Canadian Tire Corporation's deep experience in
data analytics extends to sports by helping Own the Podium identify
future Olympic and Paralympic medallists.
TORONTO, April 27, 2015 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire
Corporation, Limited (CTC.A, CTC) – a leading supporter of sports
in Canada and premier partner of
Own the Podium and Canada's
Olympic and Paralympic Teams – is using its best-in-class data
analytics division to provide Own the Podium with valuable insights
and information to help Canadian athletes win more medals on the
world stage.
Through a three-year partnership with Own the Podium, the team
is building on Canadian Tire's decades-long history in predictive
modeling. Canadian Tire's data analysts are using various data from
global sports competitions, dating back to the 1930s, to provide
new insights and next-generation predictive modelling to identify
which athletes, given their current performance, are most likely to
medal in future events. The information will also be used to help
coaches and athletes refine their training programs and identify
opportunities on the path to the podium.
"We're very proud to be able to use our analytics capabilities
to help Own the Podium make decisions that will result in more
Canadians achieving their Olympic gold medal dreams," said
Duncan Fulton, Senior
Vice-President, Canadian Tire Corporation. "With our analysis and
predictive models, Own the Podium will be able to make new funding
decisions that will better help Canadian athletes train, compete
and dominate on the world stage."
Funded in part by the Government of Canada, Innovations 4 Gold (I4G) is Own the
Podium's applied sport research program developed to help
Canada win more medals at the
Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"Olympic and Paralympic medals are often won by inches, or even,
blinks of an eye," said Anne
Merklinger, Chief Executive Officer, Own the Podium.
"Generously supported by Canadian Tire Corporation, this investment
builds on the Government of Canada's recent commitment to OTP's research
and innovation program. We believe data analytics will be another
difference maker in our continued quest to close those small gaps
on the world stage and deliver more medals for Canada."
The Sports Analytics team's goal is to assist national sport
organizations to utilize data and apply analytics that will lead
athletes to the podium at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. There
are more than a dozen predictive modelling projects currently
underway. Although the output of these projects is treated as
highly confidential to maintain a competitive edge for Canada, here is an example of work that is
underway:
- Swimming: The Sports Analytics team is mapping the performance
of top global swimmers from around the world, using data going back
years from global competitions. From this analysis, the team
is predicting the curve of race times required in global
competitions over the next five years for a Canadian swimmer to be
on the right path for an Olympic medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo.
ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or
"CTC," is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a
financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led
by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians
with products for life in Canada across its Living,
Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and
Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment
also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial
wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts,
National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which
offers the best active wear brands. The 1,700 retail and gasoline
outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services
division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the
Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.
ABOUT OWN THE PODIUM
Own the Podium, a not-for-profit organization, prioritizes and
determines investment strategies for national sport organizations
in an effort to deliver more Olympic and Paralympic medals for
Canada. Own the Podium's largest
contributor of funding is the Government of Canada with additional funding provided by the
Canadian Olympic Committee and its Canadian Olympic Foundation, the
Canadian Paralympic Committee, along with the corporate
community.
Own the Podium was created in 2005 to help Canada become the number one nation at the
2010 Olympic Winter Games, and to place in the top-three nations in
the gold medal count at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Own the
Podium continues to drive Canada's
high performance sport system forward in a quest to help more
athletes and coaches win more medals in future Olympic and
Paralympic Games.
For a full summary of Own the Podium initiatives and programs,
including a breakdown of support and services by sport, please
visit us at www.ownthepodium.org on the Internet.
SOURCE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED