Ice hockey is a fast paced game with lots of action as the players move the puck up and down the ice. While the scores themselves are often low, the number of times players take a shot toward the goal often is not.
Calling such a game takes great skill and frequently some very fast talking.
And for the first time in history, a new broadcasting crew are going to need some fast fingers; the NHL has announced that beginning with game one of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday, the game between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers will have the game broadcast in American Sign Language (ASL).
Founder and CEO of P-X-P Brice Christianson spoke on the historic event saying, “this is a great first step of having representation, having deaf people on screen having the Deaf community connect to people like them. “For the NHL to sign off on this and to believe in this, it’s groundbreaking. It’s truly historic and also they’ve doubled down and said that they want to continue to do this.”
The ASL broadcast will air on ESPN+ and Sportsnet+ with Jason Altmann and Noah Blankenship calling the games.
P-X-P works to make sports and sporting events more inclusive through interpretation.
Having closed caption requires the viewer to read the words about the action – often behind what is actually going on on the screen – distracts the viewer from the event. ASL allows for watching the broadcast and the event at the same time.
NHL senior executive VP of social impact, growth initiatives, and legislative affairs Kim Davis noted, “for us us to be able to have this real-time coverage of play by play and color commentary in American Sign Language being called directly as opposed to a re-interpretation is really what the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community want. It’s what they deserve. That makes the game truly meaningful for them. It is not like you’re re-interpreting for them basically from another language. They are hearing the game live in their own language and the way in which they understand it best.”
Interpreter Paul LaCaruba said, “we know there are millions of deaf and hard of hearing hockey fans — and many more who have yet to fall in love with the sport. We are building access for the Deaf community, by the Deaf community, and there is no better platform to gauge a reaction than during the Stanley Cup Final.”
Seeing the Stanley Cup Finals as a starting point and a test, Brice Christianson is looking to expand the program in the future, not just for hockey but other sports as well; saying, “I think it’s very brave for the NHL to say, ‘Hey we want to do this’. We’re all going to go in with our best and we’re going to try our best, and then we’re going to come back and we’re going to debrief and we’re going to try to get better with every process.”
Last weekend TNT had Melissa Ortiz signing the Women’s Deaf National Soccer match between the United States and Australia.