Everyone knows about Hockey Night in Canada but not as many people may know about a team of broadcast pros that shine a little light on Junior Hockey in the WHL. Shaw TV has been broadcasting a season schedule of games across western Canada for at least 5 years now. I say 5 years because that is how long I've been freelancing on the crew whenever it's in this part of the province.
There are usually 3-4 games in the season that get TV coverage whether in Lethbridge or in Medicine Hat. I'm usually hired for the handheld camera in one of the corners although I did do one game last season on the primary play-by-play camera. There has been some good hockey over the years including two Eastern WHL finals and the classic league final between the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Vancouver Giants that went into double overtime. Running a handheld camera starts to take its toll on the shoulder by the third period. Going five periods that night was something else! The players aren't the only ones feeling a little beatup after a game.
Each crew consists of about 15 people all with specific responsibilities. Shaw has 3-4 people on staff in the moblie and the rest of the crew is made up of freelance people. Each game takes about a day and a half to setup the cables, cameras and the gear that is needed for the broadcast. It takes an average of one hour to tear everything down and load the mobile.
On most nights the host of the WHL on Shaw is in Vancouver but because of the Olympics, Dan Elliot was with us in Medicine Hat for the game between the Tigers and Prince Albert. For a camera person having the entire show produced out of the same arena means no intermission breaks and some running back and forth to multiple camera locations for interviews between periods.
It's a great way to watch a hockey game through the viewfinder of a camera. The Olympic Games in Vancouver provide a bit of a break before the crew digs in for the playoff run and television coverage to the end of the season.
