AXIWI Challenge: HOW WILL REFEREES SUPERVISE (TOP) GAMES IN 2025?

Reason of the Challenge

You can’t deny it; in many sports, technological tools are used by the arbitration. The purpose of the use of technical tools is to better guide sports; it benefits the pace of the game and the correctness of decisions. For example, in tennis and volleyball the Hawk-Eye system is used; this system can meticulously decide whether a ball is played ‘in’ or ‘out’. In field hockey and soccer, the usage of video referees is increased. And systems for communication between referees and / or sports officials is no longer just reserved for the top sports.

These are just some examples of how technology supports the current arbitration by the ever improving affordability and the value it adds to the sport (competition) itself. It’s still hard to imagine, but we’re only at the beginning of the technological revolution in sports. Technology offers many opportunities for sports and arbitration to become much more professional.

The AXIWI Challenge

We are obviously very interested in the possibilities you expect for the further integration of technology in the arbitration of sports. What technological developments will change sports in the coming age? And how does the arbitration change along with it? With these questions, we arrive at the main question of the AXIWI Challenge:

HOW WILL REFEREES SUPERVISE (TOP) GAMES IN 2025?

We ask referees, sport officials and interested people to think of how referees will lead sports games in 2025?

Do you have a good and original idea on how the future of spots and arbitrations looks like? We’re very interested in your ideas. We’re also open for both new ideas and usages / innovations on the current AXIWI products.

You can focus on a adaption of the current product (the AXIWI AT-320M), which improves the user experience for example, or increased usages in sports. In addition, we’re also looking for completely new ideas, like a new product.

Preconditions

The submission must have to do something with (future) technological developments in sports
Your idea / concept is applicable to the arbitration in popular sports such as soccer, hockey, handball, basketball and rugby.

Your Submission

Describe relevant trends and developments in sports and technology
- What technological tools use referees in the today’s field sports?
- What are the technologies of the future, which are now still in its infancy?
- What technology tools are effective and help the refree?
Idea / Concept

Develop a concept on how you think sports in 2025 are supervised by referees. Please answer the following questions for a concept for an innovative product to come:

What kind of technology aids referees in 2025?
What functionality offer individual technological tools?
Which officials are involved with the arbitration and how to they work together, using the technological tools?

What are, in your eyes, opportunities to improve / innovate the current AXIWI products or develop a completely new product? What needs to referees in 2025 have?

A visual explanation on the basis of a video or graph is always a possibility. This clarifies your concept; an good image or video is worth a thousand words!

Tips

Go into discussion with fellow referees and / or sports fans to brainstorm an idea. What’s happening to (the arbitration of) sports? What has to change in order to improve the arbitration with technology? What is the opinion on the current assortment of technological tools? What can be improved?
Read blogs and articles on sports and technology

How to Submit

Submitting your idea is possible in two ways: send a .doc / .docx or PDF-file by e-mail, or fill in your submission per form, which is possible below.

.doc / .docx / PDF-file

Send your entry by e-mail to info@axiwi.fr with the subject Idea AXIWI Challenge. Also mention your name, address, phone number and e-mail address.

Submit per form

Assessment

Feasibility: is the concept useful for the arbitration of popular field sports such as football, hockey, handball, basketball or rugby? And is it realistic to market?
Innovation: is the concept better / easier / more effective to use in support of arbitration? Consider issues like weight, size, product quality…
Effect: is the concept nicely designed and well supported with sources?

What happens with the ideas?

The ideas are assessed and reviewed separately. After this follows a number of prize winners. It is possible that multiple concepts are eventually considered for development. It may be that we make contact to brainstorm and develop the idea more, if the participant is open to this.

Prizes

Of course, great prizes can be won. The ten best submitted ideas / concepts win a prize:

First: AXIWI communication system for two people
Second and Third: AXIWI headset at choice
Fourth till Tenth: a book at choice
- Howard Webb, The Man in the Middle (English)
- Björn, arbiter, ondernemer, inspirator (Dutch)

Conditions

Submit your ideas as a .doc / .docx-file or PDF-file in either Dutch or English
Multiple submissions allowed
Participation is free
Deadline: October 31, 2017; any submissions after are removed without reading
Anyone can join: referees, coaches, sports officials, other stakeholders and those interested in sports
Over the result cannot be corresponded
We strive to announce the winner on the 21^st of August