Sports conference aims to kick off smart initiatives around the sector

Sport is worth €2.4 billion to the Irish economy, and supports more than 40,000 jobs.

There is thus a case to be made for Ireland playing a key role in the future development of analytics and sports science according to Sport for Business founder Rob Hartnett.

A conference being held by Sport for Business this week aims to be the kick off point for some smart initiatives around the sector.

“Sport on a global basis is worth a conservative €400 billion - that’s bigger than the economies of most countries and twice the size of our own,” Mr Hartnett said.

“The value of marginal gains at the highest level is enormous and that is fuelling a powerful surge in the development of scientific ways in which sport is analysed and improved,” he added.

The conference will feature keynote presentations on achieving peak performance when it counts and negotiating the aftermath, the changing environment of coach education and the way in which sports science is developing.

There will be a business panel looking at how the sector has developed and at what opportunities it can present for young people coming through education.

Conference speakers
Cricket Ireland performance director Richard Holdsworth, GAA director of games Pat Daly, Irish Institute of Sport performance services director Phil Moore and Simon Green, head of BT Sport will be among the speakers.

The conference, which is being held as part of the 50th anniversary of the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition, will take place at the RDS this Thursday.