Technology and physical activity (SACE Stage 2 Physical Education)
“Analyse how technology influences performance, training, officiating and participation in physical activity, and evaluate its benefits and drawbacks.”
Technology reshapes physical activity at every level. Better equipment and clothing improve performance, wearables and video analysis sharpen training and technique, officiating technology improves fairness, and apps and online platforms change how people access activity. Each brings benefits but also drawbacks such as cost, access gaps, over-reliance and concerns about fairness, so its impact must be weighed rather than assumed positive.
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What this dot point is asking
You must analyse how technology influences performance, training, officiating and participation, and evaluate both its benefits and its drawbacks.
Technology in performance
Equipment and materials directly change what is possible: lighter and stronger materials in bikes, racquets and footwear, aerodynamic clothing, and improved playing surfaces. These can raise performance and reduce injury, but they can also create an uneven playing field when only wealthy athletes or nations can afford them.
Technology in physical activity is the application of scientific tools, equipment, materials and digital systems to improve performance, training, safety, officiating or access. It ranges from running shoes and wearables to video analysis and online fitness platforms.
Technology in training
- Wearables (heart-rate monitors, GPS units, accelerometers) provide objective data on workload, intensity and recovery, allowing precise application of training principles such as overload and recovery.
- Video and biomechanical analysis let coaches break down technique frame by frame and give accurate knowledge-of-performance feedback.
- Simulation and virtual training allow safe, repeatable practice of decisions and skills.
These tools make training more individualised and evidence-based, supporting better program design and the evidence you collect for the Self-improvement Portfolio.
Technology in officiating
Video assistant referees, goal-line technology, ball-tracking and electronic timing improve the accuracy and fairness of decisions. The benefits are fairer outcomes and reduced human error; the drawbacks include slowing the game, high cost that limits use to elite levels, and debate about how it changes the flow and feel of sport.
The same technology can either broaden or restrict participation. Affordable apps and online classes widen access, while expensive elite equipment and analysis can widen the gap between well-resourced and under-resourced athletes and nations. Effect depends on cost and who can access it.
Technology and participation
Apps, online workouts, fitness trackers and social platforms make activity more accessible and motivating for many people, supporting goal setting and self-monitoring. At the same time, screen-based sedentary technology competes with active time, and digital access is unequal, so technology can both raise and lower participation across different groups.
Evaluating technology
A balanced analysis weighs benefits (better performance, fairer decisions, individualised training, wider access, safety) against drawbacks (cost and access inequity, over-reliance that can erode intrinsic skill or judgement, ethical and fairness concerns, and reduced spontaneity). Whether a technology is positive depends on context, cost and who can use it.
The strongest evaluations also consider who decides how a technology is used and at what level it is available. A piece of analysis software that transforms an elite program may be irrelevant to a community club that cannot afford it, so a technology that lifts performance at the top can simultaneously widen inequity lower down. Ethical questions also arise, from data privacy in wearables to debate over whether advanced equipment compromises the integrity of records and fair competition. Judging a specific technology against its intended purpose, its cost and access, and its effect on fairness, rather than declaring technology good or bad in general, is the analytical standard this dot point rewards.
Evaluating GPS units for a football squad
A football club adopts GPS units to track each player's distance, speed and high-intensity efforts. The benefit is objective workload data that lets staff apply overload and recovery precisely, manage fatigue and reduce injury. The drawbacks are the cost (limiting access for community clubs), the risk of coaches over-relying on numbers instead of judgement, and data-privacy concerns. A balanced evaluation finds the technology valuable for individualising training but notes it widens the gap between well-funded and community-level teams.
Do not present technology as simply good; the dot point asks you to evaluate, which means weighing drawbacks such as cost, unequal access and over-reliance against the benefits. Also avoid vague claims that technology "improves performance" without explaining the mechanism, such as how wearable data lets a coach apply training principles more precisely.
Assessment-style questions
Questions on this dot point, each with a worked answer, written by ExamExplained. Physical Education has no written exam, so use them to check your understanding before your assessment tasks.
Practice8 marksAnalyse how technology influences performance, training and officiating, and evaluate its benefits and drawbacks with examples.Show worked answer →
An 8 mark task needs technology analysed across domains and a balanced evaluation.
Analyse the domains. Performance (materials, equipment), training (wearables, video analysis) and officiating (VAR, goal-line technology, ball tracking).
Evaluate. Weigh benefits (better performance, individualised training, fairer decisions) against drawbacks (cost and access inequity, over-reliance, disrupted game flow).
Conclude. State that the impact depends on context and cost. Markers reward technology analysed across domains and benefits weighed against drawbacks with examples.
Practice6 marksEvaluate how technology can both widen and narrow participation in physical activity.Show worked answer →
A 6 mark task needs both directions weighed.
Widening. Affordable apps, online workouts and trackers broaden access and support goal setting and self-monitoring.
Narrowing. Expensive elite equipment and analysis widen the gap between resourced and under-resourced athletes, and sedentary screen time competes with active time amid unequal digital access.
Judge. Conclude that the effect depends on cost and who can access it. Markers reward both directions with examples and a judgement tied to access.
Practise this
Sources & how we know this
- Stage 2 Physical Education subject outline (2025 onwards) — SACE Board
- Stage 2 Physical Education: external assessment — SACE Board