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FTG News Line Archive
08/06/05: At least 30 games a day aired from 119-team tourney Technology has merged with the ASA 14-and-under Fast-pitch Softball National Championships, and now the tournament is as close as your computer. Want to listen to a game? Go to www.teamipevents.com to hear the live streaming audio broadcast with Whitesville Trinity High's baseball coach, Walter Estes, at the microphone. "This is March Madness for these teams," said Estes, who has 20 years of radio broadcasting experience, doing Hancock County football and boys' basketball games. "They live and die with softball. "Every one of these teams has a story to tell, and we're glad to tell it." The week-long tournament is being played at Panther Creek and Jack C. Fisher parks in Owensboro, but the broadcast is taking place at only one field at Fisher Park. However, Estes gets information from all the fields and updates the other games periodically. Jim Voyles, the president of Team IP Events, wanted to make the 119-team national tournament something special and worked a deal to get it on the air. Owensboro's Fox Technology Group is taking the closed-circuit broadcast and putting it on the Internet through the Team IP Web site. But if you're at Fisher Park today, where all the remaining games will be played, you can hear Estes on a wireless earphone called a Smart Bug, which rents for $3 a day and receives the broadcast within about a mile radius of the park. "When it's on the radio, it's a big deal," Estes said. "Parents and relatives who couldn't make the trip here can keep up with their teams. We've gotten e-mails from people saying they appreciate it, or how can they get hooked up." The webcast is free. Voyles said each game broadcast gets 50 to 60 hits, including ASA headquarters in Oklahoma City. "That might not seem like a lot, but the numbers will grow and grow," he said. "It adds some prestige to a prestigious event." Owensboro is expected to host the same tournament for 18-and-under next year, and Voyles is looking into adding a webcam for a video broadcast on one field. By the end of the tournament, Estes will have broadcast more than 30 games. It's a long day, considering that games begin at 9 a.m. daily and go until dark. His grandson, Justin Wink, helps with scorekeeping duties so Estes can focus on calling the game. "My voice is doing all right," he said Friday morning before the start of another marathon session. "I drink a lot of water." Occasionally, he'll need a break and Voyles or other Team IP members will take over. Estes is never at a shortage for words, but on-air interviews come in handy. "I'll have a parent or a coach from each game we broadcast come up and we'll talk," he said. "Everybody loves to be on the radio, and they love to talk about their teams. "Nine out of 10 people who come up here will have their pictures taken by a friend. It's like being a celebrity." Estes got the gig thanks to Voyles, with whom he's worked before on other events. "There's a big market for this, and it's not so much the logistics," Voyles said. "It's having a good announcer to do it, and Walter is a professional." David Marin, the Southern California ASA commissioner for the 14s age division, said the webcast is a treat for the people back home. His association alone had 19 teams qualify for this tournament and listeners might get the idea that it's a Southern California-only event. As of Friday morning, 10 of his teams were still in the winners' bracket. "The weather permits us to play 11 months a year," Marin said. "With about 20 million people in our (Los Angeles-San Diego) area, we've got more than 750 teams." |
8-1-05: FTG Streams National Softball Tourney