Ensuring Fair Play in the World of Sport

At the pinnacle of professional sport, both performance clothing and equipment are increasingly viewed as providing the difference between success and failure.

Through his pioneering work in the field of ‘technological doping’, Staffordshire University Sports Law academic, Kris Lines, is establishing the vital protocols that could ultimately enable professional and sports bodies to judge whether certain clothing and equipment should be allowed.

In a recent paper produced for The International Journal of Sport & Society, Kris, in association with John Heshka (Assistant Professor at Thompson Rivers University in Canada), assesses the competency of sport to regulate technology and proposes that the use of performance technology within sport can be treated in a similar fashion to chemical doping.

“It seems almost trite to state it,” comments Kris Lines, “but technology by its very nature has an impact on performance. At its very simplest technology (whether in the form of footballs, javelins, canoes, bicycles etc ) enables certain sports to occur. 

“Technology has led to improved sports floor surfaces that reduce shock to athletes when landing and help prevent slipping. It has assisted athletes globally in achieving things not previously possible and it is well cited for helping protect Formula One drivers from serious neck and head injuries in the event of accidents. Technology has also seen the creation of swimming pools, running tracks, luge tracks and skating ovals that are unquestionably faster than their predecessors. As we have seen with the recent Jabulani ball controversy in the World Cup, the real issue is not the technology per se but how sports governing bodies and events choose to implement it.”

“Put simply,” continues Kris Lines, “the key questions are not whether technology enhances performance, but rather to what extent it does and whether, in doing so, sport remains a fair contest between the individual merits of the athletes competing, rather than one waged by their support teams of engineers, manufacturers and scientists?” 

In their recent paper Lines and Heshka  propose that the use of performance technology within the world of sport can be treated in a similar fashion to chemical doping, with an over-arching code laying down the principles applicable to all sport.

Around the globe and across the UK, Staffordshire University is making a real impact. From providing sustainable solutions to the problems faced by society, to transforming lives, tackling global issues and stimulating inspiring new ways of teaching and learning, our academics - and graduates - are helping to make the world a much better place.