In a workshop organized by MOCAPPE at Santasport, the workshop participants tried out the university’s yoga and avanto demos and mapped their own preferences for using VR in sports. The goal was to map out what kind of platform VR could offer athletes. The participants included athletes, coaches and enthusiasts from different sports. Pie chart-shaped tables served as the basis for idea generation, in which the participants highlighted areas they would like to see used in virtual reality. These areas included virtual environments, receiving feedback and the sports experience.
Participants placed stickers on diagrams depicting different stages of the performance. The picture shows a diagram mapping the sports experience (Finnish)
The results vary by sport, but a common theme is that virtual reality is seen as an opportunity to practice a specific aspect of performance. For example, in examining the trajectory or developing mental endurance, VR could offer alternative solutions.
Virtual reality is not seen as a threat to replace the real sports experience, but it can improve or add a certain feature in terms of learning the sport. For example, when playing American football, you could learn the movements of the opposing team with the help of VR, but playing the sport itself on a physical level would still be challenging today. The assumptions about virtual reality were therefore positive and realistic. Athletes and coaches recognize which features are the strengths of virtual reality in their own sport.
