Tech Support

There’s an app to keep up with Comet home games

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — ScoreVision, maker of the digital scoreboards in Charles City’s new competition gym, is relatively new to the game.

“The company started about two years ago,” Charles City activities director Todd Forsyth said about the Omaha, Neb.-based company. “So with us being one of their first customers, they rely on us for a lot of feedback … ways to improve on things.”

It’s a good thing the school is already graced with a vast tech support team — otherwise known as the student population.

“Kids today are sure tech savvy,” Forsyth said. “Us teachers and coaches often learn a lot from them. We have to do our best to keep up with them.”

And for those who want to keep up with the Comets and the scores of their home games, there’s an app for that.

“(ScoreVision) offers a Fan App,” Forsyth said. “You can put it on your smart phone, and you can keep track of an event in progress.”

Primarily, the service is only for Comet home games or away games where ScoreVision is also in place. With a recently installed new gymnasium, Charles City is one of the few schools that have ScoreVision.

“It’s cutting-edge technology for high schools,” Forsyth said. “We’re taking baby steps right now while expanding what we can do with it.

“There’s a learning curve involved. Before we got this, I had to take a class on how to use it and how to teach others to use it.”

The scoreboards’ jumbotron-like screens have the potential to give coaches the opportunity to show video clips of games and/or practices while conducting practice.

“We also like to expand its use to physical education classes in the gym,” Forsyth said. “We can use this for educational purposes.

“I’d like to see our kids to produce videos to be shown during the games. Help promote the school and their activities.”

Like a raw but promising freshman, the ScoreVision system at Charles City will likely remain a work in progress for the time being.

“Right now, we’re trying to get our kids’ pictures on the screen,” Forsyth said. “We hope to add some action video, too.”

During the Comets’ double dual wrestling meet against New Hampton and North Fayette Valley last week, the Track Wrestling site was displayed on the scoreboards … for a little while at least.

“That didn’t go as well as I wanted,” Forsyth said. “The problem is that you constantly have to refresh their website, and that kind of threw things off.”

A dilemma, perhaps, for the school’s in-house tech support team to solve.

For more information about ScoreVision’s Fan App, visit the company’s website at www.scorevision.com.