The Australian International 3 Day Event 2018 that was held in Adelaide earlier this month, partnered with SAP to provide fan engagement on a new scale. For the first time, technology provided fans real-time mobile interaction and tapped into valuable data insights not previously accessed for both riders and media commentators.
SAP joined forces with Equestrian Start Ups, Black Horse One for spectator judging and eScoring, and EquiRatings, the leading data science company in Equestrian Sports, to enhance the technology landscape of the Australian International. Since 2012, SAP has focused on creating innovative technologies for equestrian fan engagement, and now six years later, has a proven track record from live rider tracking tools, real-time data analytics and insights, and spectator judging mobile apps, powered by SAP Cloud Platform.
SAP’s partnership with the Event Rider Masters Series has been internationally recognised as invaluable for spectator engagement, delivering live insights for onsite and remote audiences, as well as for the people working in the equine industry. Using that same technology for the Australian Intentional 3 Day Event ensured that fans were an essential part of the sport.
Technology Aids Fan Engagement
Fan engagement was the focus over the three day event. The combination of the two mobile applications, Spectator Judging and EquiRating STACKS, enabled fans to not only become co-judges by scoring athletes in real-time but also tested their equestrian knowledge with a live competition strategy game. The Spectator Judging app allows fans to view and share spectator results on their mobile, the big screen, and social media, making fans a central component of the event.
EquiRatings STACKS is a game that let fans answer live questions building up a stack of correct answers (with a wrong answer pulling it down to zero), and awarded prizes for players with the highest stacks.
For people following this sport, these mobile technologies showed the opinions of the fans in the moment and gamified their spectator experience.
Better Data Insights for Equine Enthusiasts
IoT and SAP Cloud Platform have found their place in equestrian sports and are transforming the experience for both fans and people working in the equine industry. The Australian International 3 Day Event is the only 4-star event in the southern hemisphere, and SAP is a proud technology supporter able to contribute a wealth of information for commentators, course designers, and fans.
What’s more, with riders equipped with IoT sensors, SAP can provide accurate live tracking and data collection on speed, position and deltas to strategic markers via a live app and TV graphics, delivering an immersive experience by fusing the helmet camera pictures with the data.
This allows the riders to help them further improve their performance by reviewing the rides. These data insights are also valuable to course designers who mitigate risks for both riders and their horses as they have a clearer understanding of the pace and speed in which riders and horses execute jumps.
For commentators on the day, these data insights provide important information to better assess aspects such as speed and split timing, which helps them understand each event as it takes place, allowing them to better explain the action to the fans.
Spectators were also fascinated by Australian Olympian Andrew Hoy explaining one of his rounds, tracked with SAP Equestrian Analytics, in the big arena as seen in the video below.
Enhancing Fan Engagement through Technology
For the Australian International 3 Day Event 2018, SAP and its partners put fans in the judge’s seat so that they are no longer passive spectators, but active and engaged supporters.
Find out more about SAP and our sport sponsorships.
