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AI decisions in sport
are governance decisions

One day for supervisory and executive board members in Dutch sport.
Hosted by the SportAI Foundation, together with WOS

Date
To be announced
one day, 09:00 - 17:00
Location
The Netherlands
venue to be announced
Fee
Paid event
fee to be announced
Register
Register your interest

The board sets the frame for AI

AI is no longer a topic for the future. In the coming year most sport organisations in the Netherlands will make important choices about AI: which tools to let in, what happens to athletes' data, which tasks AI supports and which it does not, and where responsibility lies when something goes wrong.

Those choices are not made by the board alone. They are made every day by the people who work with athletes, parents, coaches, volunteers, civil servants and systems. The board sets the frame for those choices and answers for the outcome.

This day gives supervisory and executive board members that frame: what AI is and is not, what it already does in sport, where the risks sit, and the concrete first step their organisation can take next. The day has three parts: understanding first, then responsibility, then action.

For the people who oversee and govern sport organisations

Supervisory board members (RvT) and executive board members of:

  • Sport federations and NOC*NSF
  • Municipal sport companies
  • Professional and amateur clubs
  • Provincial sport service organisations and talent centres
  • Sport-related welfare and education organisations
  • Supervisory and integrity bodies

You leave with a frame and a first step

After one day, you have:

  • A clear picture of what AI is and is not, without jargon or marketing talk
  • A view of what AI already does in Dutch and international sport, with concrete examples
  • Working knowledge of the main risks: bias, privacy, GDPR, liability, and what may and may not be done with athletes' data, especially data on minors
  • A clear line between the boundaries the board sets itself and the questions it expects management and the data protection officer to bring to it
  • One concrete AI application for your organisation, with a checklist and a first-step plan
  • Contacts with board members from other sport organisations facing the same questions
Register your interest Get more information first

Program outline

The day: understanding, responsibility, action

After lunch you work on a use case for your own organisation, present it, and take it home.

Time Session Program instructor(s) Focus & Learning Outcomes

09:00 - 09:30

Welcome and opening

Introductions. What the day covers. What you take home.

09:30 - 10:30

What AI is, and what it is not

Peter Sprenger, Wesley Romeijnders

From hype to clarity. What a language model can and cannot do. The key terms (LLM, training, prompt, hallucination, agent), explained briefly and in plain language, so the board can lead the conversation about AI without being led by it. Why AI is moving this fast.

10:30 - 10:45

Coffee break

Informal networking

10:45 - 11:45

What AI already does in sport

Maurits Hendriks, Peter Sprenger, Hans Westerbeek (online)

AI in elite and grassroots sport. AI in federation and club administration. AI in member recruitment, marketing and communication. AI in coaching, video analysis and talent identification. What works, what does not, and who in the Netherlands is already working with it.

11:45 - 12:30

Hands-on: working with a language model

Wesley Romeijnders

Every participant works, with guidance, on a real AI model, using prompts from their own work: a report, a presentation, a policy paper. You see first-hand where the model is strong and where to be careful, so you can judge what your organisation is using.

12:30 - 13:30

Lunch

Networking lunch

13:30 - 14:30

The risks: bias, privacy, GDPR and responsible use

Peter Sprenger, Wesley Romeijnders

What goes wrong when no one is paying attention. What may and may not be done with athletes' data, especially data on minors. GDPR and data protection impact assessments (DPIAs): what a board needs to know. Which boundaries the board sets itself, and which questions it expects management and the data protection officer to bring to it.

14:30 - 14:45

Break

Informal networking

14:45 - 16:15

A first use case for your organisation

Full faculty

Choose one concrete AI application for your own organisation. In small groups, design a first version: what it is, what it delivers, what the risks are, who you need, and what you will actually do next week. Faculty work alongside each group.

16:15 - 16:45

Presentations and take-aways

Three or four participants present their use case to the group. Everyone leaves with a completed checklist and a list of follow-up steps the SportAI Foundation can facilitate.

16:45 - 17:00

Close

Looking back. What you take with you. How to stay in contact with the other participants.

Program outline

The day: understanding, responsibility, action

After lunch you work on a use case for your own organisation, present it, and take it home.

  • 09:00 - 09:30 | Welcome and opening

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    Introductions. What the day covers. What you take home.

  • 09:30 - 10:30 | What AI is, and what it is not

    Program instructor(s):
    Peter Sprenger, Wesley Romeijnders

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    From hype to clarity. What a language model can and cannot do. The key terms (LLM, training, prompt, hallucination, agent), explained briefly and in plain language, so the board can lead the conversation about AI without being led by it. Why AI is moving this fast.

  • 10:30 - 10:45 | Coffee break

    Informal networking

  • 10:45 - 11:45 | What AI already does in sport

    Program instructor(s):
    Maurits Hendriks, Peter Sprenger, Hans Westerbeek (online)

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    AI in elite and grassroots sport. AI in federation and club administration. AI in member recruitment, marketing and communication. AI in coaching, video analysis and talent identification. What works, what does not, and who in the Netherlands is already working with it.

  • 11:45 - 12:30 | Hands-on: working with a language model

    Program instructor(s):
    Wesley Romeijnders

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    Every participant works, with guidance, on a real AI model, using prompts from their own work: a report, a presentation, a policy paper. You see first-hand where the model is strong and where to be careful, so you can judge what your organisation is using.

  • 12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch

    Networking lunch

  • 13:30 - 14:30 | The risks: bias, privacy, GDPR and responsible use

    Program instructor(s):
    Peter Sprenger, Wesley Romeijnders

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    What goes wrong when no one is paying attention. What may and may not be done with athletes' data, especially data on minors. GDPR and data protection impact assessments (DPIAs): what a board needs to know. Which boundaries the board sets itself, and which questions it expects management and the data protection officer to bring to it.

  • 14:30 - 14:45 | Break

    Informal networking

  • 14:45 - 16:15 | A first use case for your organisation

    Program instructor(s):
    Full faculty

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    Choose one concrete AI application for your own organisation. In small groups, design a first version: what it is, what it delivers, what the risks are, who you need, and what you will actually do next week. Faculty work alongside each group.

  • 16:15 - 16:45 | Presentations and take-aways

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    Three or four participants present their use case to the group. Everyone leaves with a completed checklist and a list of follow-up steps the SportAI Foundation can facilitate.

  • 16:45 - 17:00 | Close

    Focus & Learning Outcomes:
    Looking back. What you take with you. How to stay in contact with the other participants.

What the day includes

Fee
Paid event. The fee is to be announced.
Included
The full day program, all materials, lunch and coffee, the hands-on session with a language model, guidance on your use case, and the checklist you take home.
Venue
In the Netherlands. The venue is to be announced.

The same day, in-company

The day can also be delivered in-company, for one sport organisation or one partnership of organisations. Contact us at explore@sportaifoundation.com.

Register your interest Ask about in-company delivery

Faculty

The day is delivered by the faculty below. Hans Westerbeek joins live online from Melbourne.

Maurits Hendriks

Olympic gold medalist as coach, Sydney 2000.
Former Technical Director, NOC*NSF.
Chef de Mission, London 2012, Sochi 2014 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Hans Westerbeek

Professor of Sport, Business and AI, Victoria University Melbourne.
Board Member, SportAI Foundation.
Adviser to the Australia-India Council and the Government of India on sport development.

Peter Sprenger

Founder and Chairman, Techonomy.
President, Dutch Volleyball Association.
Chair, FIVB Sport Technology Committee.

Wesley Romeijnders

Techonomy.
Leading practitioner in applied AI systems in sport: hands-on integration of large language models and analytical AI in operational settings.

Register your interest

The date, venue and fee are to be announced. Register your interest and we will send you the details once they are set. If you would like more information or a short personal call first, contact us at explore@sportaifoundation.com.