Full graphics, multiple camera angles and play-by-play
commentary are all part of a game plan fostered by a local
community-access cable channel to broadcast local football games
this fall, which could include the Balers of San Benito High
School.
Full graphics, multiple camera angles and play-by-play commentary are all part of a game plan fostered by a local community-access cable channel to broadcast local football games this fall, which could include the Balers of San Benito High School.
Community Access Media Partnership, a nonprofit community media center based out of Gavilan College, already has teamed up with Gilroy High School to cover varsity football home games beginning with the 2005-06 season.
Suzanne St. John-Crane, executive director of CMAP, said coverage of San Benito High School home varsity football games also is likely, pending final approval from the high school’s principal.
“I think it’s great,” said San Benito High athletic director Tod Thatcher. “They used to do broadcast the games on channel 17 or 34 and it was good. I look forward to us getting back on the TV.”
Games will be taped using a portable studio with a graphics machine and at least three digital cameras to provide a variety of angles. St. John-Crane said she also hopes to recruit a couple of sportscasters, one for color commentary and another for play-by-play.
The games will not be aired live so they won’t compete with ticket revenue at the gate. Recordings will show games in their entirety with no editing, although St. John-Crane said future possibilities include slow-motion replays and other technical features.
A team of two staff members and four volunteers from CMAP will staff each game, but St. John-Crane is hopeful more volunteers from the community will want to help as the broadcasts gain momentum.
“It’s really popular programming. Parents and students alike will appreciate being able to … see themselves or their children playing on TV,” she said.
CMAP already owns all of the equipment needed to broadcast the games, aside from a constant stock of video tapes to keep the taped games on file. The hope is that costs for the tapes, as well as for food for the crew, staff time and commentators, will be covered by underwriting spots to local businesses, St. John-Crane said.
The spots will not be advertisements, but brief overlays of the name of the supporting business as well as contact information and a note of thanks for support from CMAP.
Although CMAP has dabbled in local sports broadcasting in the past – a couple of Gavilan basketball games two years ago and a swim meet at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill last year – this is the first full-blown effort to cover an entire season.
Likewise, this is the first time in at least 20 years that GHS football games will be broadcast, said head coach Darren Yafai.
A couple of years ago, a Gavilan student who filmed basketball and baseball games for the college contacted CMAP about possibly filming football games for the high school. But when the student transferred out of state, the plan fell through and there wasn’t enough staff or volunteer support to keep it going.
“I’m all for it,” Yafai said. “I’ve always envied and admired the communities that have their games broadcast on radio or local television. I think it’ll be a neat thing, and it will give Gilroy High football some community exposure.”
Covering the games this fall is a realistic start for CMAP to eventually broadcast a number of other local sports, St. John-Crane said.
“The intent is, the more volunteers and the more interest we get, we’ll able to expand to other sports,” she said. “We’ll see where it goes.”
St. John-Crane said a number of parents and community members have contacted CMAP over the years asking if there were plans to cover local high school sports, something St. John-Crane said she’s been “very passionate” about for a while. The biggest setback has been a lack of staff and volunteers to pull it off.
“The reality is, it takes a lot of people and energy to get it done. It’s time consuming,” she said. “We finally just kind of decided, OK, we’re going to do this.”
Before coming to CMAP, St. John-Crane worked at a community television station in Santa Cruz where she directed broadcasting of Santa Spirit, an amateur adult football league. She said she loved it, and hopes the appeal of directing sports will catch on and build a pool of core volunteers, who could help expand the program in the future.
“(Sports) is one of the most exciting things you can direct. It’s an adrenaline rush, and it’s a lot of fun,” she said. “I’m a big football fan, and I like not being a passive viewer but choosing the cameras and the angles. As director, it’s an exciting challenge.”
To volunteer with CMAP to broadcast local high school varsity football games this fall, call 846-4983.
