ABSTRACT
This chapter classifies a range of data types, including basic numeric and categorical data, structured data, databases and more complex data such as natural language. It goes into detail about the challenges and opportunities of “big data” for decision making in sports. The chapter contains a brief history charting developments in data storage and retrieval, including the emergence of database technology and data mining techniques. This history is specifically related to sports performance analysis and describes pre-computing age notation, computerised notation and recent advances in multimedia computing. The chapter also discusses the “Data Age 2025” white paper and implications of the predictions made for sports performance analysis.
