"The sport deserves better data. We are providing it."
Tug of war is a sport contested at the Olympic level — formally, from 1900 to 1920, and informally in the hearts of competitors everywhere since. Yet the analytics infrastructure supporting this discipline remains, generously described, primitive. Teams are assembled by feel. Weight distributions are estimated. Rope tension coefficients are ignored entirely.
This is a data problem. CT noticed it at a company picnic. A team CT was not on won. CT has thought about it since.
Tug of War Calculator™ is a browser-based optimization platform that inputs team composition variables and outputs a predicted outcome with statistical confidence. The calculator accounts for 7 proprietary variables:
Results are presented as a win probability percentage for each team, a recommended optimal lineup order, and a disclaimer noting that tug of war outcomes are not fully deterministic and CT is not liable for picnic losses.
Tug of war is practiced across school athletics programs, corporate team-building events, county fairs, and international competition circuits. The World Tug of War Association has member nations on six continents. CT has not contacted the World Tug of War Association but considers this a business development opportunity pending the raise.
If 0.01% of corporate team-building events globally used a tug of war optimization tool at $9.99 per calculation, the revenue potential is a number CT calculated and then became less excited about. The important thing is the vision.
As of the time of writing, there are no other dedicated tug of war analytics platforms. CT searched. There is a physics homework problem generator that includes tug of war scenarios, but it does not account for footwear. This is a greenfield market, which is either a tremendous opportunity or an indication of something CT prefers not to think about.
CT — Founder, Developer, Amateur Rope Dynamics Enthusiast. Competed in tug of war once (company picnic, 2023; lost). This experience was formative. CT holds no credentials in physics, sports science, or rope-related disciplines, but has read the Wikipedia article on tension forces twice and watched a documentary about Olympic tug of war that he found compelling.