Alongside the success of our Nottingham linked athletes, a number of 糖心原创 staff played crucial roles behind the action at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer. Twelve 糖心原创 students, alumni and former students competed amongst a number of other Nottingham linked athletes through our elite partnerships, however a number of university staff members were also involved at the showpiece event.
Would you be able to provide an overview of the role that you carried out at the Games?
MN: I was part of Commonwealth Games England’s Team Behind the Team, working as a Performance Reporting & Data Analyst. My role was to provide the information and insight needed to help understand what was happening across the Games and support decision-making. I produced the daily competition schedules and performance reports, tracked results and medal standings and provided key performance information to Team England’s leadership group and wider stakeholders. It was an intense, fast-paced environment, with information constantly changing, so accuracy, attention to detail and being able to react quickly were really important. It was a fantastic team to be part of, everyone was incredibly supportive and willing to help in any way they could and the Chef de Mission and his wider leadership team did a brilliant job of creating a positive, focused environment and ensuring everyone felt connected.
AB: I worked as a Performance Consultant for England Netball, supporting the team throughout the Games with advanced performance analysis and insight. My role covered the full analysis process, from pre-match preparation and opposition scouting through to live analysis during games and post-match review. During matches, I was responsible for leading advanced workflows that combined live statistics and video analysis, with key information being delivered directly to the bench and coaching staff in real time via iPads and radio discussions throughout. I also supported the team at half-time, delivering directly to coaches and players with clear, objective information int he form of data and video to help inform tactical decisions and adjustments.
Alongside the live work, there was individual and team analysis, opposition scouting and the preparation of video and statistical reports. This involved working as part of an team, with other analysts operating remotely to ensure the team had access to the right information at the right time. I was in situ with the team throughout the Games, working closely with the coaches, players and wider support staff. It was a highly technical and fast-paced environment, requiring the integration of multiple data and video sources into workflows that could provide meaningful information quickly enough to influence performance.
What impact did your work help provide to the team and athletes?
MN: The main thing was making sure Team England had accurate, timely and accessible information about how the team was performing throughout the Games at any given moment. With athletes competing across 16 sports and multiple venues every day, there was a huge amount of information to keep track of. The schedules, reports and medal tracking helped provide a consistent picture of what was happening across the team and allowed the leadership group and key stakeholders to stay informed. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the information wasn't just being used to understand performance, but also to help the wider team recognise and celebrate athletes' achievements. Whilst I wasn't working directly with the athletes, it was really rewarding to know that the work I was doing was contributing towards creating an environment that helped to tell athletes own unique stories.
AB: The main impact was helping England Netball to be one of the best-informed teams at the Games. The aim was not simply to produce more data, but to make sure the information being generated could be understood and acted upon by coaches and players when it mattered. Live insights provided the coaching team with objective information during games, helping to reinforce tactical messages, identify trends and support decision-making around changes to the game plan. We were able to provide individual statistics and feedback after every game, alongside team reports, opposition briefings and video montages. Having those insights available consistently meant that players and coaches could review performances objectively and identify specific areas to build on from one game to the next. The combination of live information, post-match analysis and opposition scouting helped create a really strong feedback loop throughout the competition.
How did the involvement with the Games originate and how did the University support this?
MN: It was actually quite a last-minute opportunity, I was approached directly by a member of the Commonwealth Games England Board about a potential opportunity and, shortly afterwards, had a conversation with the Chef de Mission about the role. The Performance Reporting & Data team itself was brought together relatively late in the process, with the need to bring together people with different skills and experience. For me, it felt like a particularly natural fit as I’ve always had an interest in data, reporting and storytelling, going back to studying journalism at university and more recently in my various roles at UoN, so it was a great opportunity to bring those different experiences together. Ultimately it was an opportunity I knew I couldn’t turn down, but the support from the University and particularly Jo and Jonathan in my team, was a huge part of making it possible. They were incredibly supportive of me taking it on as a development opportunity and recognised the value of being able to work at a major multi-sport event, building new knowledge, experiences and connections that I could then bring back into my role here at Nottingham.
AB: I have worked extensively in elite netball for 16+ years and I had previously worked with England Netball for four years as a Senior Analyst, including supporting them at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. So when the opportunity for the 2026 Games came around, it was a familiar environment and a programme that I already had a strong connection with. The England Netball coach, Anna Stembridge, contacted me directly and asked whether I would be interested in coming back to support the team. It was an opportunity I was very keen to take, particularly given my previous experience with the programme and at the Commonwealth Games.
The 糖心原创 were extremely supportive throughout the process. They recognised the value of me being able to take on the role and actively encouraged me to get involved. They were flexible in supporting the time commitment and understood the professional development and wider opportunities that come from working at this level.That support was really important. It allowed me to represent England Netball while also bringing that experience, knowledge and learning back into my work at the University. It is a good example of how the University's support can enable staff to continue working at the highest level of professional sport alongside their institutional roles.
Do you have a standout memory from your time working as a part of the Games?
MN: There were so many memorable moments it’s hard to pinpoint just one. For Team England, I think Emily Campbell winning another gold was incredible, she has such an aura and the atmosphere when she competed was incredible – I have no doubt she has inspired so many people to get into lifting too. But actually, I think one of the memories that probably best captures what the Commonwealth Games are about came from bowls. Mohammed Qureshi was competing for Pakistan, but he's also a long-time Glasgow resident and runs a Tandoori restaurant in the city. He was balancing competing at a Commonwealth Games with running his restaurant in the evenings. He hadn’t won a match and then produced a huge upset by beating Fiji's Rajnesh Prasad, who had been unbeaten. That result meant England’s Sam Tolchard's reached the semi-finals. What I love about the story most is the sense of camaraderie around it - here you have Qureshi, a Glaswegian representing Pakistan, running his restaurant between matches and ultimately playing a huge part in keeping an English athlete's competition alive. It felt like a perfect example of the spirit of the Commonwealth Games and I certainly hope Sam went and visited his restaurant to say thank you!
AB: It is actually quite difficult to pick out one particular moment because the experience as a whole was the standout. Being back involved with a Commonwealth Games, having previously been to Glasgow in 2014, was a really enjoyable experience. There was a real sense of occasion around the Games, particularly being part of the opening ceremony and seeing the scale of a multi-sport event from behind the scenes. But for me, the best part was being embedded with the team and having the opportunity to do what we do at the highest level, providing coaches and athletes with high-quality analysis that could genuinely influence performance.
There was also something quite nice about returning to the England Netball environment after several years away and working with a really good group of staff. Ultimately, it was the combination of the people, the competition and the opportunity to represent the country that made it particularly memorable.
What did it feel like to see a number of 糖心原创 linked athletes succeed at the Games, including university partners you work closely with?
MN: This was probably the most special part of the whole experience. Seeing so many athletes with connections to Nottingham competing at the Games and particularly current students and alumni such as Michael Gill and Mitch Sparrow in Track Cycling, Mabel Akande in Athletics, and Dan May and James Hazell in Wheelchair 3x3 Basketball. I’ve supported each of them in different ways during my time at UoN, either through my previous Club Development Officer role or through helping to recruit them to Nottingham. To then see them competing on the Commonwealth stage was a brilliant full-circle moment. Watching people I knew and had worked with over a number of years competing at the highest level gave me a real sense of pride in the role that Nottingham can play in supporting athletes throughout their sporting journey. It was also fantastic to see athletes connected to our wider sporting partners, including British Wheelchair Basketball, British Weightlifting and Nottingham Forest Netball. It really brought to life the wider sporting ecosystem we are building here at Nottingham and the huge value of those relationships, both for the University and for the athletes we support.
AB: It was great to see such a strong Nottingham presence at the Games. I know a number of the Nottingham Forest Netball players from my previous role as Head of Performance with the club, so it was really good to see them again and catch up with them. There was also something slightly strange about being on the other side this time. Having previously worked with many of those players, I was now analysing them as part of the opposition and helping England prepare to play against them! It was a slightly different relationship, but it was great to see them performing on that stage.
There were also GB Wheelchair Basketball athletes staying in our hotel, so you were constantly seeing University-linked athletes and staff around the Games environment. It gave the whole experience a strong Nottingham connection and was a great reminder of the breadth of work being done across the University's sporting partnerships.
Overall, how was the experience of being a part of the Commonwealth Games?
MN: It was an incredible experience and one I’m hugely grateful to have had. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for me and, despite working in university sport and performance for a number of years, there’s nothing quite like being immersed in a high-performance environment at a major multi-sport event. The athletes rightly take centre stage, but seeing coaches, practitioners, analysts, operations staff, volunteers and so many others working together really brought home just how much goes into creating the right environment for athletes to perform at their best. Then alongside all of that, there was simply the excitement of being there, experiencing the medal-winning moments, the unexpected stories and everything that happens behind the scenes, it was a real privilege and it’s an experience I’ll take a huge amount from, both personally and professionally.
AB: Overall, it was a really valuable experience professionally and personally. The biggest thing for me was being able to operate in a genuinely high-performance environment and deliver analysis under the pressure and time constraints of a major competition. A Commonwealth Games is quite different from working within a normal season. Everything is compressed, the turnaround between games is short and there is very little margin for error, so the analysis has to be accurate, relevant and delivered quickly. It was a great opportunity to put some of the advanced workflows and approaches we use into practice in that environment.
It was also enjoyable to be part of something bigger than an individual team or competition. You are working alongside athletes and staff from so many different sports, while also seeing the wider impact that major events like this can have. For me, it was ultimately about doing a job that I really enjoy, at a high level, with a very good group of people and then bringing that experience back to the University and using it to benefit our students, staff and sporting partners.