Photo by Richard Chen/The Choate News
Prior to the 2021-22 school year, the school installed cameras with a new provider, LocalLive, with the purpose of streaming live athletic contests to the Choate community. So far, the cameras have been installed on the basketball and squash courts, the hockey rink, as well as on outdoor fields. With the new live stream system, students, faculty, parents, and anyone with access, can watch sports games while still staying safe while observing Covid-19 protocols.
While on-campus community members are still permitted to attend sporting events in person, a large portion of support comes from people who do not live on campus, especially close family and friends. This new system allows for them to contribute to school spirit indirectly and support their friends.
Arin Tongdee ’23 said, “I really enjoy playing my squash matches knowing that my family can watch back at home. They don’t get to watch me play very often, and they tell me the live stream is very smooth. I can almost feel their support and spirit while playing. It’s a great new implementation, and I look forward to having this kind of access in the future.”
Along with keeping the community safe, the new cameras also open a new opportunity for growth for students competing in interscholastic competitions. Now, instead of team managers setting up a tripod camera to record film, the cameras allow for much more in-depth footage. A key resource for many teams is film, specifically learning from it and noticing things to improve on. This new system allows for teams and individuals to go review their performance.
“The ability to go back and watch our basketball games is great,” said Isak Hopfner ’24, who plays on the Boys’ JV basketball team. “Film reveals a lot to a team that we may not see at the moment, and it is a great opportunity for us to grow. I really like that I can go back to the recordings, and learn from any mistakes I made or admire any highlights I had.”
Choate is one of a long list of schools that uses LocalLive to host their streams. Many schools in the New England Preparatory Athletic Council (NEPSAC), including such as Brunswick, Deerfield, and Groton, use the service as well. The provider serves a total 2,523 schools, including private and public high schools as well as universities.
Fans can watch games from anywhere they have an internet connection. Furthermore, with the ability to watch archived streams, they can do so with an elevated level of convenience.
