Prospector

Coloured lenses could improve your game

COLOURED contact lenses are set to become the latest must-have sporting accessory - as commonplace as air-cushioned trainers, replica shirts and tinted sunglasses.

Red, yellow and amber-coloured lenses are being tested by Nike, sponsor of footballers including Wayne Rooney, Robbie Keane and Ronaldo.

The company believes the lenses can help players see the ball better, particularly in bright sunlight.

Red colours are useful for baseball players because amber blocks out blue light - "visual noise" to vision experts - while red areas, such as the seams on a baseball, are accentuated.


Tony Chipote, a marketing field manager for Nike, said: "We want our athletes to continue to see their game better and better for longer and longer. As soon as you start to lose your eyesight, the rest of your body will start to suffer."

It claims that while the red lenses are ideal for fast-moving sports such as football, grey lenses are the key to golfers being able to discern the lie of the land on a putting green. Leonard may prefer grey-green lenses which help to separate out individual blades of grass.

The lenses which have been under development for seven years could be used in Britain this year by Premiership players. Nike is working with contact lens company Bausch & Lomb to sell them through opticians.

There also could be medical advantages to wearing the lenses, which are essentially similar to soft contacts with a tint that has been scientifically developed. While light can leak through sunglasses - through the opening between the frame and the eyes - performance-enhancing contacts sit on the pupils and better protect them from the sun.

Scotsman.com News - Sci-Tech - Coloured lenses could improve your game

posted by Prospector @ 12:50 PM