British Rowing Director of Performance Brendan Purcell has claimed the new SAS Ranking Points Index could help identify future Olympians.
The SAS Ranking Points Index has been created to help create closer, fairer and more exciting racing for all rowers in England. By accommodating all styles of racing, i.e. regatta and head races – akin to time trials – the project also seeks to encourage new members to start and continue racing from earlier on in the season.
SAS, the Official Analytics Partner for British Rowing, invited senior volunteers from British Rowing as well as key stakeholders in the new Index, to its London office to reveal the important role of its software and services in its development so far. When asked about the positive impact the SAS Ranking Points Index could have at elite level, Purcell replied: “The exciting thing, when you start building data and getting insights from it, is what it can bring to the future to help you. The SAS Ranking Points Index isn’t going to have an immediate impact on qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games, however, the idea of using this to create a ‘performance funnel’ is very exciting. While we can presently track off-water metrics on the ergometer with young athletes and assess their career progress in comparison with where a world class athlete should be, this project gives us the opportunity to track on-water metrics as well to give a more complete picture.”
Coinciding with the publication of a technical paper to outline the outcomes so far – available here – the former British Triathlon Performance Director was joined for the panel discussion, broadcast live on the British Rowing Facebook page, by Olympic gold-medal winning rower Will Satch, as well as Phil Clements, Chair of the National Competition Committee; Annie Hairsine, British Rowing Senior Project Manager-Technology Projects, and Scott Comber, Professional Services Director, SAS UK & Ireland.
Find out more information about the partnership between SAS and British Rowing here
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ABOUT BRITISH ROWING
British Rowing, as the governing body for the sport, is responsible for the development of rowing in England and the training and selection of rowers to represent Great Britain.
Rowing has a proud history as one of GB’s most continuously successful Olympic sports producing World, Olympic and Paralympic champions from across the UK. The GB Rowing Team is supported by the National Lottery Sports Fund.
Over 639,600 row, indoor or on-water, each month according to Sport England’s Active Lives survey May 2017/18.
British Rowing’s mission is to lead, enable and inspire excellence in rowing at all levels. Our vision, through rowing, is to promote the positive impact of sport by providing an enjoyable experience for all participants while upholding our position as a leading rowing nation.