Catch the Insights: For fans, media, coaches and players – how KINEXON elevates handball with data

Since 2020, the global market leader in sports live tracking and analytics provides data for the EHF EURO tournaments to ensure a more in-depth perspective on the athletes’ performances. The fifth article in our special “Catch the Insights” series takes a closer look at the many ways in which KINEXON Sports data provided at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 can be beneficial, enriching the tournament’s experience for different stakeholders. 

Which player had the fastest shot? Who ran the longest distance? Who sprinted the fastest? All those questions can be answered at the Women’s EHF EURO 2024, like in many EHF events before. Since 2020, KINEXON Sports – the global market leader in sports live tracking and analytics – has been providing data at the Men’s and Women’s EHF EURO, and it is currently at the third Women’s EHF EURO event.   

The statistics provided by the cooperation between the EHF and KINEXON elevate the handball experience for all stakeholders – from fans and teams to coaches and media representatives. At the core of this is the integrated use of live data, collected by up to 20 so-called anchors in the arenas. The KINEXON technology tracks key data points such as the number of passes made by each player throughout the match, ball possession time for each player, the distance run during a game, the number of sprints and the maximum speed reached by a player. 

“We’re still providing the full picture of what happens on the field at the EHF EURO events, and due to the cooperation with the University of Alicante, the EHF EURO gets deeper insights and scientific analysis of the players’ tracking data,” says Christian Günther, Vice President Leagues & Federations at KINEXON. 

The principle of data collection is very easy: the KINEXON Sports sensor that is worn under the players’ shirts collects specific player data, while the sensor in the ball collects throwing and passing data, like shot speed. That data will be displayed in different ways for various target groups: a coaches’ dashboard provides detailed information on load on every player. KINEXON Sports scientists take this information and make it understandable for teams, coaches and players.  A media dashboard displays a breakdown of the metrics in an easy-to-read format for accredited media at the championship.  

All data is inserted automatically in an analysis software from KINEXON Sports in real time and can be viewed, individually evaluated and visualised by users at any time. In addition, a data journalist from KINEXON Sports works exclusively for the EHF during the tournament. She analyses all matches and prepares individualised reports, which are made available to the EHF for publication. Besides, a team of data scientists keeps an eye on all games and the generated data and is always available to the EHF and the team’s coaches for queries and clarifications. 

New this year, starting with the Men's EHF EURO 2024 and continuing with the Women's EHF EURO 2024, EHF is allowing KINEXON to open the coaches’ dashboard to all federations and share the data with them. They also have access to data on load management metrics, like acceleration load, or can see things like shot maps and shot speed through the media dashboard. And they can track it live or post-match.  

A lot of the data KINEXON is providing is also shared via the EHF EURO homepage. Furthermore, the data is shared during broadcasts and on social media.  

Ball speed is one of the most popular metrics because everyone wants to know how fast the ball is moving. One can track top speeds in a game or for the entire tournament. Change of direction, acceleration and deceleration are also popular metrics, as well as airtime. How long can someone “fly” and how high can they jump? The sensor measures the time from impact (jump) to impact (land), and everything in between.  

KINEXON is also tracking passes and the pass ratio. “This is eye-opening, especially for playmakers and the combination of playmakers and line players. Also, the passing rate and the passing accuracy is really valuable for coaches,” says Christian Günther . 

To compile this data, the EHF EURO 2024 relies on KINEXON PERFORM LPS. It’s the gold standard in live sports tracking because it is the most precise sports tracking system on the market — in all sports and environments, indoor and outdoor. 

“One of the major strengths of KINEXON Sports solutions is the ability to provide accurate information, which is critical. It’s not easy to track handball because it is a fast sport that’s played on a small court,” says Günther.

“Teams and federations use the data to get a clearer picture of the court action, which benefits them in the long run. It helps them to precisely measure the physical and physiological demands and gather positional data during the matches, so they can identify the best performance indicators for a successful team.” 

Experiencing a new quality in handball is what EHF and KINEXON targeted when they started their cooperation. After three successful projects already – the ball tracking during the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2018, as well as at the Women’s EHF EURO 2018 and the ball and player tracking in the VELUX EHF FINAL4 2019 – a long-term cooperation was the next logical step, and since 2020 the full KINEXON data tracking service is used at the EHF EURO final tournaments.  

“Collecting data and turning it into insights for the coaches and players to use, but also for the media and fans to enjoy, helps to make the game more understandable for everyone involved. Coaches and players can improve performance, while fans and the media get a better idea of how good these athletes really are,” says Günther. 

But the question is – will handball become a ‘fully transparent game’ with the KINEXON technology? For sure, says Christian Günther: “By seamlessly mapping all movements and positions on the court – both of the players and the ball – KINEXON Sports creates a kind of digital twin of the game. In addition, all game-relevant information can be calculated, and all aspects of the game can be measured. This means that the game can be analysed and evaluated more objectively and accurately than ever before. This transparency makes the game ‘transparent’ in a figurative sense. In the NBA, for example, where KINEXON works with 85 per cent of the teams, this has already become the standard. So, handball is at the forefront here.”