Topic: Poll: Which weightlifting website best covered the 2008 Olympic Games?

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

With only the superheavyweight men, and with no American, no Casey Burgener in the event, I am feeling reflective. I have sought all the feedback and help for this assignment commentating for NBC I could get, and the amount of it has been limited but extremely valuable (Sam Maxwell and John Way especially). I am very, very pleased with the response from non-weightlifters with probably 50 or more email inquires to me about how to get started in our great sport and hopefully many more referrals to USA Weightlifting. But, now I want the feedback of weightlifters. How has WE done? What could WE do better? What did WE do wrong? What did I do right and wrong in the commentary understanding my limited experience doing commentating and the difficulty of the hours and fact I was on my own? Let me have it. I won't take it personal but will hopefully learn from it. I have learned a lot from this experience already and had a great deal of fun! If you don't vote for WE in the poll, I hope you will explain your vote.

Thanks

[John Way]

HI CHRIS, BIT HARD FOR ME TO GIVE AN OPINION ON THIS, I USED MAINLY LIVE RESULT FROM OFfICIAL SITE, PHOenIX WEIGHTLIFTING AND WE

tv coverage in australia was terrible overall, the 58kg class was well covered but one of our two channels didnt not show what they scheduled, and the main one promised lifting was coming up, and then flicked it. lokking forward to multichannel in 2012 (the 2006 commgames were a test event for this format and very successful)

http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22578684-462,00.html

FOXTEL Chief Executive Kim Williams said  FOXTEL would complement Nine's coverage by delivering subscribers an expanded coverage that will provide choice of whole live strands of Olympic competition.

"Not only will FOXTEL provide dedicated extra channels, we will broadcast many elements of our coverage in high definition, which together with the FOXTEL iQ disc drive set-top units, FOXTEL Mobile and Broadband will give our subscribers the ultimate control, choice and personalisation of how they watch the Olympics," he said.

[Shaun Le Conte]

Chris, you made the single biggest individual contribution to weightlifting coverage of anybody on any weightlifting forum. I'd like to see more discussion and topics from other readers of this forum.

[Paul LaDuke]

Chris,

You brought excitement to the lifting and you brought a lot of knowledge of what was going on because you've done it.  I have watched a lot of the raw footage on the website and I have caught only 2 sessions via produced, edited telecast.  Only the production had your audio commentating and that by far was the best way to watch it.  I wish the archived telecasts had your audio commentary because I personally enjoyed watching all the coach/athlete interaction and the behind the scenes footage. 

I thought you did a great job.  Continue to let your excitement and love for this great sport come out.  Passionate color analysts add so much to the broadcast (i.e. John Madden, Dicky V, Darryl Waltrip, etc.).  I hope you are hired to do it again if 4 years!

[Jim Hooper]

I'd just like to say thanks to Chris and all you fellow WE'rs for everything that got streamed, posted, replied to, commented upon, cussed about, debated, and linked here during the Olympics.  It has really added to the fun and ease of watching the WL competitions and having the cyber equivalent of a bar full of rabid fans. Where else but here can you get food for thought, horse laughs, and mildly pissed off, often in the same thread.

With that, I will return to my regularly-scheduled women's beach volleyball programming.

[Stephen Georgiou]

yes! Thanks indeed! Excellent stuff

[Chuck Lopez]

I agree, it's nice to see commentary from someone who's actually been in the sport.