Believe it or not, Drones are becoming quite an integral
part of the sport industry.
And the filming of sporting events has made Drones an
invaluable tool. As long as a Drone does not interfere with the sport itself,
it can film the most amazing shots. So, a Drone can fly out into the ocean and
take breath-taking shots at a wind surfing competition, whereas, traditionally,
a film crew would have to use a helicopter to garner something similar.
Action sports
Skiing, car racing, Supercross and skateboarding are just
a few sports that have made good use of Drones. Due to the fast moving and
unpredictable nature of the sports, Drones are most commonly used to film the
events because of its manoeuvrability and efficiency.
As these events are not in an arena, it makes it hard for
fans and camera crews to keep up with the pace. But as a Drone can quite
literally be feet away from athletes, the footage is usually second to none.
During the winter sports at the Olympics, Drones were
quite literally hovering over skiers as they flew down slopes. This gave fans a
‘first person view’ which could never have been achieved before.
However, Drones aren’t used anywhere near as much in
stadium sports reportedly because stadiums are contained and the infrastructure
already has the technology in place to film every angle.
Flyovers
These shots are usually time fillers following an advert
break. Drones are normally used once or twice during a sporting event to give
fans a change of view.
Fox Sports has used Drones for this very reason during
golfing events.
Aid athletes
While Drones have a multitude of purposes, it can also
help back room staff and athletes themselves. Coaches in American football,
baseball and football, use Drones to analyse technique from a completely
different angle, which can be easily missed during practice.
Drones as a sport
The more agile and faster Drones has allowed the emergence
of a sport called Drone Racing, which is in fact a professional sport. There
are now a number of Drone racing events which attracts thousands of spectators
and has large cash prizes to be won for competitors.
And if you weren’t aware, in 2016 Dubai held a World
Drone Prix and the cash prize for the winner was £760,000.
TV broadcasters are already noticing the popularity in
Drone Racing. Sky Sports decided to
spend $1m to secure the TV rights to the American based Drone Racing League.
Security tool
With a Drone’s capability to capture images over a wide
area, its little wonder why it is now being used for stadium security and
spectator control.
As far back as 2016, Drones were used during the European
Football Championships. The French police were reportedly able to monitor fans
outside the stadium and were able to follow and attend to alleged hotspots
where rival fans were congregating.
Drones were also used at the Rio Olympics as an
additional CCTV tool.
Ends
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