Space evaluation based on pitch control using drone video in Ultimate
It addresses a gap in sports analytics for Ultimate, providing a domain-specific tool for analyzing offensive strategies, though it is incremental as it adapts an existing model from soccer.
This study tackled the problem of evaluating space in Ultimate, a sport where the disc-holder cannot move, by adapting a soccer pitch control model to 3-on-3 gameplay using drone-collected positional data, finding that movement to create space and accurate passing are significant for scoring.
Ultimate is a sport in which teams of seven players compete for points by passing a disc into the end zone. A distinctive aspect of Ultimate is that the player holding the disc is unable to move, underscoring the significance of creating space to receive passes. Despite extensive research into space evaluation in sports such as football and basketball, there is a paucity of information available for Ultimate. This study focuses on the 3-on-3 format, which is widely practiced in Ultimate, and evaluates space during offensive play. The data collection process entailed the use of drones for filming and the subsequent correction of the angles for the purpose of obtaining positional data. The model is derived from the pitch control model of soccer and adapted to the rules of Ultimate, where the player holding the disc is stationary. The integration of position and distance weights with pitch control values enables the derivation of space evaluation metrics. The findings of this study indicate that movement to create space and accurate passing into that space are both significant factors in scoring. The code is available at https://github.com/shunsuke-iwashita/USO.