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CNN 10
A Look At Veterans Day Events; Report On New Technology In Sports; Centenarian`s Race Claims World Record. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired November 12, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: A long time ago when Friday meant awesome, the two became inseparable. The end. No more time for short stories, it`s
time for the news ya`ll. I`m Carl Azuz. It`s great to have you watching. These are some of the sights and sounds from America`s Veterans Day events
on November 11th.
From a parade in Washington, D.C. to star spangled events nationwide to a military flyover at Arlington National Cemetery, where U.S. President Joe
Biden participated in the traditional wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He said to be a veteran is to have endured and
survived challenges most Americans will never know.
Veterans Day is sometimes confused with Memorial Day. Both are marked by wreath laying ceremonies and events honoring members of the U.S. armed
forces, but Memorial Day is held in May and focused on those who lost their lives while serving in the military.
While Veterans Day was designated for everyone who served or is serving in the armed forces. As part of that, some businesses, schools and government
offices were closed yesterday. Many that were opened offered free goods and services for veterans from breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and
coffee, to free haircuts.
As we mentioned yesterday, Veterans Day in the U.S. was originally named Armistice Day, marking the date in 1918 when fighting ended in World War I.
And across the Atlantic, France held a somber ceremony in honor of its service members from the first and second World Wars. Events were also
held in Britain, which will mark Remembrance Sunday on the 14th.
10 Second Trivia. Which of these sportswriters coined the term sabermetrics for detailed baseball statistics? Zander Hollander, Mary
Garber, Wendell Smith or Bill James. In 1980, Bill James came up with the acronym for Society of American Baseball Research Metrics.
OPS, exit velocity, WAR, (inaudible), baseball statistics have come a long way since win/loss ratio, batting average and earned run average were all
you saw in a televised game. Critics of sabermetrics, computer statistics, say there`s more to the game that can`t be measured. The eye test, the
intangibles, going with the gut, the keen observations of an attempted manager who wants the best for the players and their chances of winning.
So, some won`t agree that the technology you`re about to see could make the game better. But as that tech continues to develop, so does the unique
measurements it offers about the organized games we play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On this soccer field in Hong Kong, it`s another day of training for Kitchee SC, a professional team that
competes in the Hong Kong Premiere League. For two seasons now, the team has been using a tracking system developed in South Korea called "Fit
Together", which gathers data on each player during practices as well as matches. With their GPS enabled vests, these soccer players can get a
robust picture of their athletic performance with metrics on endurance, positioning and maximum speed.
Recently I spoke to an entrepreneur in Taiwan who is also trying to leverage data and analytics to transform the game of baseball. It`s
arguably the most popular spectator sport in Taiwan, baseball. At the end of the 1800s`, the game was brought to the island by Japanese colonists who
had picked up the sport from American ex-patriots. Taiwan has been described as baseball crazy. Why is Taiwan obsessed with baseball?
LIN CHING LUN, CEO OF JINGLE TECH, TRANSLATED: Taiwanese people are crazy about baseball because it`s a sport with strategy, and our players are
quite good at it.
STOUT: I`m touching base with Lin Ching Lun, the CEO of Jingle Tech. A sports tech company that earlier this year unveiled "Strike" billed as the
world`s first smart baseball. Based in the Taiwanese city of Tainan, Lin says that his technology can empower coaches and athletes with data to
optimize their training. Ching Lun, could you pick up this "Strike" baseball and show it to me. It looks like a -- a normal baseball, but what
kind of technology is inside the "Strike" baseball.
LUN, TRANSLATED: We inserted a chip into the baseball and we wanted it to be used consistently. So, we also installed wireless charging. This ball
can be pitched 3,000 times at 130 kilometers an hour and it will be fine.
STOUT: The baseball`s outfitted with precision sensors that can dissect a split-second throw with information including the ball`s spin rate,
velocity and trajectory. You`re collecting a lot of data from baseball players. How does more data help baseball players take the game to the
next level?
LUN, TRANSLATED: Pitching takes a lot of energy, and there`s a limit to how many pitches one can make. So, we can check how tired a player is from
this technology. We can also help a pitcher get better by giving them details by the rotational axis of the pitch. Coaches can monitor the
progress of the players and check if the player`s condition stays the same before a game and during practices.
STOUT: This year, Jingle Tech announced that it was moving into mass production. Lin says that his company has sold 10,000 "Strike" baseballs
so far, in markets like Japan, South Korea and the United States. How do you hope your technology will transform baseball?
LUN, TRANSLATED: We think these technologies will start gaining popularity. Everyone should have the ability to access data. When you
have such data, you can make more changes to the way you play the sport.
MAIK BURLAGE, CEO OF WINGFIELD BOX: We always want to find a solution that really works for the mass market.
STOUT: Launched in 2019 by former tennis professionals, the Wingfield Box is another high-tech (inaudible) on the future of sports.
BURLAGE: As soon as you transform the court into smart and connective tennis courts, the players could get access to all of the same data that
currently only the professionals have access to.
STOUT: Data like stroke speed, shot types and ball impact location are collected by the internet connected "Netpost".
BURLAGE: In tennis compared to other sports, it`s quite difficult to see improvement and make improvement visible. We make this (inaudible)
improvement available which at the end of the day gives a huge motivation for -- for the players.
STOUT: Wingfield`s CEO Maik Burlage says the company is operating in 10 countries with more than 200 connected courts in its home country, Germany.
BURLAGE: Tennis, in sport, as it is per say is already for the good of our society and -- and we try to enable more people in the world to enjoy the
thing that`s, you know, we at Wingfield love the most which is tennis.
STOUT: Beyond baseball, do you plan to introduce this technology to other sports?
LUN, TRANSLATED: The tech is transferable. So it can be used in other sports. We are doing research on the Japanese baseball market and also
softball in the U.S. We`ve also tested the sensors on rugby balls and cricket.
STOUT: Whether it`s on a tennis court or a baseball field, Lin believes that data and analytics can be leveraged to help make a athletes
performance pitch perfect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: Julia Hawkins recently made headlines for running the 100-meter dash in just under 1 minutes 3 seconds. If that math doesn`t sound quite right
to you, add in the fact that she`s 105 years old. Last Saturday, the woman nicknamed "Hurricane" crossed the finish line and set a world record at the
2021 Louisiana Senior Games. She started racing and setting records after she turned 100. At her most recent race, Ms. Hawkins said she felt
wonderful.
We say she`s "hit her stride". What a way to take life "one step at a time". Seemingly staying a "step ahead of time" to cross the "finish line"
at a "time" that no one else has "stepped" to. She`s put her best "foot" forward, taking challenge after challenge, "step by step" to beat the clock
while "clocking victory".
Today`s shout out takes us to Mounds View, Minnesota, where we would like to recognize the students and teachers of Area Learning Center. I`m Carl
Azuz and we`ve crossed the "finish line" on CNN.
END
