Network’s coverage will follow the British Open on Sunday, July 17, with other broadcasts scheduled for ESPN and ESPN2.
In addition to coordinating the archery competition with the NFAA at the Great Outdoor Games in July, ATA Vice President Denise Parker, center, will be the on-air archery analyst for ABC and ESPN telecasts.
ABC Sports will again broadcast the archery competition from the ESPN
Great Outdoor Games VI presented by Dodge — scheduled for July 7-10 in
Orlando, Fla. — as part of its afternoon “prime time” broadcast July 17
from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Eastern time, immediately after the British Open golf
tournament.
“This is a huge deal for archery to be included in ABC Sports’ Sunday
afternoon programming two years in a row, especially with the British Open
leading into it,” said Denise Parker, vice president of the Archery Trade
Association, which sponsors the “Eliminator” competition at the annual
Great Outdoor Games. “Sunday afternoon is a highly coveted time slot in
American sports broadcasting. This puts archery into the living rooms of
more than 20 million families.”
The July 17 show will also feature the men’s log-rolling event and a
new event called “The Launch,” in which hunting dogs jump for height and
distance. Archery, log-rolling and “flying dogs” are all fan favorites,
and play well on TV. Parker said archery has also proven popular with female
viewers, which influenced its selection for the Sunday afternoon time slot.
Those who miss the July 17 broadcast can see the archery competition
when it’s rebroadcast on ESPN and ESPN2 as part of the networks’ highlights
from the Great Outdoor Games. Check local listings for specific times and
content.
The archery competition will be held July 8-9 at the Disney Wide World
of Sports Complex near Orlando, and typically attracts standing-room-only
crowds, many of them archers and bowhunters from across the region. Randy
Hendrix of Clemons, N.C., won the gold medal, his third in the past four
Great Outdoor Games at the 2004 Games in Madison, Wis. Wayne Endicott of
Springfield, Ore. won the silver medal, and two-time silver medalist Randy
Ulmer of Cave Creek, Ariz., won the bronze.
Parker, who helps coordinate the Eliminator event with the National
Field Archery Association (NFAA), will also serve as the Games’ on-air
archery analyst for ABC and ESPN. Bruce Cull, president of the NFAA, will
work as the on-site analyst during the event, helping explain the event’s
strategy and challenges to fans in the stands.
Although this will be the first time Parker has filled this role at
the Great Outdoor Games, she was NBC’s archery analyst at Athens, Greece,
during the 2004 Summer Olympics. She will be paired with Bob Wischusen
of MSG Networks, who will do the play-by-play. Wischusen is also the New
York Jets’ radio play-by-play announcer, and radio/TV play-by-play announcer
for the New York Rangers.
Parker said she is excited to get behind the microphone again. “I like
doing archery analysis,” she said. “It’s like going on stage, I’m a little
nervous and a little excited at the same time. It almost reminds me of
the feelings I got when I was competing. I’m assuming this will be a bit
easier than the Olympics because I know most of the archers at the Great
Outdoor Games.”
The full slate of original broadcasts from the Great Outdoor Games events
will run on ESPN and ESPN2 from July 13 through July 17, culminating in
the Sunday afternoon broadcasts. For more TV listings and times see the
Great Outdoor Games web site at www.espn.go.com
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