Higher, Further, Faster: Is Technology Improving Sport?

In Higher, Further, Faster ...sports fanatic Stewart Ross looks at the impact of technology on elements common to many sports – such as balls, surfaces, clothing and drugs – and examines the controversies that arise almost daily, from golf club technology to the use of Hawk–eye. Ross also looks ahead to the techno–future of major sports such as football, athletics, swimming, tennis, golf, cricket and cycling and wonders, where will they be 75 years from now? Are referees and umpires becoming redundant? Who′s winning the drugs war, the dopers or testers? Will we see a Super–Human Olympics? Is modern professional sport more about technology than talent? Can athletes from developing countries ever hope to compete at the highest level? Discover. Question. Provoke.

Foreword. Preface and Glossary. Acknowledgements. Introduction. SECTION I: THE SPORT–TECH REVOLUTION. 1. Bat and Ball – Bats, Clubs, Rackets, Sticks and the Balls They Strike. 2. Tracksuits and Trainers – Sport Clothing, Footwear and Protection. 3. Hey Ref! – Officials and Judgement. 4. Born of Technology – Cycles, Snow and Machines. 5. Afloat and Aloft – Water and Airborne Sports. 6. Theatres of Dreams – Pitches, Courts, Tracks and Stadiums. 7. Gear, Gadgets and Gismos â Implements and Training. 8. Diet Plus – Enhancement Through Diet, Drugs and Other Practices. SECTION II: INTO THE UNKNOWN. 9. The Games We Will Play – Where Some Major Sports Will Be in 2080. 10 Is Technology Improving Sport? – Prosecution, Defence, Verdict –Â A Suggested Way Forward. Index.

Stewart Ross is a sports enthusiast and prize–winning writer with some 200 published titles to his credit. He′s also an occasional journalist and broadcaster, a frequent lecturer, notably on cruise liners and at ICES (La Roche sur Yon, France), and a much sought–after presenter of workshops to schools and adult groups.