During home games, you can usually find me on my perch located behind the scorer’s table. From there you get a fantastic view of the game, the crowd, and the entire spectacle that is a varsity event. And let me tell you, when all cylinders are firing, it is quite the beast. After thirteen months in my position as Events and Communications Coordinator for the Thunder, I have gained a real appreciation for the process itself and the myriad of individuals that contribute to making an individual game a success, regardless of the outcome on the scoreboard. To give you some insight into the effort that goes into making a Thunder home game happen, consider these numbers…
26: This is the approximate number of athletes participating in an indoor sport. The number shoots up considerably for outdoor sports, but as we are in the middle of the indoor season, we’ll focus on that. This is the easy one. Athletes are the most obvious contributors to home events. Sure, they get to play a sport they love and represent their school, but keep in mind that their participation doesn’t come without cost. Student athletes put in anywhere from 6-8 hours of practice and compete in 1 or 2 games a week. Add in their travel time to away games and you are looking at a commitment of around 20 hours per week, depending on where their away games take place.
6 or more: Most teams usually have at least three coaches; one head coach and a handful of assistants. Many of our coaches are former Algonquin students. They get an honorarium that is split between the coaching staff, but make no mistake; these coaches are in it for the love of the sport and not to get rich. Also, those coaches are putting in as many hours as their athletes are and even more as they are the ones responsible for planning practices, recruiting athletes, etc. That doesn’t even take into consideration their families or day jobs. It is a big commitment.
1: The Thunder have an athletic therapist at games. This is mandated by the OCAA and important for the health and safety of our athletes and those of visiting teams. We have a crackerjack staff that work during games AND practices to keep our teams strong and safe.
3 or 4: This is the number of referees working during an average game. In the case of basketball, this doubles as a different crew works each of the women’s and men’s games. Simply put, no game could or would happen without them.
25 + 1: Algonquin boasts one of the highest quality live streams in the OCAA. And that isn’t just me saying that, I have had coaches from other teams mention it to me. That doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of work, before, during, and after each game. According to TV Broadcasting professor David Grigg, each broadcast involves about five hours of prep work by about ten students and a two-hour meeting for the whole team the day prior to the event. On game day, all the students involved arrive six hours prior to the event for setup, meetings, pre-production and rehearsals. During the games, those students operate as camera people, sideline reporters, commentators, producers, directors, and a whole host of roles that I wouldn’t even know the terms for. They don’t get paid, but the games they cover provide invaluable practical experience that just can’t be simulated in the classroom. They also make us look really, really good, and I appreciate that greatly.
3: This is the number of talented student photographers that have worked for the Thunder this year in a rotation to cover our home games. Anytime you see a photo on a varsity promo poster or on our Twitter or Facebook accounts, it is more than likely they took it. It has been a joy to get pictures from our games back from them and those pictures invariably spark the most interest on our Facebook page. These are paid positions that help our aspiring photographers sharpen their skills while making some cash.
1 or 2: The Algonquin Times almost always has at least one reporter covering each game. Like the TV Broadcasting students, they are gaining valuable experience in their chosen field. They are also helping deepen the connection between the Thunder and the student body through their coverage of our events.
7: This is the number of students working the scorer’s table at a basketball game. For a volleyball game, it drops down to five. This crew commits to giving up most of their Friday and Saturday evenings between October and the end of February and are relied upon heavily as the scores and stats we track are all reported back to our sport governing body, the OCAA.
4: This reflects the number of students working as Events crew at a home event. They are responsible for setting up, tearing down, and switching the gym over for the next day’s activities after events. They also perform in game duties such as wiping up wet spots on the gym floor during basketball and maintaining a 3-ball rotation during volleyball games. These students do the grunt work that makes home games possible.
4: We also have four promotions team members working at each game. They carry out duties such as filming the game for the OCAA, selling merchandise, posting updates to social media, carrying out contests, and a variety of other tasks. They also work around campus during the week and at open houses and orientations promoting upcoming events and the program in general.
2: This accounts for the full-time Athletics staff on site during games. They oversee the staff and coordinate the various groups involved before, during, and after the games.
1 or 2: All of our varsity games have one or two security staff on hand. They are responsible for maintaining safety at the games. Though the hope is that you never need them, it is very comforting to know they are there, because sometimes people can be unruly and the safety of fans, athletes, and staff is always a prime concern.
1: This is Thor, our mascot. I shouldn’t have to explain his importance. Then again, what other kind of work is a 6’ wolf going to get into?
When you total that up, it is amazing to think that at an average sporting event at the college, there are more than 80 people there before the spectators even arrive. Some are students, some are community members, and some are full-time staff. The one thing they have in common is that they are all working really hard to deliver the best possible home event for Thunder fans, and that’s you! Go Thunder!