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Virtual reality as a representative training environment for football referees
Tammie van Biemen1, Daniel Müller2, David L Mann2
1Amsterdam Movement Sciences and Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081BT Amsterdam, Netherlands; Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), Woudenbergseweg 56, 3707HX Zeist, Netherlands.
Virtual reality (VR) training for football referees shows behavior indistinguishable from on-field performance. This technology offers a representative environment for improving sports officials' decision-making skills in real-game scenarios.
Area of Science:
- Sports Science
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Perception Psychology
Background:
- Visual experience is crucial for referee decision-making.
- Traditional video training lacks representativeness for open-play scenarios.
- Virtual reality (VR) offers realistic, controlled replication of game situations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the representativeness of referee behavior in VR compared to on-field.
- To evaluate visual behavior and decision-making accuracy across different environments.
- To determine if VR is a suitable training tool for sports officials.
Main Methods:
- Sub-elite football referees participated in decision-making tasks.
- Three conditions were tested: on-field, VR, and video observation.
- Decision-making, visual behavior (search rate, fixation duration, head movements), and user experience were compared.
Main Results:
- Referee behavior in VR was indistinguishable from on-field behavior.
- Visual-motor behavior in video observation differed significantly from on-field and VR.
- VR provides a representative environment for visual-motor behavior.
Conclusions:
- Virtual reality (VR) accurately mirrors on-field referee behavior.
- VR is a promising tool for training sports officials.
- VR can enhance on-field performance by simulating realistic game scenarios.
