Curling, a 500-year-old sport, is moving into the digital age at Winter Olympics. Modern technology allows teams to analyze game stats and performance data in order to maximize their chances of winning a medal.
Major pro sports such as football and baseball have been increasingly using data analytics to identify undervalued athletes and help coach decisions. Curling, a sport that is often viewed as a hobby for amateurs with day jobs and dads, is now also being analyzed.
Nigel Holl (executive performance director, British Curling Team), a pioneer in curling tech, said “Data is King.”
Holl stated, “The only advantage that we have is: Can you learn faster and move quicker than the opposition and gain an advantage in?” Data is key to how you can be faster and ahead of the game.
Curling is a sport where teams slide 42-pound stones down a sheet ice towards a score area. To speed up the stone’s progress, players frantically sweep the ice and curl it around the opponent’s.
This complex strategy, which requires successful teams to plan multiple throws ahead of time, has earned the sport the name “chess on Ice”. Data and technology now give players real-time insight into the best shot they can take.
The British coaches at Beijing’s Ice Cube Olympic venue punch game stats into tablets and other devices preloaded with match data.
Performance analysts are also employed by the U.S. and British teams to film the action in order to provide match intelligence. The purpose is to gain a better understanding of each team’s strengths and weaknesses, information that can then be passed on to the players during breaks.
Phill Drobnick, U.S.A. Curling’s director of Coaching, said that “it’s the future.” It’s giving yourself that extra edge by doing all you can to make it happen.
Drobnick stated that the U.S. curling team had been filming matches for many years. However, it now has more information from video to aid in tactics and to spot opposition.
“You have to make the most of the information available to help you win it,” stated John Shuster, an American five-time Olympian who is also the reigning gold medalist.
He said, “We have analytics stuff — we have all that stuff — and you try it to your best ability.” “Honestly, because we have that involved, and I’ve kind of been kind of understanding what it says, it’s put me in a position where I feel like we’ve had some wins.”
Canada is a world-class curling country, Kyle Jahns, a team spokesperson, said.
He said via email that “it’s not uncommon for teams (not only Canada) to gather this type of data at the Olympics but also at other events to create game plans that are most efficient at international events.”
A curling match at the Olympics has 10 ends. It is similar to a baseball game with 10 innings. Each round, eight stones are thrown by each team. In-end strategy is about protecting your own takeout from the opponent. However, the important advantage of throwing last often dominates the end-game management.
In order to keep the last rock advantage (also known as the Hammer), in the 10th, even in a tied game, a team may intentionally miss and score zero points.
This was a long-standing practice in curling; players now have the numbers to support it, as well as more complicated strategic decisions.
Shuster opted for a harder shot in a round-robin against Canada on Tuesday night. He cited statistics that showed that forcing overtime, where the opponent holds the hammer, would not be beneficial. Based on similar statistical analysis, NFL coaches are more aggressive in going for the fourth down.
A recent rule change allows curling coaches to meet with their players at ends to discuss data insights. Before, coaches were only allowed to consult with their players during halftime breaks or the one time a team has been allotted.
The British team was one of two that reached the medal round in the Olympic curling disciplines in Beijing. They used data analytics platform Tableau to make the information more digestible visually.
Holl stated that athletes have 20 seconds to communicate information to an athlete in order to influence the game.
Holl stated that it must be intuitive and obvious so that the coach can communicate it to the athletes in one syllable.
Some purists laugh.
“I believe there’s a place, but I think analytics is in a lot more situations, it seems like it is trending towards overuse,” stated Canadian Brad Gushue who was a 2006 Olympic gold medalist.
Gushue stated, “We try to use a bit of it,” but “still go a little old school” and “use that instinct.”
