The Data All Around Us: What WEIO Taught Us About Data

By Solomon Himelbloom (UAF Student), Vanessa Raymond, Nicole Mah (UAA Student), Sarah Andreanoff (UAF Student)

This July, Fairbanks celebrated Indigenous culture as the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) 2023 took over the Big Dipper sporting arena. Athletes of all ages traveled from across the state and even internationally to compete in a diverse array of traditional games, from the awe-inspiring strength of the Alaskan high kick to the precision of the one-foot high kick to the baby regalia competition. Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s (ACEP) data team members joined the festivities to observe how data is used in WEIO competition. What they found at WEIO was that data was collectively created, observed, and validated by officials, athletes, and spectators, influencing athletes' personal performance and goal-setting. 

The data team arrived in time to watch the qualifying rounds for the One Foot High Kick competition. In the One Foot High Kick athletes balance on one hand and use one foot to kick a seal- and fur-skinned ball suspended above the floor. Not only do they need to hit the ball, they also need to land on the same foot they kicked off with in one elegant movement. Athletes advanced through the rounds by successfully kicking a ball strung higher and higher, measured by WEIO officials using a measuring tape and successful kicks recorded on a clipboard. 

For this competition all the athletes sat on the stage surrounding the athlete who is competing and observed the kick and their technique. After the kick is completed they might shout out words of encouragement or give advice to the athlete, who has three attempts to successfully hit the ball. When an athlete is eliminated, he or she may go around and shake hands or dab with the judges and other competitors. The spirit of community support is palpable, and quite a stark contrast from other sporting events.

Sarah Andreanoff is a summer intern & data librarian at ACEP who promotes best practices in data management. She is also a former Native Youth Olympics (NYO) athlete in the one foot high kick. Sarah recalls how “Just keeping a clear head to focus on your technique helped me a lot with the one foot high kick. You practice it over and over starting from a low height going higher and higher till you're reaching heights you never thought you could.” She reflects on the spirit of competition in Native games as essential to her performance, “the most helpful part was how supportive everyone was. They'd encourage everyone to do their best, even those on different teams or from different cities and villages.”

For Sarah, the data is something you gather yourself and use to improve your own performance. But the experience is collective; giving and sharing support is a part of the sport. Nicole Mah, a former college athlete from the UAA ski team and programmer for ACEP reflected on her own experience using data to improve her athletic performance. Like Sarah, Nicole used data to train. “As a competitive athlete,” she says, “data plays a pivotal role in setting goals and monitoring progress. Additionally, it serves as a potent tool, enabling me to fine-tune my training and make strategic decisions, ultimately driving peak performance.” But unlike Sarah’s experience, Nicole mentioned while observing the WEIO competitions that the spirit of support is not the same in competitive alpine skiing.

Lauren Leadbetter, a summer intern at ACEP for Ben Loeffler and has past experience doing sports data analysis while interning for the Los Angeles Dodgers. She observed that “Generally, more high quality data being collected in sports leads to more precise and specific predictions. These predictions can rapidly drive competitive growth for players and businesses as the data binds them together.” When the goal is to win, and possibly also motivate tickets and merchandising sales, the data becomes an important tool for strategic game play.

At WEIO, the data team observed a focus on collaboration, support, and a spirit of learning. This resulted in a different interaction with “data'' than at other sporting events. Data was created, observed and validated by the collective: the officials, athletes, and spectators. During competition, data and observations were a part of each athlete’s personal analytical process, and likely reflected internally on their own goals and personal records. The ACEP data team observed athletes using different shoes and dress to compete. While some preferred to be barefoot, others chose skate or tennis shoes. Some athletes wanted to touch the ball, including to stop any spin or twisting in the string, before competing. Athletes also adopted different forms for their kick. This could include lining up one's head with the ball and then sitting down directly under the ball, or others start from a seated position and peer up at the ball, scooching until they are in position. In executing the high kick some athletes kick from directly under the ball, or some arc their foot in from the side. All of these decisions came from data collected by the athletes and their village teams in training for WEIO and other Native game competitions.

The spirit of camaraderie and the commitment to support was palpable at the baby regalia competition as well. Babies and their families paraded under a tent before judges who read the regalia descriptions and also voted. They were cheered on by spectators and participants alike. Beyond the cuteness factor, this competition held a deeper significance as it embraced culture and heritage. Data about the regalia, such as details about who made the regalia, what their relationship was to the baby, the baby’s family and extended relations, the origin of the materials used, played a part in the judges deliberation. It wasn't just a competition; the data told the story of the regalia's in so doing, reflected an interconnected worldview that celebrated the past and the present. For WEIO’s baby regalia competition, the data was a story and an interweaving of culture, place, heritage, and family.