Post by Ginger on Mar 7, 2019 11:30:45 GMT -5
www.twincities.com/2019/03/06/sloane-martin-breaks-barriers-as-first-woman-play-by-play-announcer-at-boys-hockey-state-tournament/
Sloane Martin, a WCCO Radio news reporter, knows one day this will no longer be a story in the mainstream media.
Until then she’s OK being the poster child of the movement. Even if it makes her feel a little uncomfortable at times.
“I want to be visible in this role, not because it helps me or because I want the attention in any way; I want to be visible in this role because I know representation matters,” said Martin, who on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center became the first woman play-by-play announcer in the history of the Minnesota boys hockey state tournament. “That’s my goal with all of this. I want there to be more along the way so that they can just do a game and not have there be anything around it.”
Martin called the first session of the Class A state tournament for KSTC-TV, hitting leadoff on the day she made history. It started with the 11 a.m. game between North Branch and St. Cloud Cathedral, followed by the 1 p.m. game between Minnesota River and East Grand Forks.
“Our executive producer Dennis Silva wanted to do something a little bit different because it was the 75th annual boys hockey state tournament,” Martin explained. “He asked me, and that was pretty much it. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It really shows me how closely entwined the boys hockey state tournament is within the community.”
Martin grew up in Los Angeles and said she has fond memories of Michele Tafoya and Andrea Kremer doing play-by-play.
“I want to say I was maybe 14 years old,” Martin said. “That’s when I really came into following professional sports. I just remember watching the broadcasts and I was just in awe of how authoritative they were and how they commanded respect with their presence. That made me want to be a sports broadcaster.”
Eventually, that led to her position with WCCO Radio, though she does various play-by-play broadcasts on the side. She has called the girls hockey state tournament and the Prep Bowl for KSTC-TV in the past, and last weekend called a women’s basketball game between Indiana and Purdue for Big Ten Network.
“I was like, ‘OK. Let’s switch to basketball mode for a second,’ ” Martin said. “As I’m getting back on the plane I’m pulling out my notes and starting my cue cards and then after that it’s pretty much hours and hours of studying like it’s a really big test.”
Not that Martin minds the cramming. She’s used to it as she works to inspire others, the way Tafoya and Kremer inspired her so many years ago.
“That’s what happened with me,” Martin said. “If anyone sees this and it becomes normal, that is really the overall goal with this.”
Sloane Martin, a WCCO Radio news reporter, knows one day this will no longer be a story in the mainstream media.
Until then she’s OK being the poster child of the movement. Even if it makes her feel a little uncomfortable at times.
“I want to be visible in this role, not because it helps me or because I want the attention in any way; I want to be visible in this role because I know representation matters,” said Martin, who on Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center became the first woman play-by-play announcer in the history of the Minnesota boys hockey state tournament. “That’s my goal with all of this. I want there to be more along the way so that they can just do a game and not have there be anything around it.”
Martin called the first session of the Class A state tournament for KSTC-TV, hitting leadoff on the day she made history. It started with the 11 a.m. game between North Branch and St. Cloud Cathedral, followed by the 1 p.m. game between Minnesota River and East Grand Forks.
“Our executive producer Dennis Silva wanted to do something a little bit different because it was the 75th annual boys hockey state tournament,” Martin explained. “He asked me, and that was pretty much it. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. It really shows me how closely entwined the boys hockey state tournament is within the community.”
Martin grew up in Los Angeles and said she has fond memories of Michele Tafoya and Andrea Kremer doing play-by-play.
“I want to say I was maybe 14 years old,” Martin said. “That’s when I really came into following professional sports. I just remember watching the broadcasts and I was just in awe of how authoritative they were and how they commanded respect with their presence. That made me want to be a sports broadcaster.”
Eventually, that led to her position with WCCO Radio, though she does various play-by-play broadcasts on the side. She has called the girls hockey state tournament and the Prep Bowl for KSTC-TV in the past, and last weekend called a women’s basketball game between Indiana and Purdue for Big Ten Network.
“I was like, ‘OK. Let’s switch to basketball mode for a second,’ ” Martin said. “As I’m getting back on the plane I’m pulling out my notes and starting my cue cards and then after that it’s pretty much hours and hours of studying like it’s a really big test.”
Not that Martin minds the cramming. She’s used to it as she works to inspire others, the way Tafoya and Kremer inspired her so many years ago.
“That’s what happened with me,” Martin said. “If anyone sees this and it becomes normal, that is really the overall goal with this.”