Seven Major International Sports Federations Gather – The New Blueprint for Virtual & Simulated Sports is Mapped Out
On February 16, Tencent E-sports kicked off 'Empower Esports Worldwide Series - China Stop' in Shenzhen. In recent years, with esports making its way into the Asian Games and the Olympics, the development and exploration of virtual/simulated sports has become a key topic of global interest. To this end, a parallel conference titled 'Workshop: Virtual & Simulated Sports' was specially organized as part of the Series, bringing together seven leading international sports federations and representatives from software and hardware developers. This marked the largest multi-party exchange between international sports organizations in recent years, focused on discussing the development trends of international esports and virtual sports, sharing frontier virtual/simulated sports technologies and forecasting future industry trends and growth.
Virtual and Simulated Sports from the Perspective of International Sports Federations
With a shared understanding of the trends in digital sports, seven major international sports federations, including Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, Badminton World Federation, and Union Cycliste Internationale, gathered at this forum. During the 'Virtual & Simulated Sports from the Perspective of International Sports Federations' panel discussion, several guests concentrated on virtual and simulated sports in the Olympic Esports Games, exploring the latest advancements in sports digitization and collectively envisioning a digital future.
During the discussion, Shiny Fang, UIPM Secretary General, shared the rationale behind the federation's earlier launch of the Laser Run simulation sports game: 'Our development of the Laser Run simulation game was driven by a focus on accessibility and scalability. The low-cost, low-barrier-to-entry nature of digital sports games makes them accessible to more people.' She further stated that the advancement of sports requires the adoption of new technologies. She hopes to enhance the training outcomes of professional athletes through the development of digital sports technologies, and to increase the global impact of modern pentathlon. In the future, modern pentathlon will actively introduce innovative digital transformation technologies to boost public participation, while ensuring the inclusivity, competitiveness, and balance of the events.
As one of the pioneering international sports federations to invest in virtual sports, Myungwon Lee, WT Marketing & Broadcasting Assistant Manager, shared progress in the use of sensors, live streaming platforms, and other advancements in Taekwondo. He remarked, 'Taekwondo welcomes participants of all ages, and virtual Taekwondo provides opportunities to compete across different platforms. The development of virtual Taekwondo is not intended to replace tradition, but rather to become an integral part of the competition, making the event accessible to a wider group of participants.' He also mentioned that World Taekwondo has begun featuring celebrities in virtual Taekwondo, with many dojos now offering online services. He expressed his hope that the future development of virtual Taekwondo will preserve the essence of the sport, with both real and virtual forms complementing and supplementing each other, further enhancing the accessibility of the sport.
Rodrigo Pacheco Carrillo, BWF Marketing Manager, noted, 'The impact of esports in Asia has made us aware that esports and gaming are key forms of streaming consumption. This inspired us to combine esports with traditional badminton competitions, with the goal of allowing more people to experience the joy of badminton. Since badminton requires a large venue and there is currently a shortage of related game IP and commercial profit models, the development of virtual badminton remains in its early stages.' He stated that, in anticipation of emerging technologies, the Badminton World Federation will take practical conditions into account and initially prioritize building its online image, and then progressively enhance the virtual and simulated sports ecosystems.
Azat Myradov, IWF Representative, believes that weightlifting is a sport with high physical and technical demands, as well as a high barrier to entry. The development of virtual and simulated sports can help weightlifting attract a broader group of participants. The integration of VR, AR, and AI can effectively enhance training performance, reduce injury rates, and provide athletes and fans with a richer interactive experience. He also pointed out that from the perspective of weightlifting, the development of virtual and simulated sports faces unique challenges and needs to be integrated with scientific fields such as physical simulation, haptic technology, motion tracking, artificial intelligence, and biomechanics. The integration of weightlifting and virtual sports can provide a holistic strategy for the all-round development of sports to benefit athletes, fans, and all stakeholders.
Initiating Technical Exchanges - Software and Hardware Developers Share Their Achievements in Digital Sports
Innovations in related software and hardware technologies are generating stronger momentum for the development of virtual and simulated sports, while also bringing new growth opportunities to the sports industry. During the conference, expert representatives from Refract, Muniu Tech, Magene, Sweat Tech, FITGMR, and TENCENT-IEG gathered to share their new explorations in frontier virtual technology. Drawing from various technical fields, they provided in-depth analyses of how technology can empower related events and facilitate the accelerated growth of virtual and simulated sports, while exploring additional areas of application.
Ng Chong Geng, Director of Refract, explained how XR technology can be used to transform real-world Taekwondo and boxing into virtual sports competitions, reconfigure their competitive ecosystems, reduce the risk of injuries, expand participation, and promote the integration of virtual sports with esports events.
Lianying Ji, CTO of Muniu Tech, outlined how sensor technology, as the core component of virtual and simulated sports, is already being utilized in TGL virtual esports and golf event innovations. He believes that using real, reliable data to drive the integration of traditional sports with smart technology will continuously expand the boundaries of sports in the future, allowing technology to deliver an alluring competition experience to users beyond imagination.
Iona, Business Director of Magene, mentioned that Magene pioneered the launch of China's first smart cycling trainer and app. They also partnered with professional events, such as the Tour de France and the Tour of Qinghai Lake, to integrate virtual sports with traditional competitions, driving the digital transformation of cycling sports.
Zhiling Qiu, CEO of Sweat Tech, shared insights on the technical practices in their virtual rowing project. Since they began exploring online training, they have gradually discovered a new direction for the development of virtual sports. He also mentioned that he hopes to use virtual technology to overcome the pain points of traditional sports, such as weather constraints, steep learning curves, and high risk of injury, making it possible for more people to take part in high-level events while offering professional athletes immersive training and data management tools.
Kristin Anderson, CEO of FITGMR, emphasized that FITGMR firmly believes esports can serve as a catalyst for improving global health trends. With esports now recognized by the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport, FITGMR sees enormous potential in promoting healthy gaming. There are already esports athletes working on improving their training performance through FITGMR, with many providing feedback that they've achieved better results in competitions thanks to FITGMR's support.
Henri Wen, Interactive Experience Product Specialist at TENCENT-IEG, stated that virtual technology is driving new demand, and Tencent has already accumulated extensive experience in related technologies. For instance, Tencent has collaborated with the Dunhuang Academy to digitally recreate Dunhuang Cave 285 at a 1:1 scale. Virtual technology is not just the future of gaming, it is also changing the way we interact with the world. Tencent hopes to leverage its accumulated expertise in virtual technology to create new experiences for more industries.
With ongoing advancements in digital technology and the rapid growth of the global sports industry, virtual and simulated sports are also becoming a new area of exploration in digital sports as new ecosystems, orders, and opportunities take shape. Technologies derived from esports, game engine capabilities, and various gaming technologies are fueling the development of numerous industries, including autonomous driving, industrial manufacturing, film and television, and cultural preservation. These applications and scenarios, a well as digital solutions in areas such as content development, also have the potential to be deeply integrated into the sports competition landscape in the future, providing support for the development of event organization, audience experience, and athlete management.
Looking ahead, Tencent E-sports will keep promoting technology sharing, exchange and collaboration, joining forces with more global partners to explore the future of digital sports.
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Yahoo
15 minutes ago
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L.A. Olympic organizers confident they will cover estimated $7.1 billion cost of Games
Casey Wasserman, LA28 chairman and president, is confident the 2028 Olympics will generate the most revenue ever for a Summer Games. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Three years before the Olympics, LA28 organizers gave International Olympic Committee officials the kind of Games preview that even Hollywood's best scriptwriters couldn't plan. To begin a visit to check on LA28's planning progress, the IOC coordination commission attended a game at Dodger Stadium and watched Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off double in the 10th inning to defeat the New York Mets in the same stadium that will host Olympic baseball in three years. Advertisement The electric celebration, passing grades for an advanced venue plan and a growing corporate sponsorship portfolio keeps LA28 on track approaching the three-year mark until the 2028 Olympics open in a dual-venue ceremony at SoFi Stadium and the Coliseum. Read more: Athletes, artists and celebrities create unique logos for the 2028 L.A. Olympics 'We are really confident in the progress we've made,' LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said after the coordination committee's three-day visit. 'We're focused on what we've always done to deliver the greatest Games we are capable of delivering in this city in the most fiscally responsible way that pays dividends for every member of our Olympic movement and our community.' With the city of Los Angeles facing deep financial problems and transportation updates lagging behind schedule, LA28 is under pressure to deliver a completely privately funded Games. The private group says it remains up to the challenge as fundraising for the L.A. Games has been 'going gangbusters,' John Slusher, chief executive of LA28's commercial operation, said in an interview with The Times. Advertisement With six new partnerships this year — matching the total number of deals in all of last year — LA28 has contract revenue worth more than 60% of its total $2.5 billion sponsorship goal. 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Advertisement Although the city has agreed to cover the first $270 million in debt incurred from the Games if LA28 goes overbudget, Wasserman said organizers don't intend to come close to the financial backstop. According to the latest financial report filed to the city in March, LA28 plans to cover the proposed $7.1 billion cost with about one-third of the projected revenue coming from domestic sponsorships and another one-third coming from ticketing and hospitality. 'The caliber of new domestic partnerships this year highlights the power of the Olympic Games to bring people together, create long-term value and reflect growing national engagement with LA28's vision,' said Nicole Hoevertsz, the IOC coordination commission chair. To begin the 2025 sponsorship momentum, LA28 announced an official partnership with AECOM in March as the engineering company will support venue infrastructure for the Games. Advertisement Mortgage company Pennymac, mattress brand Saatva, cloud-based data storage company Snowflake and aviation company Archer signed on as official supporters, one tier below a partnership such as AECOM. While not specifying the financial details, Slusher said he estimated LA28 would make three or four times as much sponsorship revenue this year compared with all of last year. "Our job is to maximize revenue,' Wasserman said. 'I am very confident in our ability to generate, frankly, more revenue that's ever been generated for a Summer Games in the history of the Olympics. I have no doubt about that." While a smaller portion of the budget than sponsorship, merchandise and licensing is gaining momentum as well, Slusher said, as companies clamor for a chance to issue official pins, T-shirts, programs or plush toys. 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Advertisement With city and federal funding, L.A. has planned to overhaul its public transportation system, including a long-awaited Metro station that opened Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. But other updates such as an electrified bus network, expanded rail lines and the LAX people mover have lagged. While the city's transportation plan is outside of LA28's Games operation and budget, Wasserman expressed confidence that L.A. will be able to repeat its transit success from the 1984 Games. But the Olympics have grown larger than ever. A record 11,198 Olympians will compete in 2028. The Paralympics will be the city's first. Especially with L.A. still recovering from devastating wildfires and a nearly $1 billion deficit, the threat of taxpayers absorbing any costs for the Games looms large. With financial momentum growing behind the 2028 Games, Wasserman wants to put worried minds at ease. 'The last thing a taxpayer should be worried about is us,' Wasserman said. 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CNN
30 minutes ago
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Sports betting is legal and growing more popular. Harassment of athletes by angry gamblers is rising too
Gabby Thomas being harassed at last weekend's Grand Slam Track meet was shocking – except, actually, it wasn't, given how often it seems to be happening. Thomas, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, said she was verbally abused at the meet, reporting on X that a 'grown man followed me around the track as I took pictures and signed autographs for fans (mostly children) shouting personal insults.' Thomas' statement was in reply to another post on X – which has since been deleted – showing a video of a person heckling Thomas while she was on the starting line, shouting, 'You're a choke artist; you're going down, Gabby.' The social media user bragged about how his actions had benefitted his bet, writing: 'I made Gabby lose by heckling her. And it made my parlay win,' alongside a screenshot of two multi-leg bets on the FanDuel sportsbook platform. FanDuel said it had banned the person responsible for the abuse from its platform, explaining it 'condemns in the strongest terms abusive behavior directed towards athletes.' 'Threatening or harassing athletes is unacceptable and has no place in sports. This customer is no longer able to wager with FanDuel,' the statement shared with CNN Sports added. It was in 2018 that the US Supreme Court struck down a 1992 federal law, which had prohibited most states from allowing sports betting. Gambling on sports is now legal in 39 states, which experts warn has opened the floodgates for a torrent of abuse towards professional and collegiate leagues from bettors who blame them for their financial losses. In March, the NCAA launched a campaign aimed at tackling what it described as 'the alarming prevalence of abuse and harassment student-athletes face from angry fans who lost a bet.' According to an analysis of abusive messages sent via social media to college athletes, coaches and officials during the Division I championships, 12% – some 740 messages – were related to sports betting, according to the NCAA. Instances of such messages included one user who threatened a college athlete with the message, 'Yo no big deal but if you don't get 22 points and 12 boards everyone you know and love will Be dead,' according to the analysis, which was produced with Signify Group. Meanwhile, over 540 abusive betting-related messages – including death threats – were leveled at men's and women's basketball student-athletes and game officials during March Madness, a preliminary set of data trends found. Clint Hangebrauck, managing director of enterprise risk management at the NCAA told CNN: 'I think athletes are under attack right now, frankly, on social media and in person, and a lot of the people slinging the biggest bullets are sports bettors.' Hangebrauck, who has worked at the NCAA for 15 years, said that there has been a surge of athletes receiving abuse since the federal ban on sports betting was struck down, adding that in certain states – including Ohio and North Carolina – a barrage of abuse towards student athletes was 'almost immediate.' The NCAA is now seeking a ban on proposition bets, colloquially known as prop bets, on college athletes, calling the phenomenon 'a mental health nightmare.' Prop bets are made on outcomes not associated with the final score and are often based on individual performances. 'You could even perform well, and you're receiving all this negative feedback from betters because you didn't hit specific betting lines,' Hangebrauck added, noting that about half of the states that do allow gambling in the US have banned prop bets on student athletes. Jason Lopez, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin told CNN Sports: 'The way that the newly legalized sports betting universe works is that it's very common to make prop bets where, even though it's a team sport, you can actually bet on the performance of individual players.' 'It turns what could be a team game into an individual performance, too. And so it's easy to then focus whatever anger you have on the bet at individual players,' Lopez, whose research focuses on sports media and betting, explained. The issue of bettors harassing athletes is widespread across sporting disciplines, with tennis and NBA players reporting instances of abuse. For a few professional athletes, it's an opportunity to punch back. In reply to a social media user who gave him grief about his seeming nonchalance over a bad performance in a game, NBA superstar Kevin Durant posted on X in November 2024, 'Stop blaming me for losing money because you have a gambling problem.' Great dub suns, and for my parlayers, better luck next time lol For others, however, social media comments made cross any acceptable line. In the past few weeks, MLB players Lance McCullers Jr. and Liam Hendriks have both reported that their families have been on the receiving end of death threats. Houston Astros pitcher McCullers Jr. revealed he received threats from a man who took to social media and threatened to find his kids and 'murder them.' The Houston Police Department later traced these threats to an intoxicated sports bettor from overseas who had lost money betting on the Astros' May 10 game against the Cincinnati Reds, per Reuters. Boston Red Sox pitcher Hendriks reported similar abuse, telling that 'with the rise of sports gambling, it's gotten a lot worse.' 'Threats against my life and my wife's life are horrible and cruel,' Hendriks wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories, according to 'You need help. Comments telling me to commit suicide and how you wish I died from cancer is disgusting and vile. Maybe you should take a step back and re-evaluate your life's purpose before hiding behind a screen attacking players and their families. He added: 'Whether it be Venmo requests, whether it be people telling you in their comments, 'Hey, you blew my parlay. Go f*ck yourself,' kind of stuff. And then it's, 'Go hang yourself. You should kill yourself. I wish you died from cancer.' 'That one kind of hit a little too close to home for me with everything I've gone through,' Hendriks, who in 2023 announced he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, added. Joe Maloney, senior vice president of strategic communications for the American Gaming Association, told CNN Sports in a statement: 'The outcome of a bet is never an invitation to harass or threaten athletes, coaches, or officials. Abuse of any kind has no place in sports.' 'The legal, regulated industry offers the transparency and accountability needed to identify bad actors and collaborate with leagues, regulators, and law enforcement to deter misconduct and enforce consequences. Unlike illegal and unregulated market apps or bookies, legal operators work every day to uphold the integrity of competition and ensure a responsible wagering environment,' Maloney added. Lopez pointed out that, while sports betting has only recently been legalized and commercialized across the United States, most sports have been associated with wagering since their beginnings, albeit in a more underground capacity up until recently. 'There's just a basic fact about (sports) companies and organizations that run these games for entertainment which is that gambling helps increase interest – it drives interest. So they like all the betting that's happening around them; it builds interest in their sport. 'Their athletes being abused, especially if they're collegiate athletes, could harm their entertainment product. So they have to take very public stances about this in order to try to mitigate the idea that you know this entertainment product is putting people at risk,' he added. Hangebrauck added to CNN: 'I think there's a responsible way to engage in sports betting, and a lot of fans and people do so. Ninety-six percent of people overall generally lose in sports betting in the long run, so just be responsible about how you react to that – own it yourself.'
Los Angeles Times
30 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. Olympic organizers confident they will cover estimated $7.1 billion cost of Games
Three years before the Olympics, LA28 organizers gave International Olympic Committee officials the kind of Games preview that even Hollywood's best scriptwriters couldn't plan. To begin a visit to check on LA28's planning progress, the IOC coordination commission attended a game at Dodger Stadium and watched Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off double in the 10th inning to defeat the New York Mets in the same stadium that will host Olympic baseball in three years. The electric celebration, passing grades for an advanced venue plan and a growing corporate sponsorship portfolio keeps LA28 on track approaching the three-year mark until the 2028 Olympics open in a dual-venue ceremony at SoFi Stadium and the Coliseum. 'We are really confident in the progress we've made,' LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman said after the coordination committee's three-day visit. 'We're focused on what we've always done to deliver the greatest Games we are capable of delivering in this city in the most fiscally responsible way that pays dividends for every member of our Olympic movement and our community.' With the city of Los Angeles facing deep financial problems and transportation updates lagging behind schedule, LA28 is under pressure to deliver a completely privately funded Games. The private group says it remains up to the challenge as fundraising for the L.A. Games has been 'going gangbusters,' John Slusher, chief executive of LA28's commercial operation, said in an interview with The Times. With six new partnerships this year — matching the total number of deals in all of last year — LA28 has contract revenue worth more than 60% of its total $2.5 billion sponsorship goal. Slusher expects an estimated seven to nine more deals coming this year, and the group is on pace to reach its goal of $2 billion in corporate sponsorship dollars by the end of the year, Slusher and Wassserman said. 'I would tell you where I'm sitting today, we feel very confident we can either meet or exceed that $2.5 billion target,' Slusher said, 'which I think people would have called a stretch target in November.' A major partnership with Honda signaled a boon for business as it was the first founding-level partnership for LA28 since Salesforce signed on in 2021. The cloud-based software company backed out of its deal in 2024. The sudden split raised eyebrows about LA28's fundraising progress, casting doubt whether the committee could fulfill a promise of a privately funded Games that shielded local and state taxpayers from picking up any debt. But organizers remained undeterred. Such twists have marked LA28's long-planned Olympic journey. The L.A. Games were awarded in 2017 in a rare dual-city announcement that also placed the 2024 Games in Paris. Instead of the typical seven-year lead-up time, LA28 preached patience through an unprecedented 11-year planning period. 'More time is always better than less time,' Wasserman said in an interview with The Times. 'The only negative of selling is there's more distance between deals, so everyone's like, 'You're not doing well.' Which is never how we've been feeling. … My view is judge us when we get to the startline on how we did on sponsorship revenue.' Judgment time is creeping ever closer. The Olympic Games will open on July 14, 2028. Although the city has agreed to cover the first $270 million in debt incurred from the Games if LA28 goes overbudget, Wasserman said organizers don't intend to come close to the financial backstop. According to the latest financial report filed to the city in March, LA28 plans to cover the proposed $7.1 billion cost with about one-third of the projected revenue coming from domestic sponsorships and another one-third coming from ticketing and hospitality. 'The caliber of new domestic partnerships this year highlights the power of the Olympic Games to bring people together, create long-term value and reflect growing national engagement with LA28's vision,' said Nicole Hoevertsz, the IOC coordination commission chair. To begin the 2025 sponsorship momentum, LA28 announced an official partnership with AECOM in March as the engineering company will support venue infrastructure for the Games. Mortgage company Pennymac, mattress brand Saatva, cloud-based data storage company Snowflake and aviation company Archer signed on as official supporters, one tier below a partnership such as AECOM. While not specifying the financial details, Slusher said he estimated LA28 would make three or four times as much sponsorship revenue this year compared with all of last year. 'Our job is to maximize revenue,' Wasserman said. 'I am very confident in our ability to generate, frankly, more revenue that's ever been generated for a Summer Games in the history of the Olympics. I have no doubt about that.' While a smaller portion of the budget than sponsorship, merchandise and licensing is gaining momentum as well, Slusher said, as companies clamor for a chance to issue official pins, T-shirts, programs or plush toys. LA28's financial report states that it has signed commercial or retail agreements with several companies, including Cisco, Dick's Sporting Goods and Skims. Licensing and merchandising is projected to bring in $344 million, according to LA28's latest annual report. The next major piece will be ticketing, which, with hospitality, is slated to generate $2.5 billion in revenue, a $569 million increase from a June 2024 estimate. LA28 expects to begin registration for the ticket lottery in early 2026. While LA28 and city officials have hailed the Games as a moment to welcome the world to L.A., concerns about international travel have mounted under the current administration. Delays in visa processing prompted Congressional action ahead of next year's World Cup. President Trump signed a travel ban Wednesday that bars citizens from 12 countries from entering the United States. On Sunday, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles amid protests over immigration raids. The latest Trump order targeting visitors from 12 countries includes exemptions for certain athletes, including those traveling to the United States for major sporting events, and Wasserman was not worried about visa issues affecting the Games. 'It's very clear that the federal government understands that that's an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,' Wasserman said of the recent travel ban. 'So we have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward to the Games.' Because Wasserman anticipates the majority of ticket sales to be domestic, he said he is not concerned with a potential drop in revenue if international fans don't attend amid visa or safety concerns. But Paris 2024, which sold a record 12.1 million tickets for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, sold about 38% of its Olympic tickets to fans living outside France, according to the IOC. The successful event exceeded its ticketing and hospitality revenue target by $397 million and brought in a roughly $30-million surplus. Continuing the Olympic movement's success has been at the top of LA28's mind while bringing the Games back to L.A. for the first time in more than four decades. The 1984 Games were also privately funded and hailed as a massive success for their $225 million surplus that was invested in youth sports. The opportunity to use existing venues in 2028 dramatically reduces potential costs by avoiding new, permanent construction. 'I fully expect that LA28 will be successful in meeting its revenue goals, and I fully expect that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a financial success,' Paul Krekorian, Los Angeles executive director for the office of major events, said in a statement to The Times. 'Twice before, Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics, even in the face of adversity, and both of those Games were a huge success for our city and its residents.' Still, city leaders face enormous pressure to ensure that streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible for the millions of people expected to visit L.A. during the Games. Mayor Karen Bass recently unveiled a citywide initiative called 'Shine L.A.' that encourages volunteers to beautify the city with clean-ups and tree plantings ahead of next year's World Cup and the Olympics. With city and federal funding, L.A. has planned to overhaul its public transportation system, including a long-awaited Metro station that opened Friday at Los Angeles International Airport. But other updates such as an electrified bus network, expanded rail lines and the LAX people mover have lagged. While the city's transportation plan is outside of LA28's Games operation and budget, Wasserman expressed confidence that L.A. will be able to repeat its transit success from the 1984 Games. But the Olympics have grown larger than ever. A record 11,198 Olympians will compete in 2028. The Paralympics will be the city's first. Especially with L.A. still recovering from devastating wildfires and a nearly $1 billion deficit, the threat of taxpayers absorbing any costs for the Games looms large. With financial momentum growing behind the 2028 Games, Wasserman wants to put worried minds at ease. 'The last thing a taxpayer should be worried about is us,' Wasserman said. 'We know how to do this. We are proving that every day and we will prove it all the way throughout the process and we are in every sense of the word, giving to the city, not taking from the city.'
