U.S. Open Tournaments Give Facial Recognition a Swing

The United States Golf Association (USGA) has partnered with Wicket to trial facial recognition technology during the U.S. Open tournaments.

Wicket Tests Facial-Recognition Tech at U.S. Opens

The initiative started at the U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club, Pennsylvania, where around 1,000 fans per day used the biometric day-pass system. Fans could leave and re-enter the tournament by scanning their faces, after an initial registration process that took about 30 seconds.The technology converts facial images into mathematical vectors, which are stored securely on a private network without using cloud storage, Wicket says.

The success of this trial has led to its implementation at the men’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. The facial recognition system aims to streamline entry and exit processes, enhancing fan convenience and security.

“We’re on a big plot of land that’s not made for tens of thousands of fans to come through,” said Chris Tobia, USGA Director, Ticket Operations and Accreditation. “But there really was no hiccup as long as we had strong Wi-Fi. Being our first one we were a little nervous, but it couldn’t have gone any better.”

Wicket’s technology is already in use in a number of sports venues across North America. Last summer, The Cleveland Browns announced an enhanced fan entry process at their stadium using Wicket’s facial authentication platform.

Since launching the “Express Access” ticketing system in 2020, over half of season ticket holders have registered, linking their game passes to their face biometrics for quicker entry. Data from the 2022 season shows that biometric gates allow fans to enter in less than two seconds per person, reducing queue times by 10 minutes and decreasing the need for ticket scanning lanes by a ratio of 4:1.

USGA’s collaboration with Wicket extends beyond fan entry to include credentialing for employees, officials, and media, all integrated into the existing accreditation and ticketing systems.

Source: Sports Business Journal

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June 10, 2024 – by Ali Nassar-Smith

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