Live From Grand Slam Track: New Premier Event Serves Up Traditional Racing with a Modern Twist

After three marquee events, the sport is being covered with new ideas and technologies

A competition steep in tradition that tests every aspect of human speed, track is built with drama from the onset. Fans are already invested in the runners on the racing surface, but these supporters can only truly see the pinnacle of the sport on two occasions: the Olympics and the World Athletics Championships. To place these stellar athletes in a more frequent spotlight as well as present this long-time sport in a new way with enhanced broadcast technology, Grand Slam Track has emerged as a viable option for fans with recent stops in Jamaica, Miami, and Philadelphia and their final stop in Los Angeles at the end of June.

The Grand Slam Track team of Rick Qualliotine, Jim Carr, Mark Fulton, Micky Payne, Marni Colón, Clair Goodwin, Kevin Orwin, and Anneka Radley-Hodges.

“Outside of the last Olympics, this is the most innovative broadcast of track that’s ever occurred,” says Rick Qualliotine, Chief Content Officer, Grand Slam Track. “We’re revolutionizing how the world’s oldest sport is consumed globally through strategic partnerships and cutting-edge technology.”

Back to the Beginning: Qualliotine’s Path to Grand Slam Track

Months before Grand Slam Track embarked on their four-city inaugural tour, Qualliotine was a seasoned veteran in the sports-video-production industry. Armed with a background entrenched in technological expertise as Vice President at NFL Media (he was instrumental in bringing the league’s Los Angeles-based facility online), production know-how as an Executive Producer of Good Morning Football, and understanding the entertainment aspect after numerous years at MTV and Comedy Central, Qualliotine was initially intrigued by the concept of Grand Slam Track. A conversation with Founder & Commissioner Michael Johnson solidified his plans.

“It was the opportunity to set the standard for how track could be — not just on the broadcast, but represented throughout the world,” says Qualliotine. “When I spoke with Michael, we talked about how the business part of track doesn’t necessarily consistently match up with how these athletes are the greatest in the world.”

Aerial Camera Systems provided a RailCam that ran alongside the runners on the backstretch.

With only two high-profile competitions throughout an already-packed sports calendar, there was a clear lane for Grand Slam Track. With the possibility of garnering more attention for 96 athletes per event — 48 Racers vs. 48 Challengers — that can win a grand total of $12.6 million in prize money, joining the organization was a no-brainer.

“There hasn’t been a consistent platform for storytelling,” adds Qualliotine. “There was a chance for us to build out a content strategy and broadcast plan, and there was no way that I was going to miss out on that.”

At a similar time, Momentum-CHP — the broadcast venture between UK-based Momentum Broadcast and U.S.-based Carr Hughes Productions — was being onboarded to the process. Centered around Momentum Broadcast Executive Producer Mark Fulton and Carr-Hughes Productions Owner and Executive Producer Jim Carr, the broadcast scheme was being finalized for the four separate destinations in their first season: The National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, Ansin Sports Complex in Miami, University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field in Philadelphia, and UCLA’s Drake Stadium in Los Angeles. These plans were put in motion and set in stone with key executives at Grand Slam Track, including Johnson; Qualliotine; President & COO Steve Gera; and VP, Production, Marni Colón.

Girraphic has been instrumental on the full graphics package, including AR graphics.

Broadcast Compound Configuration: Game Creek Video, High Rock Mobile Television Produce World Feed

With Momentum-CHP as the host broadcaster, Grand Slam Track moved forward with a four-feed production infrastructure to distribute to 205 countries and territories. This approach includes a clean world feed for broadcaster-specific graphics, a dirty world feed with real-time scoring and data graphics supplied by Grand Slam Track, a domestic studio feed, and a feed of unique creator-focused content produced and curated by Creator Sports Network (CSN). Overseas, media rights deals were struck with TNT Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland and Warner Bros. Discovery throughout the rest of Europe and Asia. In the United States, the league has worked with NBC Sports for digital coverage on Peacock and The CW for linear, over-the-air coverage.

“It’s been really positive and has very much been a conversation amongst folks that know each other well,” says Qualliotine. “From the very beginning, they have been advocates for the project, and that’s meant a lot to us.”

Two drones, including this large one, took to the sky in Philadelphia.

For their onsite facilities, Grand Slam Track acquired the mobile units and broadcast technologies from two proven entities in the industry: Game Creek Video for the live competition production and High Rock Mobile Television for the studio show production. In the broadcast compound at Franklin Field, the A and B units of GCV Varsity and GCV Edit 1 were present alongside High Rock Mobile Television’s High Rock 1 mobile unit.

In Philadelphia, the 130-year-old venue was proactive and provided all of Grand Slam Track’s broadcast needs. Led by UPenn’s Assistant Athletic Director, Business Development, Joe Haughey; Associate Director of the Penn Relays, Aaron Robison; and their team, the working relationship between the university and the league was pivotal to a successful weekend.

A JitaCam above the finish line captured the final portion of each race in a new way.

“If you want to do something that’s really big, brand new, and is going to reach the world, you want to find people that have experience producing the sport,” adds Qualliotine. “We’ve been super lucky to work with [UPenn] since they’ve been great partners that want to help Grand Slam Track grow.”

Along with Game Creek Video and High Rock Mobile Television, key production partners include distribution by Tata Communications Media/The Switch’s facility in Los Angeles and BT Tower in London and RF connectivity by NEP UK. Key studio partners include Jack Morton Worldwide’s Senior Production Designer Larry Hartman for scenic design, Infinite Structures’ CEO David Fioravanti for scenic structures, and Eastern Lighting Design’s VP, Design Mick Smith for lighting design.

A jib camera was placed at track level.

Track-Tested Tech: Rail Cam, Multiple Drones, AR Graphics Highlight the Action

Spearheaded by Grand Slam Track’s Chief Product and Technology Officer Rina Thakker and supported by Senior Director, Digital Product Lara Melniker, the broadcast innovation is a tech stack of high-quality gear and technology that merges the beauty of athletics and modern workflows. In addition, these technologies allow viewers watching from home to see these different venues and the history of each city. From a storytelling perspective, Qualliotine believes it’s a golden opportunity to dive deep into the quirks, nooks, and crannies of each building that they’ll temporarily call home.

“One of the most important characters in this universe are these venues but they’re not only stadiums, but also portals that connect us to history,” he says. “When you add the significance of the building to the technologies that we have it, it’s created a relationship where we want to represent and do right by each community.”

The broadcast’s camera complement is based on a handful of main stays in the arsenal, including two drones — a heavy-lift drone and a high-speed racing drone — provided by Sky Lynx, a  Rail Cam provided by Aerial Camera Systems, a trackside jib camera, an extended JitaCam, RF SteadiCams, and RF and hard cameras shooting each race. Some venues dictate changes to the complement, including two Rail Cams in Miami and one in Philadelphia to accommodate the unique size dimensions of Franklin Field. Law Audio is serving up audio equipment.

A hard camera and SteadiCam are positioned at the finish line.

One of the most notable aspects of these broadcasts, which merges this sport with the new-age technologies on display at each event, is the use of augmented reality (AR) graphics. Developing a full graphics package, which includes traditional inserts and AR elements, with Girraphic over a seven-month process, their goal was to make their data-rich and on-screen overlays have kinetic energy and work within three-dimensional space. This is done by enabling AR graphics across the drone, jib, and SteadiCam cameras.

“When there’s a finish line that has no space for a traditional camera, we have the opportunity to cover it with a JitaCam from above,” continues Qualliotine. “When you’re able to cover those places with that kind of camera, that’s a shot that no one’s seen before.”

GCV Edit 1 (close left), GCV Varsity (far left), and High Rock Mobile Television’s High Rock 1 (close right) in the broadcast compound.

On the talent side, Grand Slam Track has legitimized their coverage with well-known voices from the community. On the studio front, host John Anderson, sprint analyst Sanya Richards-Ross, and distance analyst Chris Chavez are leading coverage from an onsite studio set. In Philadelphia, the desk was located in the center of historic Franklin Field and the show was joined by Grand Slam Track’s Senior Director, Racing, Kyle Merber. On the broadcast, races are being called by play-by-play announcer Steve Cram, sprint analyst Anson Henry, and distance analyst Carrie Tollefson. Reporters Taliyah Brooks and Radzi Chinyanganya also contribute to each broadcast. Director Clair Goodwin and senior producer Anneka Radley-Hodges are behind the world feed and director Micky Payne and studio show producer Rich O’Connor are driving the studio show. Technical manager Kevin Orwin is providing ample support for all productions and Coordinating Producer Michael Shames is overseeing distribution.

A shot from the RailCam during the conclusion of the Women’s 400 Meter Long Hurdles.

A Fruitful Future: First-Year Feedback Creates a Strong Foundation

For a first-year league, Grand Slam Track has had to pivot to the venues that they visit and the feedback that they receive from both broadcast partners and the viewing audience. In relation to the participating venues, the various-sized buildings and host cities have caused their approach to slightly change. For instance, High Rock 1 has been present for the two events in Miami and Philadelphia, but in Kingston, GCV Prime went international to handle both studio and live productions at the National Stadium. These productions in the Jamaican capital required the mobile unit to be sent to the venue via cargo ship. Local government support was needed to close some narrow roads leading to the venue to accommodate the width of the mobile units. These last-second audibles highlight the team’s deep industry experience, but more importantly, listening to their audience of new fans will only improve their broadcasts.

A drone shot from above the Women’s 400 Meter Long Hurdles.

“We need to constantly be listening and figuring out what’s working,” adds Qualliotine. “We’re comparing internal notes with the notes of our partners, but we’re also listening to social media in real time to make those adjustments. We’re finding ways to connect with our audience and continue to do that.”

One specific moment, which shows the league’s innovative thinking in their first year and an aspect of the production that will set them up for a prosperous future, occurred in Kingston. With one of their drones, they were able to showcase the speed of the athletes in a tight Men’s 200-meter race. Social media blew up and loved the idea because not only did it allow the fans to feel the quickness of the best track stars in the world, but it also presented the sport from a totally different vantage point. All of their broadcasts are distributed in standard dynamic range (SDR) but in the effort to future proof their productions, content capture is being done in high dynamic range (HDR).

The onsite studio show was done from a desk in the middle of Franklin Field.

“When HDR is more ubiquitous and other broadcasts want to talk about Grand Slam Track or the racers that participate in it, we’ll already have content in HDR to share,” says Qualliotine.

These broadcast moments, social media clips that cause virality, and forward thinking are early indicators of cementing their legacy, but in their first season on the scene, Grand Slam Track is poised to stay in the moment, celebrate the sport, and give justice to these incredible athletes.

“The responsibility to support these athletes to the best of our ability is so massive that it’d be a shame to not step up and do it correctly,” he adds. “There will never be a situation where we go live and there’s something that we didn’t go the extra mile for and push to get accomplished.”

Grand Slam Track’s final event of their first season will take place in Los Angeles on June 28-29.