AN INTRODUCTION
In this first blog post, I am going to introduce myself, my motivations behind creating lean curling, and outline my objectives for this blog.
about me
My name is Jotham Sugden, and I am a competitive curler from England, with over 50 appearances for my country. I am very interested in the underlying mechanisms behind sports performance, and I am always trying to better understand how curlers can improve, using evidence-based practice. I have qualified as a curling coach and as an ice technician, giving me a range of perspectives to analyse the game from.
In 2023, I graduated from Lancaster University with a First-Class Sports and Exercise Science BSc. For my dissertation research project, I investigated sweeping performance analysis, using a SmartBroom 2.0, and became familiar with the available scientific research within curling. This led to me developing several tests to analyse key sweeping performance attributes. I am constantly looking to improve my understanding of curling performance and discuss the topic with others.
what is lean ?
I created lean curling in 2023 as a platform to discuss the science of curling performance, with 3 main objectives:
To share and analyse curling research evidence.
Continue to learn more about the underlying mechanisms behind curling performance.
Encourage people to improve their own curling performance, through scientific understanding.
I have also outlined 3 values which I will incorporate into my blog, to ensure that it is as accurate, interesting, and useful as possible:
Ensure conclusions are evidence-based.
Avoid or acknowledge potential bias.
Summarise answers to complex questions as simply as possible.
evidence-based practice
I am a firm believer in evidence-based practice. This is a framework that curlers can use to improve their performance. Evidence-based practice comprises of:
Using the best possible research evidence.
Drawing upon expertise and past curling experience.
Taking induvial preferences into account.
My aim is to ensure that the lean science blog contributes towards evidence-based practice, and to encourage others to incorporate this framework into their own curling.
coming up…
How can evidence-based practice be used to improve curling performance?
An in-depth look into evidence-based practice.
The key benefits in our sport.
Steps you can take to implement evidence-based practice.
