María Martín Civiac works in one of the least visible yet most decisive areas of international sport: the technology that helps organise competition data, event systems, operational solutions and decision-making processes at major sports events. Currently Product Owner for Venue Services Applications at Atos/UEFA, a board member of the Royal Spanish Winter Sports Federation -RFEDI-/SPAINSNOW and an alpine skiing technical delegate, her career sits at the intersection of federation governance, digital innovation and the organisation of international competitions.

Her profile reflects a growing transformation within the sports ecosystem: federations, committees and organisers increasingly need structures capable of working with data, artificial intelligence, results systems and technology linked to broadcasting. In an interview with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation -FIS-, Martín Civiac summed up that role in direct terms: “I see myself as a bridge.”

María Martín Civiac and the technology behind major sports events

The Spanish computer engineer has built her career in environments where official data is part of the basic functioning of competition. Her experience includes roles connected to the FIS, the International Olympic Committee -IOC- and Atos/UEFA, with responsibilities linked to results, event systems and technological tools applied to high-level sports operations. “In the environments we work in —competition data, event systems, broadcast-related technology— everything is highly time-sensitive and there is little margin for error,” she explained.

That level of demand has also shaped her understanding of technical leadership. Martín Civiac identifies three main pillars in environments that combine sport and technology: clarity, trust and adaptability. “You’ve got to be able to communicate clearly under pressure and be able to prioritize what really matters,” she said, before stressing that “it is important to create an environment where teams feel empowered to act quickly and take responsibility.”

From the IOC to UEFA: different models for decisions under pressure

Working across different organisations has allowed her to operate within different structures, cultures and development rhythms. “Different organizations have different structures, cultures, and levels of technological maturity,” she said. At the IOC, the results systems she was responsible for followed a more traditional development model, with a four-year cycle based on requirements gathering, development and validation. At Atos/UEFA, by contrast, the solutions are used almost daily and the work follows a more agile approach, with continuous improvements, fixes and adaptations.

The human dimension of that journey is also part of her institutional profile. Martín Civiac participates in the FIS Women Lead Sports programme, where she has reflected on leadership and diversity in technical environments. “As a computer engineer, I’ve often worked in environments where leadership, especially in technical roles, was not very diverse,” she explained. “When you take the two worlds, sport has been traditionally male-dominated and technology too. So, when you combine both, it becomes even more challenging.”

Artificial intelligence, federations and new leadership profiles

Her role at RFEDI/SPAINSNOW broadens that connection between technology and sports governance. In addition to collaborating in international relations, she is involved in initiatives with Ibero-American countries within the FIS environment and contributes knowledge of federation systems and processes. On the technology side, she has explained that she is working with the Spanish federation on direct access to FIS data in order to move towards tools that support decision-making.

One of those projects points directly to the use of artificial intelligence in sports processes. “The idea is to build an AI dashboard that uses data to help them pick who will represent the national squad, rather than just assumptions or gut feeling,” she said. For Martín Civiac, artificial intelligence has potential in sport, both at FIS and across national federations, although she underlines the need to preserve technical and operational judgement: “Human input’s still essential to understand context, validate outputs and make decisions.”