Unlikely Pacific rugby alliance steps up to support Timor-Leste in sports spotlight
Timor-Leste loves sport.
The streets of Dili are a cacophony of noise and kaleidoscope of colour around the clock during FIFA World Cups, city beaches are alive with pickup games every sunset, and almost every minibus, or mikrolet , crawling the streets of the capital adorns its windows in effigies of Jesus - and football stars.
So the chance to host the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) Games, and welcome junior athletes from Portugal, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, is both a significant coming-of-age event for a country once solely focused on recovering from war, and a chance to indulge one of the population's great passions.
But national broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Timor-Leste | RTTL, eager to bring the Games to the host nation and beyond, found itself short of equipment, and live sports broadcasting experience with the opening ceremony – set for July 17 – approaching fast.
So, the network's new President asked ABC International Development's (ABCID) Indo-Pacific Broadcast Strategy team to help find a solution.
Timorese energy meets Fijian know-how
Délsio Dos Santos De Jesus and Joel Da Costa Dos Reis - camera operators/switchers for Radio-Televisão Timor Leste (RTTL) - watch the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC) Sports team in action at the U20s Oceania Rugby Championship in Fiji. ( Fernanda Maria )
With the cooperation of a complex network of supportive partners, it did, but not in the most obvious way. Instead, a plan was hatched to take a team of Timorese to the sideline of a rugby pitch 5600 kilometres away.
'Rugby is brutal - they are so big and so physical,' says wide-eyed RTTL Graphic Designer and Camera Operator Joel, just three weeks later at the Oceania Women's Rugby Union Championship in Sigatoka, on the south coast of Fiji's biggest island.
For all its sporting passion, rugby is virtually unknown in Timor. Women's rugby played at this elite level, unimaginable.
But a Timorese team of three, supported by ABCID's Dili-based Project Coordinator Fernanda Maria, made the long trip South-East to observe how Fiji's MaiTV and FBC broadcast teams deliver world-class live sports coverage with minimal equipment and crew, at the women's series in Sigatoka, and the Oceania Under-20 Men's Championships in Nadi. They then travelled to the Fijian capital to see the operations at FBC headquarters.
The Radio-Televisão Timor Leste (RTTL) sports team joined forces with the Oceania Rugby Commentary and Mobile Journalism Program participants in Sigatoka, Fiji ( Fernanda Maria )
RTTL's Chief of Sport Atanásia De Jesus Araújo Guterres and camera operator/vision switchers Délsio Dos Santos De Jesus and Joel Da Costa Dos Reis are buzzing at how the learnings could be applied at the Games in July, and beyond.
'Everything was new for me,' says Délsio.
'I was impressed with how the TV crews work, especially their teamwork and communication during the live broadcast, and I would like to do the same during the CPLP Games.'
Atanásia is similarly impressed by the Fijians' professionalism.
'They use the equipment and deploy crew based on the budget allocated or offered by the steering committee of the sport event,' she says.
'The crew was very solid and the way they communicate with each other was very good.'
An unlikely connection
Délsio Dos Santos De Jesus and Joel Da Costa Dos Reis learn from Mai-TV's team at the Women's Oceania Rugby Championship in Sigatoka, Fiji ( Fernanda Maria )
The unlikely connection was made possible when, after hearing the RTTL President's plea, ABCID's Timor team contacted the ABCID Commentary and Mobile Journalism (CAMP) delivery team, knowing they would also be in Sigatoka, working with Oceania Rugby in June. It was perhaps the only sports event in the world that would serve the Timor broadcaster's needs in the time available.
But for the plan to work, it would need the support of the rugby and broadcast fraternity and when the call went out, Oceania Rugby's Senior Manager of Women's Projects, Sheridan Graham-Tupaea sprung into action.
'As people of the Blue Pacific, we never hesitate to share knowledge and welcome others with open hearts,' she says.
'Building connections across various sporting codes is huge and knowing that from their experience here at our championships they'll take away so much and be able to deliver coverage of multiple sports at the games is amazing.
'It's a powerful reminder of how collaboration in sport can create lasting impact.'
Connections across codes, countries and media professionals
'When our ABCID teams told me they had this idea to facilitate two of our most important partner countries to learn from each other and forge new relationships and professional exchange, I encouraged them to go for it, but I was very aware how complex it would be and the tight timeframes to pull it together,' says ABC International Development Lead, Jo Elsom.
'To see it happen so quickly and so successfully is really satisfying. 'Plugging in' our many highly skilled partners in this way is something we can only do because of a long time spent building trust and connections.'
ABCID has also supported the delivery of new broadcast equipment to ensure RTTL is CPLP Games ready, and discussions are underway to expand live sports coverage, once the Games are finished.
Given the Timorese' undying love of football, it might be a while before we see rugby played on the beaches of Dili. But rugby and the place that loves it arguably more than anywhere else, Fiji, have at least four new converts in the fledgling Asian nation. And Timorese football fans are set to get local live sports coverage like they've never seen before.
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