Eyes across Ontario were on Niagara-on-the-Lake this weekend as YourTV Niagara broadcasted the NOTL PIckleball Classic tournament across a number of its partner systems.
Cable subscribers in locations as far afield as Windsor, North Bay and Smiths Falls were able to follow the action Friday through Sunday as a crew of producers and volunteers were on site at the Meridian Credit Union Arena all three days.
To producer Rich Ewtuchovich’s knowledge, none of the 16 other YourTV systems across the province had attempted to cover a pickleball tournament prior to this weekend.
“I guess that makes us pioneers,” he laughed.
What viewers saw on their television screens was the culmination of over four months of planning and preparation.
“I think it was back in February when we saw the announcement about the tournament,” says Jack Custers, YourTV’s manager of programming and community relations. “I reached out to the organizer, John Hindle, and he was very interested. From that point on we met on a regular basis to go over the details and to figure out where it would be best to shoot from.”
With six courts in use simultaneously on each arena floor, it wouldn't be possible for YourTV to air every game. The decision was made to focus the broadcast on a single centre court at the Meridian Credit Union Arena.
“The committee worked with us to try to schedule the more high profile games on that court so we could get some of the best players and the best competition possible,” says Custers. “The way we placed our cameras, though, we could cut to the action on other courts in that arena when we needed.”
The centre court was also the sole focus of activity for Friday night’s opening event, a professional exhibition that saw two teams of expert pickleball players face-off to capture a $2,000 prize.
Custers says NOTL parks and recreation staff were incredible in working with the production crew on their requirements to pull off the broadcast.
“We had to get into the arena a number of times,” Custers says. “They allowed us to mount some special brackets to hold our robotic cameras. We had to run electrical wiring to ensure our mobile had enough power for our equipment. And we needed a special internet connection. The town worked with us to run a temporary Cogeco fibre line to the arena so we could go live.”
Ewtuchovich took the lead on the production with help from fellow producer Anthony Luongo, the two of them visiting the arena with Custers a number of times prior to the event to scope out the best camera angles and figure out how to run cable without disrupting the flow on the floor.
Ewtuchovich created the mounts for six robotic cameras. Five were mounted up top on the spectator tier; the fifth one was mounted in the corner, affixed to the glass above the boards. There were three mobile cameras, including one on a jib, while two were manned by volunteers. A 10th camera was fixated on the score clock for Friday night’s professional pickleball exhibition match.
“It’s a lot like doing a tennis match,” Ewtuchovich tells The Local. “With tennis, you usually have one main shot looking down from the end. That’s why we set up a jib. The rest of the cameras shot from the side of the court. Most of the action in pickleball is closer to the net, so there’s not a lot of long shots. Our camera operators were getting most of the action in the kitchen (the centre area on either side of the net).”
The crew had a chance to test out their angles and their technical specifications about two weeks before the tournament when Hindle agreed to organize a practice tournament with NOTL club members on site.
“It gave us an idea as to how the game was played,” says Custers. “The guys were able to get familiar with the rules, too. It also gave us a chance to talk to some of the organizers and local club members, who were all so helpful.”
Ewtuchovich and Luongo spent the weekend at the arena taking on various technical jobs, with Custers spelling them off on Sunday. Volunteers Josh Blyth-Whittle, Conner Croft and Zachary Williamson operated the cameras, while another volunteer, Bob Clemes, took the role of the ever-important floor director, communicating from courtside back to the mobile production truck and to the play-by-play desk.
That desk was set up at the top of the spectator deck. Niagara College broadcasting student Noah Vogel was responsible for calling the play-by-play with help from Hindle, pickleball consultant Mike Robinson, NOTL club pro Adam Eatock and others with connections to the sport.
Luongo confirms that the broadcast went on without a snag, other than a few moments when there were gaps in action on the TV court and they had to fill the air time with pre-recorded material.
“We’ve gotten some feedback from a few people who said the YourTV coverage was excellent,” Hindle says. “And the fact that it was shown in other areas helped us to use this tournament as an ambassador for the sport. It was all about growing the game.”
YourTV will be replaying the pickleball action later this week. Check the schedule on their website at yourtv.tv/niagara for days and times.