COVID-19 has caused many people to pivot how they used to do something, and how many watch sports, especially high school sports, can attest to the changes needed for viewership. With a unique spring sports season beginning at Neuqua Valley High School, the media team has had to adapt to new challenges. With COVID-19 restrictions preventing the general public from attending events, the media team has been tasked with streaming many games. While the media team had streamed a few events in previous years, they were preparing to take a leap in the amount of streams.
Basketball, volleyball, football and many more Neuqua sports are broadcasted by the media team. The sports live streams are at an all-new level. “This season, we have begun to stream more than we have in the past. Last year, we streamed a few basketball games as well as some commentary for football games,” said Missy Rambissoon, a junior in her second year of Neuqua Media
The Neuqua Media stream team consists of many roles: cameramen, producers, editors and commentators are needed for every event. Each role may face its own adversities. “The challenge for me [is]… some of the physical strain as I tend to be working the camera,” said Rambissoon, a cameraperson for some of the streams.
Neuqua senior and commentator Jack Ashby ran into unique problems in his role as well. “I think that the biggest challenge for me this season has been taking upon new sports… Swim is definitely a different sport than what we’ve broadcasted.” The new streams for many sports brought an air of unfamiliarity with live streams, but it’s one they’ve taken head on.

Adapting is a great way to describe the media team’s process this season. The Neuqua Media program has set the team up for success during the streaming season by providing future broadcasting plans. Whether it be camera work, editing, interviewing and many more skills required in media, the program does a great job of delivering support to their students. “It was a great experience. It helped us all practice communication and teamwork skills as we improved our technical skills at the same time,” added Gracie Torrez, a senior member of the broadcast team.
Teamwork plays a huge part in putting together many media productions. While members are led by a coordinating producer, it takes a collective group effort to run the various streams. The success of the streams is evidence of the great teamwork and skills from the NV Media team.
When asked whether a future broadcasting or media career would interest her, Rambissoon described, “I’ve been able to learn more about the equipment we have and how to use it… being able to try live broadcasting with hands on experience will certainly impact my decision.” Many students find their passion through the media program. “NV Media does a great job of giving a hands on experience… even coming in as a sophomore I didn’t know anything about the program… It was a great opportunity to realize what I really like and don’t like about the industry,” Ashby noted about the class, continuing to credit Neuqua Media for having taught him the skills needed to succeed. “NV Media does a great job of preparing us for the future due to the unique experiences it provides and just the overall welcoming environment that the program has.”
Being some of the few people allowed to watch Neuqua sports this year has really put the whole athletics department into perspective for the media team. With many parents and spectators not allowed to attend events, the importance of the streams heightened. Torrez added, “since there are little to no spectators allowed at the games and meets, we thought it would be nice to be able to share with parents and other students… I hadn’t really been aware of how many people are actually involved in athletics at the school.” The streams have provided a great way for parents and spectators to watch while COVID restrictions for spectators are in place. Rambissoon has also realized how important these streams have been. “It feels nice to give parents the opportunity to watch their kids doing what they love.” While the streams provide a way for parents to watch the games, the streams have also added more accessibility for casual spectators to watch as well.
NV Media’s social media accounts have grown tremendously over the pandemic, recently hitting 1,000 followers as the streams attract more and more viewers. “We had a lot of viewers come in, and support our channel with Swim and Dive,” Ashby described, also adding how great these streams have been through the community. The impact has certainly been felt.
The NV Media team has done a great job keeping Neuqua up to date with all sports events for this season. Be sure to check out the streams at nvmedia.org and to follow them on YouTube at neuquamedia. Best of luck to the team as they continue to stream this year and in the future.