Freestyle World Championships on US National TV

 

 

Last years World Championships was one of the most amazing competitions I have ever seen and thankfully there was a huge team capturing every bit of the action with their high speed cameras and flying video helicopters. The team from Jalbert Productions who work with Red Bull, ESPN and Fox have created an amazing production that all paddlers should check out. I was fortunate to be a part of this and I can honestly say they are true professionals. The ICF Freestyle Committee and the NOC should be thanked for their efforts in helping to create this production that will promote paddling to the world, gaining exposure that we could only dream of and showing our sport in such a positive format.

If you are unsure of where you can watch the action then check out the listing below this press release.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/93622878[/vimeo]

The following is a press release from Gibson Communications.

“The International Canoe Federation’s (ICF) freestyle kayaking world championship competition, held last September at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Nantahala River campus, begins a month-long national television run on May 4. The broadcast will expose millions to the fast-growing sport of freestyle kayaking and to the compelling natural resources the North Carolina Smokies and Swain County. Fox Sports Net National will carry the event on 14 regional sports networks and additional affiliate networks, reaching 100 million TV households in the first run and a cumulative total of more than 450 million TV households including repeat airings.

 

The hour-long broadcast includes exciting competition footage and interviews with kayaking’s biggest stars, including Dane Jackson, Eric Jackson, Claire O’Hara, Peter Csonka, James Bebbington, Jez Jezz and others. The event, which boasted 178 athletes from 30 different countries, drew 30,000 spectators to the Swain County, NC competition site and over 50,000 viewers on the event’s live stream making it “the biggest freestyle event ever held” according to Lluis Rabaneda Caselles, Chairman of the ICF Freestyle Committee.

Broadcast schedules of the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships vary according to regional sports network coverage areas, so viewers should check local listings. Listings for networks serving NOC’s main guest base in the Southeastern United States are located below. A full set of national and regional listings is available at noc.com.

“This event was an important victory for Freestyle Kayaking, USA Canoe/Kayak and for Western North Carolina,” said NOC Chief Executive Officer Sutton Bacon. “We proved that freestyle competition can be as spectator-friendly as figure skating or snowboarding, and we proved that Western North Carolina has the natural resources and organizational strength to host world-class athletic events.”

Event organizers hope to introduce millions of Americans to paddlesports competition, which is wildly popular in Europe. Charles Conner, marketing director for NOC—the nation’s largest whitewater outfitter, commented that “Freestyle kayaking, and all forms of whitewater paddling, provide accessible, healthy, human-powered recreational activities in beautiful river environments. We hope this broadcast motivates viewers to participate in paddling, and we know that the worlds top paddling athletes will entertain and impress anyone who sees the competition.”
After the event’s initial run on Fox Sports Net National the event will enter syndication on regional television broadcasts.”

Fox Sports South AL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Wednesday, May 14 @ 3pm
Sunday May 18 @ 12:30pm
Sunday, May 18 @ 6pm
Thursday, May 29 @3pm

Fox Sports Florida FL, Southwestern AL
Tuesday, May 6 @ 4pm
Saturday, May 10 @ 8am
Thursday, May 15 @ 3pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 3pm
Monday, May 19 @ 9am
Friday, May 23 @ 10am
Sunday, May 25 @ 9am
Thursday, May 29 @ 3pm
Saturday, May 31 @ 8am

Mid-Atlantic Sports
Network (MASN) PA, MD, DC, VA, WV, DE, NC
Sunday, May 4 @ 12pm
Sunday May 18 @ 11am

Mid-Atlantic Sports
Network 2 (MASN2) PA, MD, DC, VA, WV, DE, NC
Sunday, May 4 @ 12pm
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Thursday, May 8 @ 3pm
Sunday, May 11 @ 12pm
Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am
Thursday May 15 @ 3pm
Sunday May 18 @ 12pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Sunday, May 25 @ 12pm
Monday, May 26 @ 8am
Thursday, May 29 @ 5pm

Fox Sports Ohio OH, IN, KY, PA, WV, NY
Sunday, May 4 @ 12pm
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Tuesday, May 6 @10am
Sunday, May 11 @ 7am
Sunday, May 11 @ 12pm
Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am
Thursday May 15 @ 3pm
Sunday May 18 @ 12pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Sunday, May 25 @ 12pm
Monday, May 26 @ 8am
Thursday, May 29 @ 3pm

Fox Sports Midwest
IL, IN, NE, IA Sunday, May 4 @ 9am
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Wednesday, May 7 @ 8am
Tuesday, May 12 @ 7am
Thursday May 15 @ 2pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 6pm
Sunday May 18 @ 6pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Sunday, May 24 @ 5pm
Thursday, May 29 @ 3pm
Thursday, May 29 @ 5pm

Fox Sports North MN, WI, IA, MI, ND, SD
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am
Thursday May 15 @ 3pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Sunday, May 25 @ 12pm
Monday, May 26 @ 8am

Fox Sports Wisconsin WI, MN, MI, IL, IA
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am
Thursday May 15 @ 3pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Sunday, May 24 @ 1pm
Monday, May 26 @ 8am
Thursday, May 29 @ 3pm

Fox Sports Detroit MI, IN, OH, WI
Monday, May 5 @ 8am
Tuesday, May 12 @ 8am
Thursday May 15 @ 3pm
Sunday, May 18 @ 12pm
Monday, May 19 @ 8am
Monday, May 26 @ 8am

Fox Sports Oklahoma OK
Tuesday, May 6 @10am
Sunday, May 11 @ 7am
Wednesday, May 14 @ 3am
Sunday, May 25 @ 12am

Fox Sports Arizona AZ, NM, UT, NV
Sunday, May 4 @ 7pm
Thursday, May 8 @ 10pm
Tuesday, May 13 @ 1:30pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 3pm

Fox Sports Southwest TX, LA, AL, FL, MS, MO, NM
Tuesday, May 6 @10am
Sunday, May 11 @ 7am
Wednesday, May 14 @ 3am
Sunday, May 25 @ 12am

Fox Sports West CA, NV, HI
Sunday, May 4 @ 7pm
Thursday, May 8 @ 3pm
Thursday, May 15 @ 3pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 12pm
MSG Plus NY Saturday, May 17 @ 5pm
Monday, May 26 @ 7:30am
Sun Sports Florida FL
Thursday, May 8 @ 3pm
Sunday, May 25 @ 12pm

Root Sports Rocky Mountain CO, WY, ID, KS, NE, NV, SD
Tuesday, May 13 @ 12pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 1pm

Root Sports Pittsburgh PA, WV, OH, MD, KY
Monday, May 5 @ 11am
Wednesday, May 7 @ 6pm
Saturday, May 10 @ 4pm
Thursday, May 15 @ 6am
Friday, May 22 @ 6am
Monday, May 27 @ 2pm