Departments Team up to Cover Upcoming Soccer Nationals

By Samantha Holomay

The Langara journalism and athletics departments have formed a partnership to bring coverage of the upcoming Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association men’s soccer national championships.

The collaboration allows journalism students an opportunity to write about a national tournament, while the Falcons are able to fulfill their mandate as a host to offer coverage nationwide.

Langara was chosen to host the soccer tournament that will bring eight teams from across the country to compete for four days in November at the Langley Events Centre.

New opportunities for students

Jake McCallum, Langara director of student engagement and athletics, said the tournament offers many opportunities for anyone interested in writing or sports.

“When the journalism students are there, they’re going to see these student-athletes, the elation, the excitement, the pain, the loss, and emotion,” he said.  “It’s an excellent opportunity for students to get involved.”

Under the partnership, journalism students will deliver stories, photos, and other forms of media to the CCAA and the Voice.

“This is an opportunity to provide an event, a space for those in journalism to grow, and hone their craft and do it in a live situation,” McCallum said

Erica Bulman, faculty managing editor of the Voice, said it’s a great opportunity to learn the basics of covering live sports.

“Their stories are going to be posted nationwide,” she said. “It’s a very rare experience where they get to cover a national sporting event and be part of that and experiencing it first-hand.”

Challenges of hosting

The Southern Alberta Institute of Technology hosted the CCAA men’s tournament last year. Wade Kolmel, SAIT’s director of athletics, said their student broadcasters provided the colour commentary for every game. They also had student photographers and writers. It wasn’t without its challenges, he said.

“The big one, though, is there’s so many games, there’s a lot of work to get shared,” Kolmel said. “And people still have classes and school work to deal with.”