SportWest / ASTN Technology Masterclasses

This follow up session from the March sessions provided attendees with practical case studies in the use of AI in a sports setting. ASTN and Football West shared experiences in successfully using AI-based tools and platforms to improve operational efficiencies, better engage members and fans, and provide better decision-making in sports performance.

The facilitated session focused on peer-to-peer learning in this emerging topic.

Presenter: Aadil Vagh, Business Systems & Data Analyst, Football West
Facilitator: Dr Martin Schlegel – Executive Chair ASTN
Audience: SportWest ‘Executive’ and ‘Marketing & Comms’ groups

Case Study: Automating Fixtures and Ladders

At Football West, a seemingly simple weekly task of updating fixtures and ladder graphics for social media was consuming hours of staff time and requiring hundreds of manual changes each week. In this session, I explored how Python-based robotic process automation was used to transform a repetitive and error-prone workflow into a cloud-based solution that generates graphics in seconds. The presentation followed the journey from manually editing graphics in Photoshop to building an automated system that pulls data directly from APIs, cleans and formats it, and applies it to branded templates. It also examined the differences between robotic automation and AI-driven approaches, the strengths and limitations of large language models, and why reliable, repeatable automation remains critical for many business processes. What started as a side project now saves Football West several hours every week, reduces the risk of human error, and allows staff to focus on more creative and strategic work.

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