ABSTRACT
One’s vision impacts sport performance through an ability to perceive, track, hit or shoot more proficiently. Achieving improvements in sight can tend to lead to greater sporting success. Methods or strategies for improving one’s eyesight are legal in sport. This chapter delves into the topic with an overview of the processes that enable one to see. Next, the discussion encompasses current visual aid strategies, such as eyeglasses, contact lenses and Laser in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery. This is followed by a dialogue on vision improvement strategies and their impact on sport performance. Then, emerging bionic technologies that improve vision are explored and this is followed by scenarios offered for “the way forward” for managing vision enhancing cutting-edge technology in sport. Debate is encouraged on the acceptability/unacceptability of advancing visual technologies for use in sport; determining if/when it is cheating; and what the guiding principles underscoring decisions should be when managing the advancement of bionic vision technologies in sport management. As bionic vision technologies advance and have the potential to provide an athlete with the best sight possible, those in sport management need to assess the situation and consider adaptations in the rules and regulations that ensure fair and equitable competition opportunities.
