The Great Outdoors Games, being held at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex July 7-10, is giving television viewers five reasons to catch the Games on ESPN and ABC three days later, July 13-17.
1. Host: Jamie Little
A seasoned reporter and announcer, The First Lady of Motorcross is back for hosting duties again at the Great Outdoor Games VI. Little is well-known in the action sports industry and rides dirt bikes, horses and fishes. She co-hosted last year’s Games.
Little can be seen as a pit reporter for the 2005 IndyCar Series on ESPN and ABC Sports through October. The California native also hosts “The Fast Life,” an eight-show series on ESPN2 that features a behind-the-scenes look at IndyCar Series drivers.
2. Commentators: A staff of 17 including reporters Holly Rowe, Vince Welch, Quint Kessenich, Stacey Dales Schuman and Rob Stone
Back are some recognizable ESPN talent, including play-by-play commentators Bill Clement and Paul Page, ESPN Outdoors host Tommy Sanders and College Basketball Analyst Jimmy Dykes.
But the Games now have a lineup of reporters as well.
Rowe, an ESPN college football sideline reporter, is known to her fans as the “Siren of the Sideline.” Welch is a pit road reporter for ESPN at IndyCar Series races. Kessenich, a member of Johns Hopkins University’s 1987 NCAA Lacrosse Championship team, joined ESPNU in March as a commentator for a variety of sports.
Dales Schuman, who joined ESPN in 2002 as a studio analyst for coverage of women’s college basketball, recently retired from professional basketball after playing three seasons with the Washington Mystics. And Stone, the former host of ESPN2’s “Worldwide Soccer,” rounds out team.
The group will provide background stories on the athletes, demonstrations and how to’s of the sports, as well ask insightful, post-event questions to give our viewers the inside scoop on the Games action.
3. Huck-a-Chuck: Chuck Carothers
X Games medal winner Carothers will cross the moto line into the world of ATV at the Great Outdoors Games this year. The pro rider will compete in the Terrracross event, a cross between archery and ATV racing.
The Games’ two ATV events, Terracross and Four Wheel Frenzy, will be captured with 11 cameras positioned on every hair-raising turn of the course.
Also, coverage of the Games will include an extended feature on Camp Chuck, a 5-acre moto and ATV training course in Texas Carothers created. Plus, ESPN will offer an inside look into many of the other athletes competing in the Games.
4. Skycam: An amazing view
To catch the best ATV action, ESPN will use the CompUSA Skycam, a new tool for the Great Outdoor Games. The unmanned, remote-control Skycam is above the field and moves in three dimensions, providing a unique angle of the ATV events. Similar to its use on Sunday Night Football, the camera will hover over the action, giving viewers a bird’s eye view of the vehicles, jumps and terrain.
5. Sports Emmy award winner: Best Audio
ESPN’s coverage of the Great Outdoor Games will feature the same top-notch production that earned ESPN a Sports Emmy in each of the last two years. The 2004 Great Outdoor Games won for Live Event Audio and Sound.
Fans can catch the Great Outdoor Games live July 7-10, 2005 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports ® Complex and Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Facility. Admission to the 2005 Great Outdoor Games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports ® Complex is $5 per person per day, with children 10 and younger free. Admission to Tenoroc Shooting Sports and Training Facility is free. Re-entry is allowed each day. Tickets can be purchased on ticketmaster.com through June 26 and purchased at the door the day of the event.
The Games will be aired on ESPN and ABC Sports July 14-17, 2005.
The ESPN Great Outdoor Games feature top outdoor athletes from around the world and are the ultimate championship of outdoor sports, featuring one-of-a-kind, head-to-head competition in timber and target events, sporting dogs and ATV skills competitions. While entertaining large crowds on site, the ESPN Great Outdoor Games also draw a worldwide television audience on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC Sports.
By: ESPN Outdoors
