Sport regulators 'must work more closely with engineers'

Sports Engineering: An Unfair Advantage? published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) claims advances in nanotechnology, 3D printing and biomedical engineering are set to bring about a new wave of technology in sport.

To prepare for these developments and counter accusations of ‘technology doping’, the report calls for sporting regulators to predict the consequences new technologies can have on sport and to work more closely with engineers.

Philippa Oldham, lead report author and head of manufacturing at IMechE, said: ‘Most sport regulators are not yet encouraging or involving engineers when they are making the rules and developing their regulations.’

A recent example of regulators failing to work with companies developing new sporting technology is the international swimming body, FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation), banning Speedo’s LZR racer suit, which helped swimmers break three world records within a week of its launch and many more after — several of which still stand today and are unlikely to be broken for decades, according to some critics.