Global home for professional surfing.
My yearlong work of backfilling the contest results databases laid the foundation for many enhancements to our fan-facing products, including broadcast and digital experiences.
I built Beach Data Layer, a new, API-driven scoring system. I have immense pride in having built the business case to develop this and to have executed it within budget and time constraints. I worked with over 25 stakeholders internationally to deliver a fully integrated solution to getting data off the beach and into our digital eco-system in realtime.
It was a beautiful day and went flawlessly. So many thanks are deserved for everyone who worked alongside me tirelessly towards this end. I will be forever proud of this achievement.
Heat Details modal shows all the advanced data captured from the new scoring system, and Heat Picks results below.
Heat Picks was another feature I conceived and executed. It allowed fans to vote for upcoming heat winners in the live UI, then calculated overall results and delivered via API to both digital and broadcast.
Heat Picks percentage for each athlete populates in a broadcast graphic at the start of each heat. This is the first direct integration between fans on our digital platforms that informs the broadcast directly. Commentators also use it as a valuable talking point throughout the competition.
I provided the early foundational work in the data, and then in our API to drive realtime Deep Stats in our broadcast. This is now a branded value proposition for our offering.
I drove the addition of replay into our live UI so that fans can catch up on the action if they arrive late. I also added two forms of a heat replay, full or condensed (waves only) so the experience is customizable.
Matchup and Event Group stats were conceived and created in my early years at WSL. By adding them to our API, we are able to display data on all digital products to drive engagement and awareness for fans.
World Surf League
I started as a product manager at World Surf League in January, 2016. Since then I have made many contributions to surfing that I am extremely proud of. The World Surf League (WSL) is very much like a startup. We make changes quickly and everyone assists across multiple business verticals.
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When I started, my goal was to develop a solution for their in-house fantasy product. But my journey forked many times to include development of new athlete performance metrics, API building and integrations, creating an entirely new scoring system, ethnographic research in an agile pod, building a program for judge evaluations, and even contributing to new event formats and sport rules.
I will always cherish my time with the WSL, where I learned what is possible with determination and a positive attitude (but more likely attributed to painstaking attention to detail, extreme organization and communication).
Data cleanup
The first thing I set out to do at WSL was clean up and backfill historic data. While I had this at Surf Stats, it was privately purchased so I had to do it again at WSL. This took time, but I got it right and did it better. I added something called Event Groups to the events data, so we could now link specific event lineages over time to drive advanced stats on a location basis. Eventually, these metrics would be branded in our broadcast as Deep Stats, and I spent my first year developing the foundation for that value proposition.
New API scoring system
Once we were confident in our athlete data, I wanted to have it in real-time. The scoring system we were using was a legacy solution. It worked well on the beach, but wasn't built to integrate well with the rest of our ecosystem. The data output was FTP and often filled with manual errors, which negatively impacted our end-product.
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I made the business case for a new scoring system that would deliver real-time data, enhance statistics and integrate with our API to distribute to the Core Stack, into our broadcast graphics and digital properties.
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The result was Beach Data Layer, a fully integrated, secure and API driven scoring system. We launched on time and under budget with hardware distributed to seven regions and all operators trained. This was a massive scale effort with many stakeholders and companywide involvement. For more details, click here to see the Beach Data Layer Case Study.
Deep stats and enhancing the fan experience
With confidence in our historic data and the new scoring system in full swing, I created stats APIs to drive an enhanced user experience. This was delivered in our broadcast as Deep Stats, which provides matchup data, career results and event group statistics.
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On our digital platforms (web, iOS, Android and tvOS) we were able to serve these same metrics that created a more robust live viewing experience. Heat details now provided surf conditions and a full display of everything a fan might want to know about a heat. If it is an upcoming heat, we display matchup data and career stats for the location to drive value. This is one of my proudest contributions to surfing, as it set us on the same stage as other major global sports.
Heat Picks game
Heat Picks was a simple feature I conceived, managed and launched. It is an easy-to-play game where fans select who they think will win an upcoming heat. Pick percentages are shown on their digital frontend, then we use Firebase to quickly calculate the overall percentages. When the heat starts, we send the percentages to broadcast in our API and it populates a graphic overlay. This provides fans and the broadcast team with a valuable baseline for upsets and talking points.
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Heat Picks was originally intended as a full game, but we launched as an MVP first and determined that it further development costs would not be justified. By this point in my career, I understand the importance of staying lean, even at a larger company.
Key takeaways
I can't express the pride I feel when I look back on my accomplishments at the World Surf League. I have grown immensely as a person and product manager. The World Surf League has given me the confidence to provide value in a corporate setting and lead teams to success in a complex environment with many stakeholders.
Next Chapter: Order For Me