Wind in Our Sails

Americas Cup Behind the Scenes

Ever wonder how live sporting events are aired almost flawlessly, simultaneous to the action? Or how an announcer or journalist can get a story published within minutes of the event? Well, as I got to board a press boat during the semi-finals of the Louise Vitton Americas Cup in Valencia I witnessed first hand the organization and coordination of how television and news is shared and aired around the world.

After pages of paper work and verification are completed an official press pass is issued, our golden ticket. With it we gained access to the business center that had Internet, video news release (VNR) connectors, editing rooms, fax machines and of course free coffee. The press pass also allows you to arrange pre and post race interviews with the crew along with access to their staging and recording rooms. Lisa, my "translator and photographer," and I decided to join the other professionals on board the tech savvy press boat to get up close and personal with the course of action.

As a radio announcer geared up and a photo journalist charged his camera we prepared for the race. As a journalist it was my responsibility to catch all the action, I could not miss a moment of the race so certainly I find a front row position on deck. I heard multiple languages being spoken into headsets as the announcers conveyed the pre-race atmosphere to their listeners. Next thing I knew the preparatory signal sounded and the final countdown was underway....my pencil was ready.

As the race set sail we shuffled from starboard to port side of the boat watching every tack and jibe of the race, a gale of commotion. As shutters snapped away and my pencil scribbled along I was a bit lost in the flurry of commotion. Nonchalantly I glanced over at a Washington Post reporter's chicken scratch and wondered if he has the same trouble reading his own writing as I do? The actual races became a blur as I was so caught up in the whole production around me.

The news was literally being put together in front of us. The world of sports coverage is very fast paced yet casual and relaxed. Journalist from around the world all watch the same race but have their own spin on what they decide to share with their viewers. Each has a responsibility to tell the story but the genera and tone of the story is up to them. The writers are quick and precise and the technology allows the stories to be told almost simultaneous to the action. The scene is not glamorous or pretentious, but real and live.

As the racers round the last mark the anticipation increased as to how the days stories would conclude. The countries that are not doing well are hoping for that second wind to help their team along but ultimately the writers and editors do not care about the results as much as they care about making deadline. As soon as the race was over everyone was frantic to email the results and get to the home port for any sort of blurb they could persuade from the disembarking crew members. My attention was more drawn to the journalists and how they were doing their work.

Reporting off the record from the semi-finals of the Americas Cup. I leave my sea legs behind and join the other fans on land with a greater understanding of the press world. We are grateful to have had a sneak peak into the field of journalism.