A consortium of knowledge institutes, led by Leiden University launched an online platform for analysis and research of sports and movement data on 7 September: Sport Data Valley. The platform offers coaches and athletes insight into their data and makes research on sports and exercise more efficient, effective and accessible. By creating a place where researchers can analyze data and athletes and coaches have access to these analyses, they connect sport and science.
Effective and effortless research
Sport Data Valley's new online platform makes research based on claimed data easier and more effective. The platform reduces the administrative burden of regulating data privacy and makes scientific research and analysis more accessible to a large audience of coaches and athletes.
'The online platform offers personalized dashboards and analyses in areas such as training, sleep and well-being', says Managing Director Auke Damstra. 'Within Sport Data Valley you can structurally collect, share and analyze data. Privacy comes first, users can specify exactly with whom they share which data.'
More insight into data
Analyzing sports and movement data with scientific models within the platform provides valuable insights. Those insights can help to improve sports performance, prevent injuries or understand why people do or do not exercise. Coaches can provide data-driven guidance that meets the needs of the athlete.
Scientific opportunities
For the scientific community, the platform offers the opportunity to collaborate with major Dutch top sports parties, where data can be shared efficiently and securely. These collaborations inspire the development of new data science techniques. Leiden data scientists, for example, have been working for years with several top sports parties, including the KNSB and Jumbo-Visma (ice skating), the Nevobo (volleyball) and Jumbo-Visma (cycling). The platform will boost this collaboration even further. Besides top-level sport, the platform also offers ample opportunities for scientific research in recreational sports. Researchers with sports science, medical or sociological research questions can use the platform to recruit participants in a study and to collect data, for example from wearables, and to draw up questionnaires.
About Sport Data Valley
Sport Data Valley is an initiative of Sportinnovator and is made possible by ZonMw. It has been developed by the Sport Data Center, the leading academic sports research center in the field of data in the Netherlands, Leiden University, TU Delft, the Amsterdam Institute of Sport Science (represented by VU University Amsterdam and Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) and the University of Twente. In this way, a neutral and independent non-profit platform is realized. Partners in the development include NOC*NSF, sports innovation labs and Knowledge Center Sport & Movement. With physical labs in Heerenveen, Amsterdam, Eindhoven and The Hague it offers a location where you can ask questions about data. Through education and training, current and future coaches and supervisors are trained in the use of data science in sports. And with the online platform, anyone can get started with the analysis of exercise data. Interested parties can register online via sportdatavalley.nl.
