I’m going to throw this one out there because it’s a great resource and it just occurred to me to think of putting it out there.
Find tournaments to find jobs.
If you’re an announcer, search for tournaments in various sports that you might be able to announce a championship or semi final matches/games. See if you could even announce a few of the round-robin tournament games to get your feet wet.
I’m coordinating announcers for three ice hockey tournaments in the next couple of months. I need announcers because the tournaments want them because of what I do. I made these contacts from doing various things in the past, but if you want to network, you can meet a lot of new people at the tournaments. Below are some examples of how you could help out:
Baseball: Little League Baseball has announcers at all of their post-season games. It’s in their rules. They typically grab a parent or two to volunteer. You can do that. Do a search of your local districts and see if any are hosting state tournaments, or even district tournaments. Volunteer your time. Same works for Babe Ruth and Cal Ripken I believe.
Basketball and Volleyball: There are numerous AAU tournaments and facilities for hosting up to 20 games at a time. Will you be able to announce all, no. But you can throw your hat into the ring to provide announcing and some music to “further enhance” those games for the facility. If they don’t have a sound system, offer to bring your own if you have one.
Ice Hockey: Leagues from youth to high school have post-season tournaments. Most rinks have inputs in their penalty boxes which is where you need to be. Search the internet for local teams and the leagues they play in to find out how you can help. You can also check out USAHockey.com and search tournaments. You could even contact them to find out if you could help when their national tournament is in your city.
Football: There’s a few 7-on-7 style tournaments that happen around thanksgiving, find them and ask how you can help. Most are held in parks the don’t have a scoreboard or stands, let alone a sound system, but you might be able to work something out. Youth leagues tend to play in high school stadiums and you might be able to volunteer to help a team or two announce their games. Find your local leagues and ask.
Soccer: Is like football and basketball combined in that they’re outdoors at facilities with little seating, but soccer-only facilities usually include a “main” field that has lights and a sound system. Find these facilities then find tournaments that are to be played in them and see if you can help out.
You’ll notice I’m hitting youth leagues, some of those kids play up through high school and that could be your foot in the door. An athletic director’s son or daughter plays in a game you announce, their announcer is failing or they don’t have one, and now you have a way in.
I post this because I could use help at all three tournaments I’m doing, but if I was on the outside, I wouldn’t have the right way in. Two of the tournaments are through the Washington Capitals, one is through contacts I’ve made over the years and caught an ad on Craigslist last year. I created that opportunity in knowing the rules and offering what I do. The tournament director had knowledge of me and since we’ve become good associates, working on a couple of projects together even.
Ok, I’m off to go scorekeep a tournament I’m not announcing, but to make a little extra money. I’m going to re-post this on my blog and anyone else who would like to, feel free, just make sure to link my blog to it. The blog will go a little more indepth with some additional details.
Jarrod Wronski,
SportsAnnouncing.com
(703) 398-5343
DJ@SportsAnnouncing.com
Voted Best DJ by Northern Virginia Magazine
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