ROCKINGHAM — Two new eyes in the sky will help Richmond Senior High School’s sports fans keep up with teams this school year.
Challenged by the restrictions put in place because of COVID-19 to watch live high school sports, Richmond supporters will get the chance to live stream the Richmond football team and several programs that play in Raider Gymnasium.
This month, Richmond had two Pixellot video streaming units installed on campus. The first was mounted on the front of the press box inside Raider Stadium, while the other was put in above the home section of bleachers in the gym.
Done in conjunction with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the Pixellot units are hands-free, auto-tracking streaming systems that have over 8,000 installations worldwide.
Head football coach Bryan Till started looking into having the Pixellot units brought to Richmond during the spring semester in 2019. But following the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year, he revisited the idea to help strengthen the exposure of hundreds of Richmond’s student-athletes.
“In April I really started exploring ways we could stream games online,” Till said. “Pixellot was on top of things and no other system compared to what Pixellot could do.
“COVID had us all concerned about revenue streams, and we’ve had to tighten our belt like a lot of other schools,” he added. “We wanted to keep things as normal as possible for our fans and community. Pixellot will keep us on track and minimize the impact (from COVID-19).”
Till took his findings to athletic director Rob Ransom and head principal Jim Butler in early June. From there, the proposal was accepted by Richmond County Schools superintendent Dr. Jeff Maples and associate superintendent Dennis Quick.
Based on his research, Till said the installation of the two units on campus would have been upwards of $7,000. But because Richmond partnered with the NFHS as an eligible school, there was “no upfront cost” for the units or the installation.
Because high school athletics are being played in surrounding states like Georgia and South Carolina, Richmond’s installation was put on the back burner until the last couple of weeks.
Each Pixellot unit has two built-in auto-tracking cameras with the ability to follow the action on the field or court, as well as zoom and pan functions. No camera operator is required and any scoring graphics can be synched with the venue’s scoreboard.
Provided by the NFHS is the Pixellot single-mount camera system, a scoring device that can integrate into the broadcast and a desktop computer to be used for production and video processing.
“Everything is in-house with this system, which makes it great,” Till said. “It can run itself with no additional manpower. Coaches just have to login and set up what time they want it to start streaming.”
The Raider football team already has a sideline camera system it uses to record game film, but Till said the added cameras will also provide the team with additional video support for junior varsity games.
It will be the biggest benefit to head volleyball coach Ashleigh Larsen, who will see her team kick off the 2020 fall sports season on Nov. 17, along with other indoor programs like basketball and wrestling.
Not only will the Pixellot system stream games for fans unable to enter the gym because of the 25-spectator restriction in place, but it will also allow for the whole match or game to be recorded for training purposes. A consistent stream of film will allow Richmond’s teams to use it to develop.
“It will be helpful for those unable to get into the gym,” Larsen said. ”And I am excited to have the recording option for practice film.”
Richmond’s athletics department has partnered with the NFHS in order to have the new cameras put in place. That partnership, Till said, includes a variable percentage of the revenue share, with “no ad revenue going back to the NFHS.”
The school will receive a percentage of the money each time a fan creates a streaming account and selects Richmond as his or her home school. Another option for the Raiders to make money is to sell ad packages to be featured during breaks in games or for other events like an indoor graduation.
Athletic director Rob Ransom said he has “not received confirmation that the system has been calibrated.” That means it’s uncertain at this time if the Pixellot camera in the gym will be ready for Richmond’s first home match of the season on Nov. 24.
“The big thing we wanted to do was to continue to keep us and our fans on track,” Till closed. “We are trying to minimize the impact (from COVID) and it helps grow the exposure of the programs at Richmond.”
The NFHS offers annual and monthly subscriptions for fans to watch at home.
