Data and Identity in Sport and Sport Performance: Data og identitet i sport og sportsudøvelse

What can we take from this example in relation to the subject of this paper? Clearly the remediation of the performance is supposed to support collective and competitive activity and effort. The red circle in the right bottom corner marks the winner of the particular Leaderboard Monthly Challenge. This observation is obviously trivial. But the choice of medium to represent fitness achievement, name of individual participant (data) and an overview of the total group of participants (information) gives an example of one possible connection between data and identity in sport. But how are we to understand the possible connections and significance of these connections in relation to sport and sport performance beyond this single case? Are new interactive digital media supporting or enforcing the ideology of competition and the culture of winners? Or are we witnessing the emergence of a ”participatory culture” within the field of sport, in this case lifestyle sport? Or is something third emerging? These are the questions this article aims to explore. The article itself is part of the non-funded research project “Interfacing Sport: Interactivity, performance and participation in the context of interactive digital media and wearable devices”. The research is part of the ongoing activity in the knowledge group Interactive Digital Media and Experience Design at the Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University.