If you blinked, you missed it.
Summer 2023, that is.
And, with multiple school divisions backing up the first day of school truck a couple of weeks, it created the shortest summer in decades when it came to the break between the ringing of the bells.
So, as we enter a new era when the start of the fall regular season (save golf!) coincides with many actual school schedules, there's A LOT to unpack and get ready for.
In this article, we will be discussing how the RVA Sports Network will be covering the 2023-24 high school sports season, and a few other coverage notes. We have major changes, too.
1) THE DIGITAL AGE: I (Rob) have been in radio since 1985. In June, we were informed that Rejoice 101.3 FM/990 AM, WREJ, was being sold, and that the new owners were not interested in sports coverage. We are incredibly grateful to Jim Jacobs and the gang at Rejoice who gave us a new home for two incredible seasons for both high school and Randolph-Macon College football coverage after 18 years with WHAN/Ashland.
But, all good things.....after some negotiations with other Richmond radio properties were not fruitful, we made the decision to become an exclusive digital property going forward. So, EFFECTIVE AUGUST 24, all RVA Sports Network live high school sports broadcasts and any other broadcast properties will be heard exclusively online. How do you listen? Two ways....
A) Download the Mixlr App! Mixlr is the exclusive audio broadcaster for the RVA Sports Network.
B) Go to RVASportsNetwork.com! There will always be a "Mixlr Player" for each game posted at the top of the website. On your mobile device, just click on the Mixlr broadcast headline, or, go to the bottom of our site and click "View Web Version", and the player will appear. (NOTE: Games involving Hanover County schools can also be found at HanoverCountySports.net!)
2) MORE BROADCASTS: Many of you know we were very, very active in broadcasting high school sports other than football during the 2010's. The pandemic, and some other factors, slowed that down. It wasn't that we didn't want to, but as is the case for all of us, sometimes circumstances change when we least expect it.
But we're happy to say we will be back to broadcasting, at a minimum, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and lacrosse throughout the 2023-24 season, and, hopefully, far beyond. We've been blessed to be able to broadcast several state championship games in boys and girls basketball, baseball and softball. As we continue to build our relationships with corporate partners, we hope to grow our number of broadcasts, August through June.
3) FRIDAY NIGHTS ARE DIFFERENT: I (Rob) have spent a lot of time (A LOT) during some health challenges trying to determine how we can be the most efficient with our coverage outside of live broadcasts. With that in mind, here's the following:
A) Twitter, er, "X" Continues: We'll be sending out scores, photos, videos, schedule updates, all that you've come to expect, on our (we're still calling it) Twitter network. Hyperlocal coverage is available on @hanoversports, @henricosports and @cfieldsports for Chesterfield County schools. Our main feed, @TheRVASportsNet, continues to cover all of Metro RVA.
B) We Can't Do Everything: Our pregame shows on "High School Football Friday Night" will now be 20, rather than 30, minutes, so airtime will now be 6:40pm. Without a radio home, we have to produce the entire broadcast on site. No Calvin back in the studios, unfortunately. We've also nixed "The Final Word", which was our Facebook Live broadcast at 11:30 on Fridays. We are concentrating game night coverage on the broadcast and the scoreboard on our website, as well as continuous Twitter updates.
4) PODCAST AND "BACKYARD BANTER": Our "In The Red Zone" podcast returns! It will be early in the week (Sunday or Monday) to give you a look back at the week that was and a gaze at the week to come. The premiere episode drops Thursday!
If you're not familiar with "Backyard Banter", it is a short Instagram Live video, yes, from my backyard, where we give you late breaking news, promote future broadcasts, and more. Follow us on IG: @rvasportsnetwork.
5) OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA: We are also on Facebook and the new "Threads" from Meta.
www.facebook.com/rvasportsnetwork
www.facebook.com/hanoversports
www.facebook.com/henricosports
Threads: @rvasportsnetwork
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Coming later this week, our first podcast of the new year, an in-depth primer at the changes in Classes and Regions in the Virginia High School League which are now in effect, and how it will undoubtedly change the landscape in all high school sports, and our long-promised "20 Games in 20 Years", a look back at our choice for the best twenty games we've broadcast over the past twenty years on the RVA Sports Network.
Our first "Super 12 High School Football Poll" will be released Tuesday, August 22, then join us LIVE Thursday August 24 at 6:40pm for the return of "High School Football Friday Night" with the first of a Week 1 two-night doubleheader, Atlee at Douglas Freeman!
We can't wait to get started, and hope you'll join us for the ride. And, as always, this is all about the student-athletes, giving them the coverage they deserve. I am honored to play a part.
Rob :)
P.S.: Many thanks to my daughter, Rachel, who makes the magic happen every Friday night!
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