European Squash Team Championships 2011

We’ve had a number of requests calling for a description of how we pulled off streaming live video from four squash courts at the European Team Championships. Well folks, here we go (a pdf version for nicer printing shall be posted in a few days):

Introduction
This how-to describes how we streamed live video from the European Squash Team Championships in Espoo, Finland in April 2011 (www.squash.fi/etc2011). We believe that the described setup can be reproduced and improved by squash enthusiasts who possess a basic level of knowledge of web services. An experimental attitude also helps.

The basic setup
Four video cameras using external microphones were connected to four laptops which sent video to a streaming server which in turn showed the video on a streaming site (see the ETC streaming plan, pdf 137 KB). Squash matches were streamed live and without interruptions during four days between 9 AM and 11 PM (5 PM on the finals day).

Acknowledgments
We wish to thank all squash and video enthusiasts for the support we have received when developing a streaming setup. In particular we wish to thank ETC project manager Lasse Ekholm for supporting us all the way. Small requirements and bills may seem enormous for any organization when something radically new is being developed, which is why top-level organizational support is crucial.

And now for the nitty-gritty details…

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The European Squash Team Championships were video streamed from 4 courts. In an effort to advance live streaming from squash events, we kindly ask the viewers of the streaming to answer our short survey. Here’s the survey link.

The results of the survey as well as a report on how the streaming was carried out shall be published in June. Thank you for your feedback!

The ETC video team

Nick Matthew ENG – Gregory Gaultier FRA 3-0 (11-6 12-10 11-5 ). England beat France in the men’s final.

Jenny Duncalf ENG – Vanessa Atkinson NED 3-0 (11-6 11-2 11-4). England beat the Netherlands in the women’s final.

The European Squash Team Championships 2011 have now been played. England took both the men’s and the women’s titles. The complete results of the championships can be found in Tournamentsoftware.

SquashSite reported extensively from ETC 2011. Television broadcasts (in Finnish) can be viewed at Yle Areena: Friday (Finland-Sweden) and Saturday (Matthew-Gaultier).

Thank you for watching live streaming and tweeting with us!

We’ll write about our exciting adventures in web squash on this site in the near future. As a preview we are happy to let you know that our video streaming site had 8.543 absolutely unique visitors.

The Squash Site is looking for team managers, coaches and players who are willing to post their own reports, opinions and photos.
If you are interested, just send a message to etc@squashsite.co.uk and they’ll give you some login details.

The team orders for the ETC 2011 have been published under “Information on ETC 2011″ above.
Objections to player eligibility or playing order must be lodged with the Championships Director 5 days before (22nd April) the Start Date; must be in writing by email with copies to the ESF Technical Director; and must be justified with evidence. Any objection to playing order must be based on latest PSA Top 100/WISPA Top 50 rankings, current National Rankings or results of latest National Championships.
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Today, Monday the 18th of April at 12:00 hrs GMT, is the last day for changes to team members or team orders. They must be sent to the Championships Director at etc2011[at]squash.fi
The squad orders will be published here on Wednesday the 20th of April.

Day passes to ETC 2011 can now be reserved at squash.office@squash.fi. Day passes on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th go for 15 euros/day/person. These passes provide admission to all matches including non-reserved seats by the center court. Reserved tickets are paid at Esport Center during ETC. There’s free entrance on Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th.

Joukkueiden EM-kisojen pääsylippuja voi nyt varata sähköpostitse osoitteessa squash.office@squash.fi. Alkusarjojen otteluihin keskiviikkona 27.4. ja torstaina 28.4. on vapaa pääsy. Sijoitusotteluihin perjantaina 29.4. ja lauantaina 30.4. on saatavana päivälippuja hintaa 15,- euroa / kpl. Liput oikeuttavat kaikille kentille, myös pääkatsomon merkitsemättömille paikoille. Junioreille sisäänpääsy on maksuton myös perjantaina ja lauantaina.
Ennakkovarausliput lunastetaan Esport Centerissä kisapäivinä.

The schedules for the ETC 2011 have been published.

The ETC 2011 draws have been published. Please check the “Draws” link above.

The Finnish Squash Association and the Esport Center in Espoo proudly present the 39th Men’s and 34th Women’s European Team Championships 2011.

The format of the ETC has been changed since last year and the Championships will be played in two Divisions.

The Premier Division is for the top eight men’s and women’s teams and they will play for the main titles.

The Second Division will consist of the next 12 men’s and 8 women’s teams, who will play for positions 1-12 (9-20) and 1-8 (9-16) respectively.

For the next year’s Championships teams that finish 7th and 8th will be relegated to the Second Division and the winners and runners-up of the Second Division will be promoted to the Premier Division.

Men’s 11th & 12th and women’s 7th & 8th in Second Division are relegated to the Challenge Division.

© Espoon kaupunki