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Adam Hunter: announcer extrordinaire
by Chris Tessmer
The Carillon
When one thinks of sports announcers at athletic events, images of Marv Albert, John Madden and Harry Caray come to mind. However, according to Adam Hunter, the announcer at all indoor University of Regina Cougar athletic events, the life is not quite as glamorous as it seems.
For starters, the third-year History major has to devote every Friday and Saturday to his job, during the basketball and volleyball seasons. If that wouldn’t discourage most people, Hunter often has to restrain himself from becoming a cheerleader during the Cougar men’s basketball games–his brother Joel is a third-year guard on the team.
“When [Joel] does good I’ll sometimes have to stop myself from yelling, but it’s not really too bad. I really only have to catch myself when the refs make a bad call on him. I look forward to my job though. It’s not difficult. I enjoy it. I look forward to it because I get to check out the games and get paid for it,” he adds.
Hunter got his start announcing at women’s basketball playoff games while he was still in grade 12. Since that somewhat intimidating start, the U of R student has been a regular at Cougars’ home games for the past four years.
“It’s somewhat of a different experience. You have to be unbiased, yet obviously be a little biased towards the Cougar teams. Some games I’ll talk a little bit more than others, depending on the flow of the games.
“Volleyball is a little bit more subdued because everyone’s quiet during the service, while basketball is a little more free-flowing. There are certain games, though, where I’ll just say my piece and let the action speak for itself. Over time I think I’ve learned how much to say in certain situations.”
With his years of experience, Hunter has also gotten to know the players pretty well. Fraternizing with the athletes actually benefits the announcer, helping him find ways to personalize his duties.
“I’ll make the odd pun or joke while announcing, basically just trying to keep things my own style. For example, every time Hart Spencer of the men’s volleyball team gets a point, I’ll announce it as a ‘Hart Attack’.”
The long-time student-employee would like to parlay his experience into a full-time announcing gig one day, but is currently happy with his current job. With a past stint doing play-by-play for Access Communications, and plans to keep his job next year as well, Hunter hopes to see the Cougar teams move to their new home at the university’s new athletic complex that is currently under construction. While he isn’t quite sure what his future holds after that, the very personable student is quite adamant that more students need to come support the basketball and volleyball teams.
“Cougar athletics are exciting. The games are early enough in the night that people can go out and party after, but more importantly it’s good entertainment. Chances are the people on the court are the same people from your classes...that and our teams are generally pretty dominant.”
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