Thursday, April 12, 2012

Coming Back for the Olympics

Sorry about my absence. I have not blogged for several months now. I have some good reasons, but mostly, it is procrastination. Also, blogs, for me, take heaps of time and energy. Sometimes, I think there is no reward in this. I am not a gymnast. I merely sit on my computer chair and spout opinions that may have little basis. I fear that I have nothing to add to the multitude of excellent blogs out there

But my blog has been viewed over 6000 times, so that cannot be true.

So I think I will give this blog another whirl, especially since the Olympics are coming up.

Leading up to these Olympics, you will see more opinion pieces and commentary, but I am also keen on getting some data analysis going. You see, in the real world, I am a bit of a data geek. In the gymnastics world, data called scores are produced and I am keen to play with this data and see whether it teaches us anything.

When one does data analysis, a very important thing is asking the right questions. These are a few that I am interested in. Leave a comment if you think of any more:

  • Do all around competitors get advantaged or disadvantaged when they excel at one piece over another? (I am especially interested in floor and uneven bars on the women's side)
  • Are there "country biases" in scoring?
  • How easy is it to predict winners by difficulty scores?
I am sure there are more though!

Overall, I am curious about what the next few months will bring. 

2 comments:

  1. 1. How much has the two-per-country rule altered possible medal podiums?
    2. How much difference has the addition of a reference judge made, who has the power to adjust scores?
    3. How many times have screen shots or video reviews been used, and on which skills?
    4. Is there a correlation between D-scores and injuries?

    Just in case you're interested about what skills are being performed, the WTC usually releases statistics about how many of each skill were performed after a World Championships or Olympics.

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  2. Hi, just passing along this link to anyone who will post about it. Fans have started a petition on behalf of Chellsie Memmel, which can be found here, would really appreciate anyone who could spread this around. http://www.change.org/petitions/usa-gymnastics-usag-olympic-selection-committee-steve-penny-allow-gymnast-chellsie-memmel-to-compete-at-the-national-championships

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