Subj : Re: Re-posted thread on US Rowing Olympic Results
To   : rec.sport.rowing
From : James HS
Date : Wed Aug 04 2021 11:40 pm

On Thursday, 5 August 2021 at 01:57:50 UTC+1, Bob wrote:
> This is a repost of a deleted post that contained serious factual errors. 
> Hopefully they have been addressed (thank you A. Dumas) and the calmer self
has prevailed. 
> 
> I suppose rowers from many nations who follow the Olympics have 
> something to say about their country's performance in the rowing 
> portion of the Olympics. I think the biggest story is the failure 
> of the United States to win a single medal. Surely there must be 
> something very wrong about the way US Rowing conducts the business 
> of preparing athletes for the Olympics? 
> 
> There was a certain amount of drama this year as the Men's coach, Mike Teti,
is being investigated for abusive behaviour dating back many years. 
> Because the story broke just before the Olympics, it has garnered 
> national attention in the US including call for Congressional Oversight of
the investigation. 
> 
> Still, that doesn't explain the across the board failure of the US in 2021. 
> 
> One theory is the failure to make use of data analytics. One of the 
> Olympic athletes was asked if Coach Terhar used data analytics during
training and the answer was "No" - not that she was aware of. Obviously some
data is collected but not like in other nations. New Zealand has "Goldmine".
Connie Draper moved to Vancouver where the Canadians train and their eight won
gold. Even at the collegiate level, the University of Texas used data analytics
 in its rise to winning the 2021 NCAA Championship. In this day and age, the
failure to embrace data analytics puts the US program at a disadvantage
compared to other nations at the top of rowing. 
> 
> The Chair of the US Rowing Board of Directors and the CEO of US Rowing have
both posted letters on the US Rowing website promising changes will be made.
When you have a whole organization and mindset so far behind the rest of the
world, how do you make those changes? I've seen posts on this forum about
issues and frustrations with British Rowing and wonder if there are any
correlations? No doubt there will be a certain amount of cynicism regarding the
 ability of the organization to change (to many ticks on the dog?), but it is
still worth expressing the opinions in the hope someone will listen.. 
> 
>
https://usrowing.org/news/2021/7/30/olympic-team-a-letter-from-usrowings-ceo-on
-the-olympic-games.aspx 
> 
>
https://usrowing.org/news/2021/8/3/general-a-letter-from-usrowings-board-chair-
on-tokyo.aspx 
> 
> Data analytics is just one theory. It would be interesting to hear other
takes on what is likely a complex situation.. 
> 
> Bob
Hi Bob,
Is your hypothesis that data use would have improved the chances?
I happen to love data in coaching - I personally believe that you can't improve
 what you don't measure, but lots of coaches 'measure' in their 'eye' and
sometimes I think I need to look up more from my data - so I am not completely
convinced it is a magic bullet?
Asking an athlete may not be the most reliable metric?
I think there were a lot of shocks this regatta - and possibly the complete
lack of racing is what made the difference - no one knew what the opponents
were likely to have in their lockers and adjust. 
the margins of loss were often very small, and some countries had just
obviously prepared and delivered fractionally better than others - small
differences made large medal differences.
I personally love the fact that the sport has become less predictable!
So I think that this is multi-factorial.
James
--- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32
 * Origin: SportNet Gateway Site (24:150/2)

.