McKenna: Hawk-Eye offers far more than just score detection

Croke Park Stadium Director Peter McKenna says the new Hawk-Eye system will offer far more than just score detection data when it is implemented this summer.

The Hawk-Eye technology will be in use for the first time officially when Offaly and Kildare meet in the Leinster Senior Football Championship at Croke Park on Saturday, June 1.

The quarter-final match is followed by Dublin's last-eight encounter against the winners of the Westmeath and Carlow first round clash.

Speaking at today's announcement of Specsavers as sponsors of Hawk-Eye, McKenna said the GAA will benefit hugely from the new system.

"A lot more stats (than just scoring) will come off it, such as the speed of the ball or where the ball is hit from," he said.

"Or the regularities of where the ball is - a more sweet spot in the stadium for instance. That type of data will come from it very, very quickly thereafter."

McKenna says that a lot of trial and error has gone in to ensure that the system is set for full implementation.

"Nine months' work has gone into the system, trialling and testing the various ins and outs of it.

"I'm delighted now that the technology is proven and we have a 100 percent score detection system.

"We ran in it in a test phase across a number of matches over the nine-month period. The exact position of cameras, what type of cameras were to be used and how the ball is tracked.

"How that signal would be collected from a data point of view - a serious of zeros and ones, and put into a graphical position that could be realised on the big screen and taking the time of that down to an instantaneous delivery - all of the delays that go through it.

"Some of the testing was logistics, some of it was purely technical and some of it was purely the computer front."