will.illinois.edu/prairiefire/episode/pf2007-02-01 WILL, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Series Episode Triathlon racing, the Orange Krush, and wheelchair sports round out our sports-themed first episode of the 15th season of Prairie Fire. Abstract Segment Illinois Culture/History, Sports, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings I first learned about Tim Nugent in 1995 when I was producing on documentary on 8-time Boston Marathon winner Jean Driscoll. His accomplishments and vision never cease to amaze me. Producing this story, we did an interview with Mr. Nugent in his home office. Although it had been 50 years since he established the wheelchair sports program at the U of I, he remembered the events like it was yesterday. When he recalled that a letter written by a professor at the UIUC campus complimenting his disabled athletes, this great man who had accomplished so much was moved to tears. Every student that he has helped was like a brother, son or daughter to him. I was proud to do this story so that in some small way it reminds us of what one person can accomplish. And how one life can touch the lives of so many. Abstract Alison Davis Wood Producer Segment Parks/Outdoor Recreation, Sports, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings When the alarm went off at 3:30 the morning of September 9, 2006, I was already awake. I was excited and nervous about the big day ahead covering the Great Illini Challenge at Lake Mattoon. Normally there are just two or three of us covering a story, but today there would be six: Julius Bolton, Tim Hartin and I on camera, plus assistants John Marlin, Sean Hartin and Rick Langlois. Also a photographer from the State Journal Register in Springfield was going to be following the crew around for the day. She was to shoot photos for an article on prairie Fire for Heartland Magazine. If you want to read the finished article and see Shannon Kirshner’s awesome photos visit http://www.sj-r.com/extras/pdfs/110306prairiefire.pdf. As I left the house, I packed bagels, coffee and other snacks in hopes that some food would ease the pain of the 5 a.m. crew call. I knew I had to try some new things in order to cover the entire event. When Tim Hartin and I shot the footage for our documentary “Against the Wind” on wheelchair athlete Jean Driscoll, we used a motorcycle side car to get shots of her training on the road. So we thought to get a motorcycle again. Luckily Rick Langlois and his Harley were happy to help. At first, cameraman Julius Bolton was going to ride in the side car, but we thought he’d have more mobility if he sat facing backwards on the bike. Tim’s son Sean rode in the side car to act as a ballast. The idea to cover the sport of triathlon came from WILL meteorologist Jay Searles. He mentioned to me at a staff meeting that triathlon was a growing sport in Illinois with several downstate races. He said he was entering The Great Illini challenge and invited us to tape the event. With the race starting at 8, the athletes start to arrive around 6:30. We decided to get there by 6 in order to catch the pre-race activities. It turned out to be a great time to talk to many of the athletes … plus we got that beautiful early morning light! Jay had said triathletes were a friendly bunch and he was right. They shared a lot of laughs and smiles with us they dealt with pre-race jitters. Right before the race started, we launched Tim and a camera on a pontoon boat to capture the swimming portion. As the boat was leaving, I called out to him the race numbers of the athletes that we were following. The pontoon boat driver told me that there was no way to recognize the different athletes in the water. So much for planning! As the leader Jennifer Harrison came out of the water, Tim was back on shore stationed at the transition area. And Julius and Rick were on the bridge over the lake waiting to catch the biking portions. Using our cell phones and some dumb luck we caught all the athletes that we were following at every stage of the race. As the day wore on and the temperatures climbed, we started to feel exhausted. We were amazed at the athletes continuing on this rigorous challenge. In my last interview, an emotional Jay Searles thanked his friends who had supported his training and cheered him as he crossed the finish line. The power of the race to test you physically and mentally was evident on his face. The best shot of the day was watching Jay’s girlfriend run alongside him as he approached the finish line. She shouted to him that is was the only time she would beat him in a race! Like Jay, I was so appreciative of my crew who spent the long day with me, without their help this story really wouldn’t have been possible. Abstract Alison Davis Wood Producer Julius Bolton, Tim Hartin Chief Camera - Segment Segment Sports, University of Illinois, WILL Custom Prairie Fire Subject Headings When your local team produces five NBA players, it is hard not to get excited. Illini basketball fever is very contagious here in C-U, especially with the students. So I was not surprised when two of our student production assistants proposed a story on the notorious cheering section called the Orange Krush. Matt Brickman and Abby Silverman produced, shot and edited this story and I was very impressed by their finished product. They shot from the floor during the 2005-2006 season, so they got to see James Augustine and Dee Brown in action. Plus they attended the press conference and had a chance to ask both Head Coach Bruch Weber and James Augustine about the Krush. The finished story not only does a great job of showcasing the fun antics of the Krush but it tells viewer what most people don’t realized, that the Orange Krush has raised thousands of dollars for children’s charities. So here’s to you Krush members…I-L-L…I-N-I! ... Written by Alison Davis Wood Abstract Matt Brickman and Abby Silverman Producer WILL-TV, University of Illinois Copyright Holder Publisher ¬© 2008 University of Illinois 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 video/mp4 http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/mpeg4/pf2007-02-01.mp4 Moving Image MPEG video MPEG-4 00:28 eng pf2007-02-01.mp4 WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 video/x-flv http://willmedia.atlas.uiuc.edu/flash/pf2007-02-01.flv Moving Image Flash Video Flash Media 8 00:28 eng pf2007-02-01.flv WILL Public Media, University of Illinois 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 2007-02-01T21:00:00-06:00 video/vnd.rn-realvideo http://willmedia.will.uiuc.edu/ramgen/pf2007-02-01.rv Moving Image 00:28:00