'I was like sign me up': Broadcast students get announcing gig of a lifetime
Two broadcasting students from Saskatoon have been given the break of their careers, and they haven’t even finished school yet.
Hana Grace and Carianne Hunter have their pregame ritual as they get set to announce play-by-play and colour for the Huskies hockey streaming broadcast.
They both say they don’t really get nervous before they take to the radio waves.
They’re still students at Western Academy of Broadcasting College in Saskatoon, which makes their calmness that much more impressive, but it’s their knowledge of the game that makes them so confident.
“I’m from Swift Current, and my family is very hockey. My dad is very hockey. My brother is very hockey. He’s played since he was little,” Hunter told CTV News.
“I grew up in Humbolt, so big hockey community. After 2018 I really dove into the games. I went to the games all the time, covered it with my sister,” Grace said.
The opportunity to announce the broadcasts of the men’s and women’s Huskie games was presented to all the students by their instructor, according to Grace.
“Don was like 'Hey! Who wants to do this?' I was like 'Me! Please sign me up.'”
“We were like, 'Can we do it?' We came in on Friday and Saturday, and we got the job,” Hunter said.
The amazing career opportunity is not lost on them, so they did a lot of studying before.
“I went on YouTube and listened to hockey games from the NHL and broadcasters,” Hunter says.
While its only their third game doing this, they’re all business, looking and sounding like pros already.
The shows can be heard on the Canwest streaming service and while they have hundreds of listeners each game it’s those fans closest to them, their hockey families that don’t miss listening to a game.
“Oh, they think it’s awesome. My dad’s like 'Go girl,'” Hunter said.
Hunter admits she gets a variety of reactions when she tells people what she does. Most are positive, while some are of surprise.
For Grace, she’s been asked in casual conversation with people she’s met over the years how much she knows about hockey. She said she’s been challenged to name five pro players, for example, and every time she does it with ease, silencing any critics.
With their broadcasting school wrapping up in May and this invaluable experience under their belts, these two have high hopes that their voices will be heard into the future.
“TSN would be the ultimate goal, but SJHL too, just hockey. It doesn’t matter,” Grace said.
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