New Broadcasting Technology added to CHS Turf

By Ari Perlini, 2020

Published 10/03/19

Cheshire High School athletics has a reputation for its atmosphere at games with cheering and support from students and parents, however, some people are unable to attend these games for various reasons. Now, through the National Federation of High School Network, all the games played on the Cheshire High School turf will be broadcasted live.

The work schedules of adults are getting busier and, “it is harder for people to get to contests, so many schools go to this network,” said Steve Trifone, the athletic director at Cheshire High School. Parents and family members no longer have to worry about rushing to the games after work because they can easily watch it off their phone.

The field hockey coach at CHS, Eileen Wildermann, gave her input on how the broadcasts benefit those away at college: “It allows siblings who are in college to watch and alumni who like to watch their former teammates play can now watch the games on their own time.” With a price of $9 a month, anyone can create a membership and join the network. The network does not limit you to only watching games from Cheshire; you can view any high school game in the United States, as long as that school uses this network.

The new Pixellot Camera is being used to record the games. This is a stationary camera, so in order to capture the movement of the game, the camera switches lenses, creating a clean transition as the game moves up and down the field. The broadcast captures the voice of the announcer and has the scoreboard hooked up to it, allowing the audience to view the score on the bottom of the screen.

Although these cameras are extremely expensive, the school is pushing to install one in each of our gyms. Rather than only broadcasting games outside on the turf, they want to start recording games played inside. However, this will not happen for a few years due to cost. While these cameras may be expensive, the benefits they offer to the school re worth the price and will be a useful resource for many.