Why is OR applicable to sports?
Many sports have a score, a number, to be maximised or optimised - hence there is a link to OR
Most sports have limited resources, to be used optimally - hence OR, The resources may be the team, or time, or money
Many sports operate sequentially, with decisions being made in order - just like in dynamic programming
Sports events require transport and supply chains - areas where OR has expertise
In a separate blog, I have mentioned the range of sports which have provided abstracts in IAOR. Most of those links are to strategy in the sport itself. My other blog on the subject considers the problems of scheduling transport.
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sports. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 March 2011
Transport to sports events
When I studied OR as a postgraduate, we were presented with several scenarios to reflect on their logistical problems. One was related to sports transport.
An event is scheduled at time T1 and finishes at time T2. Spectators arrive by public transport in advance of time T1. Their arrivals are spread over a considerable period, as their plans vary. Some may want to be very early, others arrive in the last few minutes. But the general distribution of their arrivals is widely spread. So the transport provision has to reflect this ... with vehicles scheduled over a wide range of times before T1.
On the other hand, at time T2, all those who arrived by public transport are ready to depart at the same time. So the public transport has to be concentrated into a much smaller time window.
These are the same sorts of problem that one meets in other circumstances, but the size of the crowds at some sports events make the contrasting problems particularly difficult.
OR has been used by the organisers of the recent Olympics to cope with this scheduling problem. And already, the London Underground OR team is planning how to cope with the 2012 Games.
An event is scheduled at time T1 and finishes at time T2. Spectators arrive by public transport in advance of time T1. Their arrivals are spread over a considerable period, as their plans vary. Some may want to be very early, others arrive in the last few minutes. But the general distribution of their arrivals is widely spread. So the transport provision has to reflect this ... with vehicles scheduled over a wide range of times before T1.
On the other hand, at time T2, all those who arrived by public transport are ready to depart at the same time. So the public transport has to be concentrated into a much smaller time window.
These are the same sorts of problem that one meets in other circumstances, but the size of the crowds at some sports events make the contrasting problems particularly difficult.
OR has been used by the organisers of the recent Olympics to cope with this scheduling problem. And already, the London Underground OR team is planning how to cope with the 2012 Games.
OR in Sport - the index
This month's suggestion from INFORMS is that bloggers should write about OR in Sport.
The problem that I have about this is knowing where to start. When I edited IAOR, there were numerous research papers that were included in IAOR, and I cross referenced them by sport. So my records show that there were abstracts relating to the following sports:
athletics
baseball
basketball
cricket
croquet
curling
darts
football
golf
hockey
horse racing
karate
netball
Olympics
orienteering
skating
skiing
tennis
volleyball
yachting
So, this is my first contribution - an index!
The problem that I have about this is knowing where to start. When I edited IAOR, there were numerous research papers that were included in IAOR, and I cross referenced them by sport. So my records show that there were abstracts relating to the following sports:
athletics
baseball
basketball
cricket
croquet
curling
darts
football
golf
hockey
horse racing
karate
netball
Olympics
orienteering
skating
skiing
tennis
volleyball
yachting
So, this is my first contribution - an index!
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Running a sponge station
Google can't find the expression "Running a sponge station", so this is a first!
On Sunday 3rd May, our church ran a sponge station for the Great West Run, which is Exeter's half marathon. You can see our church at 1:41 on the video, and just glimpse some of our sponge station roadies in the next two seconds.
Our job was to hand out damp sponges to runners as they passed, and we were equipped with cheap sponges, bins for water, tabards to wear. After that, we were on our own. With experience from 2008, we had buckets and large jars for water as well, and the church tap was running continuously to refill the bins. We needed a team to collect discarded sponges, which were then washed (my job) and returned for reuse as the runners passed the church four times!
There is an assignment problem here, dealing with the varied jobs that need to be done; moving water, collecting sponges, washing, handing out. Unfortunately, it is a messy problem to solve. I don't know the skills of the volunteers, and the demands on the team in fiture will depend on the weather! So, like so many messy problems, it was solved dynamically, as each of us who could transferred between tasks as required.
At the end, we had shown God's love for the community.
On Sunday 3rd May, our church ran a sponge station for the Great West Run, which is Exeter's half marathon. You can see our church at 1:41 on the video, and just glimpse some of our sponge station roadies in the next two seconds.
Our job was to hand out damp sponges to runners as they passed, and we were equipped with cheap sponges, bins for water, tabards to wear. After that, we were on our own. With experience from 2008, we had buckets and large jars for water as well, and the church tap was running continuously to refill the bins. We needed a team to collect discarded sponges, which were then washed (my job) and returned for reuse as the runners passed the church four times!
There is an assignment problem here, dealing with the varied jobs that need to be done; moving water, collecting sponges, washing, handing out. Unfortunately, it is a messy problem to solve. I don't know the skills of the volunteers, and the demands on the team in fiture will depend on the weather! So, like so many messy problems, it was solved dynamically, as each of us who could transferred between tasks as required.
At the end, we had shown God's love for the community.
Monday, 10 November 2008
Cost Benefit in New York
One of the few email newsletters that I really enjoy is the Internet Scout Report from the Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin, even though it generally has little to do with O.R.. However, the phrase "weighing costs and benefits" leapt out at me this week, in relationship to the costs for tax-payers of a new sports stadium in New York, and the related benefits. The email gave links to news stories about the issue. Obviously this is an area for O.R. analysis (not just economics) and modelling. But perhaps the most telling comment is that in the Sabernomics blog, where it records:
There is little evidence of large increases in income or employment associated with the introduction of professional sports or the construction of new stadiums.
There is little evidence of large increases in income or employment associated with the introduction of professional sports or the construction of new stadiums.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)