Help Wanted
When I started contributing for MileSplit in 2018 all I had was a phone and a passion for the sport. This was the first interview I ever took for the site.
I graduated from contributor to editor a couple of years later and while most people are appreciative of the work we're doing already to bring attention cross country and track and field in Tennessee, I still feel like there is more to offer but my personal bandwidth to keep elevating the site is increasingly limited. If you are interested in any of the following departments and are passionate about the sports, I could use your help. There is no minimum age requirement to do so. There are athletes who actively compete who are currently contributing to meet coverage outside of their events. There are parents as well who are already at the meet all day watching their own kid and rather than take photos of just the athletes on their team, now take pictures of everyone and get paid for it.
Here's a quick rundown of areas you can help contribute. All areas of contribution will have monetary compensation.
If interested email tnmilesplit@protonmail.com or reach out on social media.
Photography
This one is pretty straight forward. Do you have a digital camera that can take focused shots of athletes moving at high speeds? That's pretty much it. Here's a quick slide show from a couple of photographers that started with us last spring in Memphis.
Writing & Reporting
From where I sit, it's hard to see beyond the top runners and teams in the state. Every now and then, an interesting story will catch my attention but following through to publishing that story is increasingly difficult. This past fall, I was able to offload some of these to Tanner Cook who most high school sports fans in the Tri-Cities area were already familiar with. He helped write this piece on then Dobyns-Bennet basketball play turned Milligan Cross Country runner Olivia Doran.
But that's just one story from one writer in one part of the state. There are stories like Olivia's that can be told in every corner of Tennessee.
Videography
The need in this department is multi-faceted but you do not need to do all of them to be helpful so I broke it down and provided examples.
Interviews
Are you knowledgeable of the sport and comfortable talking to athletes like in the interview above? This is an area of need and like me, an easy way to get started in meet coverage and contribution. It also requires the least amount of equipment.
Traditional Race Footage
This is the highest priority need for track and yet in the past I've found myself showing up to a meet and asking a coach "Hey do you have a parent or injured athlete not running today that would be interested in manning the camera for me today while I interview athletes? I can pay them." Sometimes it has worked out and other times I've had to choose between the two. I'd like to avoid those situations moving forward. So if you have a recording device and enough memory to store 2-3 hours of races at a time, that's all you need to be qualified to start helping out. Here's a quick example of this type of race footage.
Drone Footage
If you have a drone because you thought it would be a fun toy to play with, I think it can be a great tool instead to enhance our track and field and cross country coverage. Last season this was the first time we tried this for track and it turned out better than I anticipated it would.
There isn't a race that wouldn't look better from a drone than from the traditional vantage point from the stands. The more drones and drone pilots in our fleet the better moving forward.
Social Media Footage
As the need to be relevant on social media grows, so does this need; videographers who can shoot clips at a high frame rate with isolated focus.
Essentially the goal is to create BallisLife for track and field. Editing may not always be necessary but would be a bonus.
If interested email tnmilesplit@protonmail.com or reach out on social media.
We look forward to hearing from you.