Publicising mathematics and statistics through sport

With Australian students shunning the mathematical sciences, it is necessary to take every opportunity to publicise interesting mathematical applications. Publicising research in the popular media can also have important spin-offs for the researcher as well as his department and institution. It will always be important to publish in the relevant scientific journal, to be read by the few colleagues who work in your area, and gain some research points for your University. But it may also be advantageous to get WWW, newspaper, radio or TV coverage. Among the millions of readers or watchers there will be colleagues, superiors, future students, possible consulting or research project clients who would otherwise not learn about your work. In Australia, interest in sport is almost universal, and the anxiousness of the media to publish sporting material can be used to overcome their usual avoidance of anything scientific. Working in the application area of sport gives us a huge advantage in gaining media coverage for our research. Using personal experiences, this paper will discuss some of the ways we can realise that advantage. The use of personal contacts, press releases, web sites, media guides and special events will be discussed, along with some of the necessary characteristics and pitfalls of being a media junkie.