From Left to Right: Sean Lowdermilk, Sam Nichols, Professor Chuck Scatterday, Emily Beckner, Mark Altman and Mason Kinsey
Students in the WVU Reed School of Media and Communications covered two global sporting events as part of the sports broadcast course, “Mountaineer Playbook.”
In September, students traveled to cover the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Mountainbike World Championships at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia. Riders from around the world competed on a course through the Monongahela National Forest.
“Mountaineer Playbook” reporter Mark Altman, a senior from Sterling, Virginia, and videographer Mason Kinsey, a senior from Grafton, West Virginia, produced media packages from rider interviews and video footage from the farthest locations of the race route and the medal ceremonies.
“I was skeptical about it at first because I knew nothing about mountain biking and what UCI even was,” Altman said. “The experience of going out and filming and being on location for that whole weekend allowed me to hone my skills and made for an extremely memorable experience.”
Journalism students Sam Nichols, a junior from Harrisville, West Virginia, and Emily Beckner, a junior from Yorktown, Virginia, assisted Altman and Kinsey. Graduate Assistant Sean Lowdermilk from Kingwood, West Virginia, created a highlight video using the produced content.
“As a West Virginia native, it was a really special opportunity to not only be there to experience the state hosting a global event but also to be a part of the team covering the race and getting to share that experience with others through the content we produced,” Lowdermilk said. “As a graduate of the Sports and Adventure Media program, it's always a pleasure getting to work with Professor Scatterday and the ‘Mountaineer Playbook’ team and helping in any way possible."
The students' video series was featured on “Mountaineer Playbook,” re-aired via the UCI website and featured by Snowshoe Mountain Resort.
In October, “Mountaineer Playbook” Adventure Anchor Andrew Fried, a senior from Long Island, New York; Videographer and Fantasy Playbook Social Media Producer/Director Sean Petraitis, a junior from Long Island, New York; and Journalism junior James Bikom from Bellmore, New York, joined Altman and Nichols at New River Gorge Bridge Day in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
During Bridge Day 2024, 325 BASE jumpers made the 876-foot leap into the gorge. "Mountaineer Playbook” was among local and regional news outlets that covered the annual event. Students captured video content from the bridge and the gorge below and interviewed both spectators and jumpers to produce multimedia content for episode three of Playbook’s fall 2024 season.
“Since we had media passes, we were given access to a roped-off section reserved for the media and got a front-row seat to the jumpers’ landings,” Nichols said. “Other than seeing people jump off the biggest bridge in West Virginia, I think seeing official news outlets doing the exact same thing our group was doing was the coolest part of the experience.”
“Mountaineer Playbook” is the capstone course for the Sports and Adventure Media major and is taught by Teaching Associate Professor Ashton Marra, Teaching Instructor Anjelica Trinone and Shott Teaching Assistant Professor Chuck Scatterday.
The program airs statewide on West Virginia Public Broadcasting Sunday nights at 6:30 p.m. and on the City of Morgantown’s Public Access Channel 14 on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., Fridays at 5 p.m. and Saturdays at 6 p.m. It also streams on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV's website and the HD Media website.
For more information about the Sports and Adventure Media major, visit https://mediaandcommunications.wvu.edu/.