TWBC is so good

[Than_Bogan]

They just keep improving the product. The Lake 38 broadcast is absolutely excellent.

 

At times, I've been a little critical of Tony, so I wanted to especially call out that he's been great in the last few broadcasts. It's so challenging to be the "MC" role, because you have to balance technical information, general hype, keeping advertisers happy, transitioning between segments, and the needs of the on-shore crowd vs. those of the remote audience. This season, Tony seems perfectly dialed in and able to juggle all of those elements deftly. SO GOOD!

 

And Wade has really found his groove at the dock. He wasn't my favorite in the booth, but now I really look forward to what's next every time I hear "Wade's World." :)

 

Figuring out the best possible role for each member of the crew is a testament to how much the entire TWBC team just wants to create the best possible product instead of getting into a battle of egos. MUCH respect for that!!

[Andre]

Ditto.

Except for Wade,at times,he should really prepare his questions in advance.

But he definetely add color to the webcast!

It's a british invasion with Tony,Freddie and Rob!

Great show TWBC!

[ALPJr]

Agreed getting better with each broadcast. The Lake 38 wrap up they sent out today is top notch!

[Cnewbert]

I thought Zane was excellent as well. Once Regina and Tony found their rhythm with each other, it was great hearing Regina’s outstanding commentary also.

[Jordan]

I mostly agree with all of the comments above. I enjoyed the broadcast and I do think they have improved consistently. My one complaint is that during the portion where Rob Hazelwood and Regina were there with Tony, several times they were all talking at the same time resulting in an audio salad. They each had great things to say, they just need to figure out when each one is going to talk. I'm sur get out soon enough.

[Wish]

Yep...just gets better and better. Good call on Regina at the mic. I think giving them some slack (pun intended) on all talking at the same time would be fare. That was Regina’s first go I believe. They will find their rhythm.

[Than_Bogan]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention Regina! Sure, you can tell she's a little new to it, but she's gonna be GREAT. To be honest, I was a little surprised. Looking forward to her future commentary!!

[Vernon Reeve]

The opening segment for TWBC is awesome as well. Nice blend of danger and excellence with cool graphics and music. That guy skipping across the water really shows just how fast they are going and how dangerous it is.

Love having the pro's doing commentary as well. Makes me more willing to watch the whole thing to see what tips they might have. Also fun to hear what they are seeing/expecting.

[A_B]

This one went next level.

 

We were watching in the boat on my iPhone and when Freddy fell, I said “hey I had Nate at 4, maybe I’ll get lucky”. Went out for my short set and I get back in the boat and an old baller friend texted me “hey AB you won a ski”.

 

I had Regina at 1 and almost got both scores.

 

Should have played the lottery.

 

[6balls]

Excellent overall. Sometimes tho it's like "ok really good one" (I'm like what?) and "oh they go down at 3". Yeah that one-ball was an issue. I realize it's in real time--would be hard for me, too.

This is meant to be the friendliest of constructive thoughts not a dig--overall great job.

[skierjp]

It would be interesting to find out what kind of skier Tony actually was? My problem with his commentary is that he is so negative. He rarely ever says anything positive about the skier unless it’s Fred or Robert. He’s definitely bias to UK skiers. It’s comical how some of the pro skiers like Fred, Regina and or coaches like Matt or Kiwi that are in the booth with him set him straight on things he thought went wrong with the pass. I also thought some of his remarks that was busting on the web cast at the Masters was uncalled for. When you’re the best you don’t need to stoop that low.

[Mastercrafter]

Tony's constant "well you can see they got around 6 clear as day" etc etc got old after about the 10th time he said it. We get it. Seemed petty.

[RAWSki]

Agree the production TWBC value keeps improving each and every webcast and it is very impressive. Audio still needs some attention and I would prefer to not 'check into' "Wade's World" 30 times a broadcast ........

How about "now to 33 Time ProTour winner Wade Cox" ??

[BG1]

Thank you so much for the broadcast of my favorite sport to watch! I rarely watch any sports broadcast that I don’t have a complaint about a commentator, some of which are paid huge salaries, and they receive tons of professional coaching and training. I personally choose not to publicly complain about the Masters or TWBC broadcasting because they are very well done considering the budgets, they are free, and the workers are working for very little or free. I find it interesting that the one commentator I’ve seen on TWBC that I personally find to be really annoying has never had a single negative comment against them on this forum that I’ve seen. I put up with that commentator just so I can see great video of the best skiers in the world. My only suggestion to anyone that commentates on these broadcasts would be to listen to the playback to self-improve. It couldn’t be any more painful than me watching video of my on skiing! I’ve never commentated at an event of any kind but I doubt I could do any better than any one of these commentators. Again, thank you TWBC!

[jjackkrash]

The last time I went to the Hilltop Pro Am I watched the off-camera crew work tirelessly from pre-dawn to post-dark every day with what seemed like no breaks. Very professional work ethic and pride in the production. My hat's off to the WBC off-camera crew as well.

[RGilmore]

Tony Lightfoot certainly seems to have his critics on this board. However, as it has been said, "a critic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing." So there's that.

[ALPJr]

I like ‘… Wade’s World’ has a good ring to it and he along with the rest of the crew does a great job imo.

[GaryJanzig]

Hats off to Tony Lightfoot and everyone else who is in front of the camera, and behind the microphone. When you consider how long a water ski tournament is verses other sports, very tough to keep things going. Very glad we have TWBC. I catch up on all the tournaments during those long Ohio winters.

[Cooper_Trelawney]

@skierjp Tony was actually a pretty darn good 3 event skier. He came to Louisiana from England and was one of the early skiers in the ULL (USL at the time) collegiate program. That was late 80s or early 90s if I remember correctly. That's when NLU was really dominant and I skied for SWT those years.

[skierjp]

@Cooper_Trelawney good to know. I wonder what his PB was in slalom? My only complaint is I wish he would not be so negative. It would be better if he talked more about what went right. I’ve been around him as a judge and driver ever since TWBC started. Really nice guy. Super hard job announcing for days.

[Cooper_Trelawney]

@skierjp maybe something at -35'? Which in today's world would probably be a full pass better?

Yeah, I think it's a challenge to be on the mic as many hours as he is. As broadcasts continue to evolve I hope to see him stick to the play-by-play guy and let Eade or Rini or whoever do the color commentary/technical analysis. It would reduce his volume of words some and probably help his vocal chords and energy levels too. More Pat Summerall to play off of John Madden....

[ALPJr]

Like the long time voices of the Phillies - Harry Kalas and Richie Ashburn

[Roger]

I'm really happy he's doing it. One thing that bugs nearly every time though is when he says "skiers can change ZO settings every pass now which started either this year or last."

Thinking we've been able for at least 5 years...

[LeonL]

@Roger same here. It's been even longer than 5 years. I know it goes back as far as when Rev R came out. I was skiing with + at that time and had to ski a tournament behind a MC promo that still has Q. So, I tried a couple of settings in my round. I'm thinking more like 10 years.