Watch the Vikings anytime, anywhere

Skylar Blankenship
Sports Editor

The athletics department have began to livestream Viking sports.

“I think [it’s] fantastic. It gives the parents, friends and community a way to follow their favorite players and team,” said softball head coach George Rafferty.

Toward the end of 2016’s fall semester, the Vikings started livestreaming games to help with distance.

Many athletes’ hometowns are more than an hour away from Hudson Valley, making regular attendance difficult for their friends and family.

Hudson Valley enrollment includes student athletes from across New York, throughout the northeast and across the nation.
To view the games, fans may either go to the YouTube Channel HVCCVIKINGS or check the Viking’s twitter account where the same link will be found.

“After Lawrence [Snyder, interim assistant of athletics and sports information director,] worked with [Viking Video Technologies,] we were able to set up a stream through our YouTube channel, where viewers are able to watch our games from a computer, tablet or mobile device,” said Justin Hoyt, interim director of athletics.

Games that are livestreamed can be viewed after the livestream concludes by searching through the uploads sections of HVCCVIKINGS’ YouTube. Currently uploads have no commentary or sound.

Livestreaming the games has the support of many in the athletic department including men’s basketball coach, Michael Long.

“It gives our program a way to get more exposure and it [gives] family and friends of the players who can’t make a game a chance to watch their loved ones play,” said Long.

The HVCCVIKINGS YouTube channel currently has women’s basketball, men’s basketball, men’s ice hockey, and lacrosse games.

This year’s ice hockey nationals tournament was broadcasted over radio while the final game was streamed on video using livestream.com.

“As we continue to promote the streaming of our events, it will be used as a recruiting tool for our coaches,” said Hoyt.

Livestreaming also arms coaches with footage of their team and their opponents to review for strengths and weaknesses and provides students with a record of their plays to show scouts from other colleges.