MEET THE STATISTICIANS BEHIND THE BROADCAST
NBC Broadcast Team won top Sports Emmy Award for Winter Olympic Games Coverage
Derek Surka— Member of Sports Emmy Winning Team
When Derek Surka first stepped onto the curling rink in high school, he could hardly have foreseen a future where he would be attending multiple Olympic Games.
"I did all right," Surka said. "I got to regionals and tournaments like that, but nothing too spectacular."
But he has now worked at four Winter Olympic Games, not as a competitor, but as an indispensable part of the research team working behind the scenes on the NBC broadcast. Along with his wife and fellow statistician Charrissa Lin, friend Kellie Krake, and many others, they put countless hours into preparation and exhaustive research to make the broadcasts come alive.
Surka and the rest of the curling statisticians were a small part of one of the biggest awards at this year's Annual Sports Emmy Awards. The Olympic Winter Games broadcast took the top award for Outstanding Live Sports Special against a field of nominees that also included the FIFA World Cup Final, Kentucky Derby, Super Bowl and World Series.
This is only the third time since 1976, and the first since 2002, that this honor has been awarded to the Winter Olympic Games broadcast.
So how did Surka find this unlikely route to the Olympics? It was a winding route that started with rekindling his love of the game while working in New Jersey.
"I was focused on my work in aerospace engineering, and my dad ran into an old friend of mine from high school back in Canada," Surka said. "Through that conversation, my dad reconnected me with Bill, who was a good friend of mine from when I was a kid. We were both in New Jersey, and he told me that there was a curling tournament coming up the next weekend."
Surka introduced Lin to the game and they continued to play, even as they moved cities for their careers. They became competitive nationally and even won the national championship in four-person mixed curling in 2013.
But it was through volunteering at the 2006 World Men's Curling Championship in Lowell, Massachusetts, that Surka and Lin made connections that opened up the off-rink side of the sport to them.
"We decided to help out at the world championships as volunteers, and I got to know the media folks at what was then known as USCA," Surka said. "I would tag along every time Charrissa would qualify for nationals, and I'd be like, 'hey, I'm here to help.'"
NBC was looking for a statistician for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and the USA Curling staff connected Surka with the opportunity to interview for the position, where he was ultimately selected.
Since his first Games in Vancouver, he has continued to cover every Winter Games since. During the broadcasts, Surka's role is to provide information, answer questions and provide interesting facts to the on-air announcers.
Surka's role has not changed fundamentally, but how he performs his duties has changed significantly.
"In 2010 there was no online connectivity in the arena," Surka said." I had my research on my computer, and I had binders printed out with a lot of the work I had done ahead of time. We had to know who all the teams were, how to pronounce their names, what their backgrounds were and what their history was.
"I would also do another analysis of their shooting percentages and how they would win games. Are they teams that were coming from behind or staying ahead? Now this stuff is all available online. But back then it was all done by hand."
But Surka is quick to praise the rest of his team at NBC and how their first-hand knowledge and research has grown over the years.
"The research team at NBC provides so much information. The announcers now know their stuff. It is getting harder and harder for me to find interesting things to give them that they don't already know or have access to."
Surka has seen the curling broadcast crew grow from one team in 2010, to now three dedicated teams each with their own statistician.
"Kellie Krake started in 2006 in a few other roles. And then my wife Charrissa came on as a researcher in the research room in Sochi. Now we're all statisticians, and we've all known each other from before with curling, so we make a great team. Between the games and before the games we're all working together to figure out what information we need to gather to make everyone look good and make the broadcast look good."
For all three of the statisticians, their work extends well beyond the time they log during the Olympic Games.
"The NBC team inspires creativity and commitment to highlighting the athletes as people, not just curlers," Krake said." As part of this team, I have dedicated years to researching and keeping on top of the state of curling in the U.S. and in other countries. I work in the span between the Winter Games to follow the athletes who dedicate their time, talents and financial and social resources."
For Lin, her work as a statistician has given her a new avenue to stay connected to the sport she loves.
"This has been a fun, exhausting, interesting experience," Lin said. "I always find it interesting to see how things are made—so to be able to be a part of the broadcast is really interesting. It's also a fun way to stay involved in our sport and helping others appreciate and love it too."
Working on the 2022 Games obviously looked very different for the statisticians as they covered the games remotely.
"I was back in Connecticut in 2022," Surka said. "No one went to Beijing. Normally I stand beside the announcers with sticky notes, but now it is virtual and we aren't even in the same room."
Krake says knowing the logistical hurdles that NBC had to overcome in 2022 made the Sports Emmy award that much more rewarding.
There have been numerous memorable moments from the Games for the team of statisticians. But for all three, they are most rewarded by the opportunity to share the sport they love with others.
"I feel very fortunate to be involved in the most impactful events to promote curling outside our established curling community," Krake said. "The Olympic Games hold a magic like no other sporting event."
Derek Surka and Charrissa Lin share a moment with Gold Medalist and NBC Commentator Tyler George at the NBC studios during the 2022 Games.
About USA Curling
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, USA Curling is the National Governing body for the Olympic sport of curling and the Paralympic sport of wheelchair curling in the United States. The mission of USA Curling is to grow, strengthen, and advocate for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of curling in the United States by prioritizing accessibility and programmatic development from grassroots to podium. USA Curling is sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, Twin Cities Orthopedics, Training HAUS, Toyota, ISS (Ice, Sports & Solar), Rock Solid Productions, IHG, and Laurie Artiss. USA Curling is a proud member of the World Curling Federation and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. To learn more, visit usacurling.org.
