Sports television history will be made on Saturday, May 26, when the Pennsylvania Cable Network produces live coverage of high school track and field championships in Shippensburg.
"This is an Olympic-sized undertaking, given the number and variety of events--many of which are scheduled simultaneously," confessed PCN Programming Director William J. Bova. "Based on the volume of track and field coverage requests we are dedicating our entire production and engineering resources to showcasing the state finals."
Carriage of the outdoor championships (which begin with field events on Friday, May 25) is part of an agreement between PCN, a nonprofit statewide television service created and funded by Pennsylvania cable television companies, and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, a nonprofit organization of 1,300 member schools which arranges statewide finals in boys' and girls' sports.
"We've received positive comments from around the state on the increased television access to our championships," remarked PIAA Executive Director Bradley R. Cashman.
Earlier this year, PCN produced the first-ever television coverage of scholastic swimming and diving finals in University Park, a telecast which received tremendous viewer response and has been submitted for a regional Emmy Award.
"PCN stands as a network responsive to the interests and needs of Pennsylvania and its people," stated Brian Lockman, network president. "In scouting last year's track and field championships, we saw hundreds of participants and thousands of parents at the event. Multiply these figures by the number of grandparents, friends, and others who may be at home, and you have a substantial and interested statewide audience."
Field events slated at Shippensburg University on both days of the competition include the pole vault, triple jump, javelin, long jump, discus, high jump, and shot put. PCN will tape select preliminaries and finals for telecast throughout Saturday's presentation.
A tentative schedule of LIVE event coverage on Saturday is listed below. (All events are AA Girls, AAA Girls, AA Boys, and AAA Boys unless otherwise noted.)
9:00 a.m. 3200 Meter Relay
10:30 a.m. 3200 Meter Run
12:00 noon 100 Meter Hurdles (Girls only)
12:10 p.m. 110 Meter Hurdles (Boys only)
12:15 p.m. 100 Meter Dash
12:30 p.m. 1600 Meter Run
1:00 p.m. 400 Meter Dash
1:20 p.m. 400 Meter Relay
1:40 p.m. 300 Meter Hurdles
2:00 p.m. 800 Meter Run
2:15 p.m 200 Meter Dash
3:00 p.m. 1600 Meter Relay
It will air live from 9.00 am - 4.00 pm and then again on 2nd June at 1.00 pm.
