Taken at Leaders Meet: Innovation, created by Leaders in Sport

This week I attended a conference in London entitled‘ Leaders in Sport: Innovation’, which was an invitation only meeting of CEOs from a wide range of sports stakeholders, including governing bodies, commercial sport property holders such as Premier League football clubs, media channels, and support agencies. There were fascinating discussions on varied subjects such as the implementation of Artificial Intelligence( AI) in sport. There was a presentation by the Head of AI at the Met Office,( Professor Kirstine Dale BSc MBA MRes MA PhD – an impressive list of qualifications!) who gave a fascinating insight into their journey with AI; the key point being that it is less to do with the technology itself and more a matter of persuading the scientists in the organisation that relying purely on empirical scientific data was not the future for weather forecasting. Worth bearing in mind as we ponder on the future of AI at Motorsport UK. Another interesting intervention was a workshop framed as‘ Imagining the Future of Sport in 2050’. Watching responses from the audience pop up on a large screen, through a mobile phone enabled electronic Post-it Notes system, there was a consistent focus on potential global media values, the fan experience in stadia, and the ability to monetise fans’ engagement and passion. While undoubtedly all of that is highly relevant to a great many sports, it struck me how almost none of that was of direct consequence to the domestic motorsport scene in the UK. We are quite different.

The reality is that of the 4,000 or so events that Motorsport UK provides permits for each year, less than 100 have a developed corporate structure, or are designed to create‘ added shareholder value’, as the bulk are simply the community engaging in a self-funded leisure activity. We are also different than most sports in the size of community and support services that are needed for the sport to function, with our reliance upon a huge infrastructure of volunteers that turn out every weekend, come rain or shine. This fragile ecosystem is so heavily dependent upon the generosity of everybody that gives up their time to make events happen and it is therefore entirely fitting that we recognise those individuals that have done so for an exceptionally long period.

Professor Kirstine Dale discusses the Met Office ' s journey with AI

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Revolution- April 2025