AFC Totton
AFC TOTTON FANZONE
BIDEFORD AFC vs AFC TOTTON
A FREE to enter Trial Event at the Snows Stadium
Sponsored by
AGILE CARPENTRY
Tuesday 29 March 2022
LIVE in the Straker's Bar
Broadcasting from 7:15pm
The weather-affected fixture list has been kind to AFC Totton fans throughout February and March, giving us eight consecutive home matches in all competitions to enjoy or endure, depending upon your point-of-view.
One interesting aspect of the rescheduled schedule is a good, old-fashioned double-header against Bideford AFC. The Robins swooped into Totton on Saturday 29 March for the last of our run of home games. And now, the Stags - together with new Manager Jimmy Ball - make the 295-mile round trip to Devon just three days later to contest the return fixture at the 6,000-capacity Sports Ground in Bideford, for our first away match since the impressive 2-0 victory at Frome Town.
While many Stags fans would like to go to the game – and some still will, of course – such a long journey, that will inevitably mean returning home in the early hours of the following morning, is simply infeasible for many people on a Tuesday night, whether due to work, family or other social commitments, age or ill-health.
Luckily for us, AFC Totton is blessed with a talented volunteer Media Team (if we do say so, ourselves!) who are capable of bringing the game to the Snows Stadium – and that’s what the team behind the excellent StagsRadio service and the AFC Totton TV YouTube channel are going to do.
Broadcasting live from The Sports Ground, Bideford from 7:15pm on Tuesday 29 March, Producer Doug Webber and Lead Commentator Benjy Rees will bring you live match commentary over the pictures from Videographer Harrison Read on the main camera, as the centrepiece of a trial event that will allow the three recent graduates of the MA Sports Broadcast Journalism course at Solent University to put their skills to the test. The broadcast will be made available on a restricted URL, only accessible on-screen in the Straker’s Bar with Executive Club Host Kevin Wallace overseeing the technicalities at the Snows Stadium.
Supported by Club Secretary Richard Matthews on co-commentary duties and student volunteer Olly Howard on the Twitter updates, it’s an exciting opportunity for Doug, Benjy and Harrison, who worked together on a similar broadcast for the Hampshire Senior Cup Final between AFC Bournemouth and Eastleigh at the Snows Stadium at the end of last season, which led to them becoming involved with the Stags at the beginning of this campaign.
“StagsRadio has been a great success and we’ve had a lot of positive feedback. And in the short time since Harrison joined us from Sholing, he’s created some excellent videos that the players enjoy being a part of,” said Doug Webber, who Totton fans will recognise as the taller microphone-wielding reporter who often conducts post-match interviews on the pitch immediately after home and away matches.
“On this occasion, we’ll get to work with graphics and, as Producer, I’ll be in charge of ensuring the sound and pictures track with one another and everything runs smoothly. We know the sort of issues we’re likely to encounter and we’re confident that we can produce an enjoyable, entertaining product – as long as the football is up to scratch, too, of course!”
In addition to his work with AFC Totton, Benjy Rees has also commentated on Ultimate Frisbee for a YouTube channel, as well as organising weekend tournaments devoted to the sport, featuring several teams who travel from far and wide to take part. So, the man from Gosport brings some valuable experience to the team.
“We haven’t previously done a lot of direct-to-camera work, which we are planning to do at Bideford,” says Benjy. “That will make for an interesting challenge that I’m looking forward to tackling. We plan meticulously and, as such, we will be well-prepared on the night.”
Harrison Read, who will be pitch-side with a mobile video camera, is also relishing the prospect of shooting on location:
“We won’t have the opportunity to visit Bideford ahead of the match, so we’ll have to be mindful of the many variables that could impact us,” he said. “The strength of communications signals and the amount of physical space we’ll have to move and work in will test our capabilities and our professionalism, but being able to rise to those challenges is what our university course was all about. I’m particularly looking forward to shooting for a live broadcast, as opposed to compiling B-roll footage to be edited into a package later on.”
Producer Doug adds: “Essentially, this event is about bringing the game to those fans who can’t make that long journey during mid-week, but it’s also a chance for us to demonstrate Proof of Concept – that we can do the things that we’ve been talking about doing since we began volunteering with the Club – and to provide a portfolio piece for all of us, that will help us to make further progress in our own professional careers.”
Generously sponsored by local company Agile Carpentry, the match will be broadcast in the Straker’s Bar with FREE entry on the night. The broadcast will begin at 7:15pm, the bar will be open and food will also be available. Matchday Programme Editor Ben Rochey-Adams and the Club’s Official Photographer Craig Hobbs will both be there – and we hope to see many of you, too, to help us cheer on the Stags on the telly!
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography
