical instructions.
Player and Ball Tracking Add New Insights into Tactical Performance
Like in other team sports, the tactical performance of the defense is difficult to evaluate due to the interaction of multiple players. “However, sound tactical analyses are crucial for a team’s success”, underlines Fivers coach Eckl.
To enable these analyses it is crucial to have reliable and accurate data. Eckl was highly satisfied with the opportunities offered by KINEXON Sports: “This tool is best suited to the tactical side of the game, allowing us to work more accurately, for example optimizing the positioning of individual players in defense.” Thanks to real-time information, coaches are also enabled to give instant feedback – which is not only important to improve tactical performance but to prevent injuries.
KINEXON Sports collects and analyzes vital signs like heart rate. The health data is then combined with existing performance measurements to get new insights into stress, fatigue and injury risks. Eckl said, “The real-time data is certainly a big strength of the system that allows us to adapt training sessions individually in the future.”
All participating parties were highly satisfied with the test. Michael Ziegler, Head of Sales & Marketing at KINEXON Sports commented: “Once again our system has shown that it is a perfect solution for indoor sports. Handball has become more popular over the years and we believe that the integration of performance data will attract even more spectators.”
Live Data Adds New Layer of Live Entertainment to Handball
In minute 42, Ivan Martinovic did an awesome sprint towards the goal covering 22 metres in 2.6 seconds. The ball achieved an average speed of 106km/h when it hit the target. Data like these could soon be displayed live in TV – increasing the fascination of fans and contributing to a better understanding of the game.
So far, no data about speed, acceleration or ball metrics is being tracked during a game. Since Kinexon is able to track data in real-time, spectators might soon be able to enjoy a new layer of live entertainment: Live Performance Data. Made in Munich. By Kinexon.
KINEXON Sports Remains Partners with EHF
KINEXON Sports remains a proud technology partner of the European Handball Federation (EHF), providing real-time performance data and analytics for the teams, coaches, media, and fans of handball. KINEXON Sports uses its precise sensing and software solutions to track the players, referees, and the iBall, which is the world’s first intelligent handball with a chip inside.
KINEXON Sports and the EHF have a long-term partnership that covers all EHF EUROs of women and men until 2024, aiming to create new stories and enhance the handball experience for all stakeholders.
If you want to see how KINEXON is helping to enhance the EHF, watch a video from the EHF Champions League final, by clicking the link below.
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