Data analytics enters sports with Qlik partnering Q36.5 cycling
While all sports demand impeccable accuracy, timing and precision, cycling takes those requisites to new heights. For a professional cycling team, fractions of a second separate wins from losses. True competitors in the space are now relying on data analytics to enhance key performance domains, such as rider health and training, bike engineering, and strategic […]
While all sports demand impeccable accuracy, timing and precision, cycling takes those requisites to new heights. For a professional cycling team, fractions of a second separate wins from losses. True competitors in the space are now relying on data analytics to enhance key performance domains, such as rider health and training, bike engineering, and strategic decision-making.
The Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team’s Adam Nunn discusses the data advantage with theCUBE.
A strong example of this sports and data analytics pairing is QlikTech International AB and the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. Peeking through the curtains reveals how real-time analytics, governed data and intelligent automation are revolutionizing performance, logistics and talent scouting in professional cycling.
“We need to make smart decisions,” said Adam Nunn (pictured, second from right), digital strategist at Q36.5. “We have all of this data that comes into play, and we need to make the rider and the bike work, and we do that by making smart decisions. We’ve partnered with Qlik, and we use a lot of the data we gather from all places. We allocate it to a dashboard to see and make smart decisions. To minimize that marginal gain, it’s just crucial.”
Nunn and Martin Tombs (right), vice president, global go-to-market for analytics and field chief technology officer, EMEA, at Qlik, spoke with theCUBE’s John Furrier and Bob Laliberte at Qlik Connect, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how the Q36.5–Qlik collaboration exemplifies the new frontier in sports, where data isn’t just an accessory but a competitive differentiator. (* Disclosure below.)
Data analytics becomes a strategic differentiator in sports
Q36.5 scrapes together data from a multitude of sources — public platforms, internal sensors, third-party apps and AI models — to inform strategic decisions. But data only becomes powerful when it’s usable. A major challenge, therefore, is helping staff across cultures and disciplines — mechanics, coaches and nutritionists — understand and trust analytics, according to Nunn.
“We have players in our industry that are old school,” he said. “They often make decisions based on feel and experience. And unfortunately, sometimes they see all of these lines of code and data and get a bit taken aback by it. So the key for us is to just calm them down, show them the data and make them understand that all of this information is going to benefit your role and your job.”
Simplifying that shift to embracing data analytics is the Qlik advantage. Qlik’s platform handles vast, diverse data across cloud environments with a focus on governance and accuracy. Its “Do Data Differently” initiative also prioritizes visualization tailored to user experience — vital when riders and support staff need to grasp insights instantly on the road, not pore over pie charts, according to Tombs.
“There are a few age ranges here, you’ve got to display that the way that I want to see it,” he said. “Cyclists are young, fit guys. They don’t know what pie charts and bar charts are. You’ve got to display that data the way they want to read it, because they’ve got to understand it instantly — they have to understand that differently. We start from that data to having people understand the outcome that they’re looking for.”
Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Qlik Connect:
(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Qlik Connect. Neither QlikTech International AB, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)
Photo: SiliconANGLE
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PT Assistant Track & Field Coach in Cupertino, CA for De Anza College
Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
• De Anza College has a comprehensive, highly regarded athletics program, known for its success in both academics and sports. The college fields 17 sports programs, with 9 for women and 8 for men, and has a large number of Student-Athletes who consistently achieve high academic […]
Located in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
• De Anza College has a comprehensive, highly regarded athletics program, known for its success in both academics and sports. The college fields 17 sports programs, with 9 for women and 8 for men, and has a large number of Student-Athletes who consistently achieve high academic standards. De Anza’s athletic program is a significant contributor to the college’s positive reputation in the region and statewide
• Tops in Transfer – De Anza has the highest transfer rate of all Silicon Valley community colleges, and is always at or near the top statewide in community college transfers to the University of California, California State University and private universities, as confirmed in research by the Public Policy Institute of California
De Anza College offers
• Nearly 200 associate degrees and credit certificates, plus 30 noncredit certificates, and more than 1,800 courses.
• State-of-the-art facilities, equipment and technology – thanks to the generosity of local community members
• 112-acre campus with murals, fountains, trees, green space and a vast amount of trails along the foothills near the campus.
Five Newberry College Track & Field athletes earn CSC Academic All-District honors
NEWBERRY — Five Newberry College track and field athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Track and Cross Country Team. Irma Watson-Perez, Andrea Pascual Rivera, ShaNadia Marshall, Drew Benson and Addison O’Cain all earned the honor. Student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) […]
NEWBERRY — Five Newberry College track and field athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Track and Cross Country Team.
Irma Watson-Perez, Andrea Pascual Rivera, ShaNadia Marshall, Drew Benson and Addison O’Cain all earned the honor.
Student-athletes must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and must rank in the top-50 regional ranking in single event to earn academic all-district honors.
Watson-Perez (Biology), Pascual Rivera (Psychology) and Marshall (Exercise Science & Human Performance) all graduated in May.
Benson (Nursing) and O’Cain (Exercise Science) are both undergraduates.
K-State volleyball prioritizes roster retention, head coach says
MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – The K-State volleyball team is one of two Division I programs nationwide that didn’t have a single player enter the transfer portal at the end of last season. “We’re really proud of that and I think it speaks to their love for K-State,” Mansfield said. “It really speaks for how much […]
MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) – The K-State volleyball team is one of two Division I programs nationwide that didn’t have a single player enter the transfer portal at the end of last season.
“We’re really proud of that and I think it speaks to their love for K-State,” Mansfield said. “It really speaks for how much they love each other. I think they really, genuinely like being around each other.
“You gotta believe in kids, you know?” Mansfield continued. “I think in this transfer portal phase there’s a lot of, oh, we could’ve gotten a better player or there’s someone better out there. For us it’s always about development.”
Mansfield said when you show loyal to players, they’ll pay it back.
“We’re trying to coach kids for four or five years and stay on the path that they’re on and help them grow and get better,” he added. “Loyalty is a big deal to me, I want them to know we care about them and want to see them get better and continue to grow.”
Beach volleyball in the Intuit Dome? AVP players embrace their new digs
Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label. The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand […]
Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label.
The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand while weaving through sunbathers and surfboards. She’s used to hearing provisional bleachers creak under sunscreen-slathered fans as music buzzes through nearby portable speakers.
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There’s charm in that chaos. But it’s nothing like the entrance Newberry made Friday at the Intuit Dome.
Above her, the sweeping halo scoreboard glowed, flashing beneath the thump of blasting pop anthems. Around her, where NBA chants once echoed, beach volleyball fans cheered. And strangest of all, tons of sand created a faux indoor shoreline.
After two years chasing it, Newberry found her label.
Read more: 300 tons of sand trucked into Intuit Dome to create unique AVP beach volleyball venue
“I walked into the Intuit Dome today and I was like, ‘I feel like a professional athlete walking in,’” Newberry said. “I haven’t felt like that as a beach player. There’s very rare moments when you’re like, ‘Wow, I am really a professional athlete.’ And when I was going underground here and looking all around me, I was like, ‘I really am a professional athlete.’ And that’s because we’re playing at the Intuit Dome.”
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In what began as a head-scratcher for the players themselves, 300 tons of sand were poured into the Intuit Dome, turning the Clippers’ arena into a pop-up beach — where the L.A. Launch kept their perfect run afloat for the start of AVP League Week 5.
The Launch struck first and last — with Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon opening with a win, and Hagen Smith and Logan Webber closing it out — both pairs dismantling the San Diego Smash. Sandwiched between those victories, Palm Beach Passion’s men’s and women’s teams both made quick work of the Miami Mayhem.
The moment Newberry described — descending into an NBA arena re-imagined as a sand-strewn battleground — was the AVP’s moonshot: to re-imagine the sport in lights, not solely sunlight.
“Playing in such an amazing place, brand new building, with everything going on, with the new building around here, it’s really cool,” said 2016 Olympian Chaim Schalk. “To get to play at such an iconic arena is an honor.”
Logan Webber of the L.A. Launch spikes over Chase Budinger of the San Diego Smash at the Intuit Dome on Friday night. (Joe Scarnici / Getty Images)
Beach volleyball rarely has ventured beyond its coastal roots. But at the Intuit Dome, the sport embraced a new direction.
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“This shows that beach volleyball is growing and it’s trying to adapt to the world we live in, finding a new way for fans to interact with the players, and new ways for the sport to be exciting,” said Chase Budinger, a former NBA player who became a beach volleyball player. “This will get more people in the stands because it’s so new and so different.”
In place of sun-worshiping fans camped out on makeshift bleachers, parents lounged on cushioned seats as kids nestled beside them balancing chicken wings and pizzas on their laps.
The sport welcomed a combination of newcomers hunting for Friday night entertainment and AVP devotees.
“There’s so many people who love beach volleyball, and so many people who would love beach volleyball if they were just given the opportunity to go watch,” Newberry said. “And not everybody can make it out.”
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Read more: How Chase Budinger went from the NBA to playing beach volleyball in the Olympics
Change comes with tradeoffs. With no wind, the court became something of a power chamber — the compact sand lending itself to higher and cleaner jumps, the still air enabling blistering serves and monstrous spikes that might have drifted wide on the beach.
Rallies became quicker and tighter. The margin for error shrank, tightening the grip on the crowd.
“For a lot of people watching beach volleyball for the first time, it’s really hard to conceptualize how wind, how deep the sand is, might affect play,” Newberry said. “So it feels like more of an even playing field which allows everybody to watch really entertaining volleyball.”
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By re-imagining the boundaries of where its sport can potentially thrive, the AVP might have sketched out a novel blueprint for other sports.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if other sports follow and start expanding their ideas of where they could play,” said Olympic silver medalist Brandie Wilkerson. “I’m excited to see where this is going to go and see other sports try to catch up.”
Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Ten members of SAU cross country/track and field named to CSC Academic All-District Team | Southern Arkansas University Sports
Ten Southern Arkansas University student-athletes for cross country and track and field have been named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Representing the Muleriders on the 2025 CSC Academic All-District team are Lyndon Orr, Garrett Hughes, Bo Rogers, Jason Patrick, Korbin McAuliffe, Logan Warren, Alyzah McGlasson, Breyonna Steward, Kailyn Thomas, and Anaya […]
Ten Southern Arkansas University student-athletes for cross country and track and field have been named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
Representing the Muleriders on the 2025 CSC Academic All-District team are Lyndon Orr, Garrett Hughes, Bo Rogers, Jason Patrick, Korbin McAuliffe, Logan Warren, Alyzah McGlasson, Breyonna Steward, Kailyn Thomas, and Anaya Ervin.
Men’s Cross Country/Track & Field
Lyndon Orr (Junior)
Major – Accounting
Minor – Criminal Justice
GPA – 3.80
Garrett Hughes (Sophomore)
Major – Engineering
GPA – 3.98
Bo Rogers (Sophomore)
Major – Chemistry: Pre-Health Prof Biochem
GPA – 3.77
Jason Patrick Jr. (Junior)
Major – Physical Education & Health K-12
GPA – 3.66
Korbin McAuliffe (Senior)
Major – Business Admin: Supply Chain Management
GPA – 3.81
Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field
Logan Warren (Senior)
Major – Biology: Pre-Health
GPA – 3.58
Alyzah McGlasson (Grad.)
Major – Public Admin: Social Entrepreneurship
GPA (Undergrad) – 3.96
GPA (Grad) – 4.00
Breyonna Steward (Junior)
Major – Exercise Science: Strength & Conditioning
GPA – 3.61
Kailyn Thomas (Senior)
Major – Chemistry: Forensic Science
GPA – 3.70
Anaya Ervin (Junior)
Major – Biology: Pre-Health
GPA – 3.50
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Beach volleyball in the Intuit Dome? AVP embraces its new digs
Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label. The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand […]
Devon Newberry is closing in on two years as a professional beach volleyball player. Yet for the last 731 days, “professional” has always felt like an elusive label.
The former UCLA standout is accustomed to life as a beach volleyball player — hauling her equipment on the beach, tugging her bag across the uneven sand while weaving through sunbathers and surfboards. She’s used to hearing provisional bleachers creak under sunscreen-slathered fans as music buzzes through nearby portable speakers.
There’s charm in that chaos. But it’s nothing like the entrance Newberry made Friday at the Intuit Dome.
Above her, the sweeping halo scoreboard glowed, flashing beneath the thump of blasting pop anthems. Around her, where NBA chants once echoed, beach volleyball fans cheered. And strangest of all, tons of sand created a faux indoor shoreline.
After two years chasing it, Newberry found her label.
“I walked into the Intuit Dome today and I was like, ‘I feel like a professional athlete walking in,’” Newberry said. “I haven’t felt like that as a beach player. There’s very rare moments when you’re like, ‘Wow, I am really a professional athlete.’ And when I was going underground here and looking all around me, I was like, ‘I really am a professional athlete.’ And that’s because we’re playing at the Intuit Dome.”
In what began as a head-scratcher for the players themselves, 300 tons of sand were poured into the Intuit Dome, turning the Clippers’ arena into a pop-up beach — where the L.A. Launch kept their perfect run afloat for the start of AVP League Week 5.
The Launch struck first and last — with Megan Kraft and Terese Cannon opening with a win, and Hagen Smith and Logan Webber closing it out — both pairs dismantling the San Diego Smash. Sandwiched between those victories, Palm Beach Passion’s men’s and women’s teams both made quick work of the Miami Mayhem.
The moment Newberry described — descending into an NBA arena re-imagined as a sand-strewn battleground — was the AVP’s moonshot: to re-imagine the sport in lights, not solely sunlight.
“Playing in such an amazing place, brand new building, with everything going on, with the new building around here, it’s really cool,” said 2016 Olympian Chaim Schalk. “To get to play at such an iconic arena is an honor.”
Logan Webber of the L.A. Launch spikes over Chase Budinger of the San Diego Smash at the Intuit Dome on Friday night.
(Joe Scarnici / Getty Images)
Beach volleyball rarely has ventured beyond its coastal roots. But at the Intuit Dome, the sport embraced a new direction.
“This shows that beach volleyball is growing and it’s trying to adapt to the world we live in, finding a new way for fans to interact with the players, and new ways for the sport to be exciting,” said Chase Budinger, a former NBA player who became a beach volleyball player. “This will get more people in the stands because it’s so new and so different.”
In place of sun-worshiping fans camped out on makeshift bleachers, parents lounged on cushioned seats as kids nestled beside them balancing chicken wings and pizzas on their laps.
The sport welcomed a combination of newcomers hunting for Friday night entertainment and AVP devotees.
“There’s so many people who love beach volleyball, and so many people who would love beach volleyball if they were just given the opportunity to go watch,” Newberry said. “And not everybody can make it out.”
Change comes with tradeoffs. With no wind, the court became something of a power chamber — the compact sand lending itself to higher and cleaner jumps, the still air enabling blistering serves and monstrous spikes that might have drifted wide on the beach.
Rallies became quicker and tighter. The margin for error shrank, tightening the grip on the crowd.
“For a lot of people watching beach volleyball for the first time, it’s really hard to conceptualize how wind, how deep the sand is, might affect play,” Newberry said. “So it feels like more of an even playing field which allows everybody to watch really entertaining volleyball.”
By re-imagining the boundaries of where its sport can potentially thrive, the AVP might have sketched out a novel blueprint for other sports.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if other sports follow and start expanding their ideas of where they could play,” said Olympic silver medalist Brandie Wilkerson. “I’m excited to see where this is going to go and see other sports try to catch up.”
‘WHAT DEFINES GREATNESS?’ | First Take
