Snow Sports Offer Opportunity for Edgy and Aggressive' Audio Natural Selection Tour, Shawn White's The Snow Leagues emphasize athlete sound By Dan Daley, Audio Editor Wednesday, May 7, 2025 - 9:11 am
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In winter, both the weather and the sports can be extreme. It's an environment that lends itself to finding new perspectives for sports, and how those sports sound.
The trend in production now is looking for ways to look from the field of play out, rather than from the outside in, says Ben Boriss, VP, operations and production, RF Wireless Systems. Winter sports give you a unique opportunity for that.
For the past five seasons, the company has been the wireless-audio arm for Uncle Toad's Media Group's logistically remarkable REMI productions of the Natural Selection Tour. In March, its marquee competition took place at Revelstoke Mountain in British Columbia, this time at the ski resort's iconic Montana Bowl area.
RF Wireless Systems' Ben Boriss: I think the biggest battle with any sort of snow-sport type of competition is to give the viewer audio as immersive as we can.
Dubbed the manifestation of snowboarders' wildest dreams, the backcountry, freestyle snowboarder competitions challenge staid notions of linear and streaming broadcast. The world's top snowboarders - from Olympians to big-mountain film icons - come together to compete in men's and women's events. Twelve riders duel at six iconic mountain venues to earn the right to compete at Revelstoke along with 17 returning and invited Natural Selection Tour riders.
RF Wireless Systems has been getting the audio closer to fans every year, fitting the athletes with the same Q5X PlayerMic transmitters deployed by the NBA. For both the Natural Selection Tour and Shawn White's The Snow League inaugural collaboration with NBC Sports (March 7-8 at Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen Snowmass), the mic transmitters were sewn into bespoke pockets sewn into the competitors' vests (the vest collars provide some protection against wind noise), just as they are in NBA jerseys, because the need for athlete safety is just as pronounced.
The difference is that some of these athletes are falling from 40-60 ft. in the air and moving at a much higher rate of speed, notes Boriss. There was a [safety] concern in the frontend, but, as soon as they saw the product, it was a go. What's neat is that both of these [organizations] are very curious and passionate about the deliverable, as far as the broadcast is concerned. They want the sound to be edgy and aggressive.
He points out that they continue to use the analog version of the PlayerMic, which he says responds best when the situation calls for combining multiple antennas, either over fiber or wirelessly.
What also sets that system apart from everything else on the market, he says, is the long rechargeable-battery life and remote controllability. You're not bugging [athletes] for battery changes or to change a setting or adjust a frequency.
Cinematic Sound Although baseball occasionally catches the philosophical ruminations of miked outfielders waiting out a pitching duel, the Natural Selection Tour capture cinematic moments, such as when snowboard rider Estelle Pensiero, standing on the precipice preparing for a heart-thumping run, softly says to herself - and thousands of listeners - Oh, my God, my dad's going to kill me.
Says Boriss, It really puts you in the moment with her. The [riders] never cease to amaze me as I listen. These are fantastic moments, humanizing the competitors in a way nothing else can.
This kind of outside-in perspective is the new frontier in sports media, he opines, driven by the ability to put microphones and cameras ever closer to the action. Another example is the UmpCam that RF Wireless Systems has been providing this season to the MLB.
It's everything from wearable cameras to FPV drones and wireless audio, Boriss notes. As soon as you change the field of play from something that can be very conventional, like a stadium setting, to something like Revelstoke, it becomes incredible.
It's not like overhearing a conversation between ball players; it's closer, he says, to being with the athlete as they stand for their moment of truth.
The close-miking this year created a substantial contrast with most previous productions. Before, Natural Selection's mic plots were based on the geography or topography of the field of play.
In the years when we haven't done the athlete miking, the event has felt quite quiet, he says. So we would put out a couple of stationary wireless effects mics, shotgun mics, but we were dependent on camera miking in the start and finish area, and the other cameras are quite far away. Now the athlete microphone comes into play while [the riders are] underway. It makes a huge difference in the overall ambience.
Sound Is a Critical Part of the Plan Audio was always a major component of the vision for the snow-sports productions at Revelstoke and Aspen.
At Uncle Toad's, says Jordan Velarde, executive producer, Uncle Toad's Media Group, we've always been driven by the goal of bringing audiences closer to the action - not just visually but emotionally. One of the most powerful tools in achieving that is sound. Our philosophy has always been to immerse the viewer so deeply in the environment that they feel like they're right there with the athletes.
Audio plays a crucial role in that immersion, he continues. Capturing the oohs' and ahs,' the impact of a hard landing, the slicing of a snowboard edge, and even the occasional swear word gives the audience visceral cues about what the athlete is experiencing in real time. It helps them understand the physical and emotio
