The ins and outs of shooting sport broadcast with Jamie Strangroom

It was almost by accident that Jamie Strangroom found his way into shooting sport broadcasting. A decade later, he has become one of the recognisable voices of the sport, working across ISSF competitions and major multi-sport events, including the Olympic and Asian Games.

“As you know in this industry, it’s more who you know than what you know,” he says with a smile.

Originally a radio broadcaster with the BBC, predominantly covering entertainment news and occasionally sport, Strangroom had no particular connection with shooting. Then came an unexpected opportunity.

“A friend of a friend at the BBC got in touch with that friend to see if they’d be interested in trying out for some shooting sport, announcing and commentating. That friend wasn’t available, so he asked me.”

Strangroom said yes, despite knowing little about the sport.

“I really learnt on the job, watched a few YouTube videos, and started at an ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany,” he recalls.

“I remember making quite a few mistakes that day and calling my mum at the end of the day and telling her, I don’t want to do this, so I just want to go home.”

He did not go home for good. Instead, the unexpected opportunity became a career.

Making shooting understandable

For a sport that can struggle to attract mass attention outside major multi-sport events, broadcasting presents a particular challenge: how do you make something technically complex and visually subtle understandable and engaging?

Not everyone watching or sitting in the stands will know the difference between the disciplines, understand the scoring system or appreciate just how difficult it is to hit a target.

Strangroom admits that finding the right balance remains a work in progress.

“It’s a tough balancing act, I guess, because I do more of the audience, in-person announcing and commentating. My colleagues Rory (McAllister) and Martina (Lucic) do more of the TV commentary.”

At World Cups, he estimates that most spectators already understand the sport.

“Generally, at our World Cups, 80 to 90 per cent already know the sport. So you don’t want to patronise them or alienate them, but equally you’ve got to think about that 10 or 20 per cent who don’t know the sport.”

The Asian Games provide another opportunity to strike that balance and introduce the sport to a wider audience.

“It’s something I’m still working on, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve figured out the best way yet of describing the various events and disciplines to a new audience, but it’s something I’m always working on.”

Making an invisible sport visible

The challenge is particularly interesting because shooting does not always offer the instant visual drama associated with other sports.

“Rifle and pistol events are very exciting,” said Strangroom. “There are lots of details to focus on, and the atmosphere is good, especially being indoors with the music playing. The Asian Games has been amazing. The first couple of days here, the atmosphere was brilliant for the rifle finals.”

But there is an obvious limitation.

“Of course, it’s not the most visual sport in terms of what you’re seeing in person. With shotgun (events), you can see the targets and see whether they’ve been hit or missed.”

Broadcast technology has helped bridge some of that gap. Live aiming, close-ups and other visual elements allow audiences to see details that can be difficult to appreciate from the stands.

Strangroom also has a more traditional trick.

“I’ll often hold up a target so they can see how difficult it is to hit the black and then, right at the very centre, the 10.9.”

He often compares the 10.9 to hitting the tip of a pen from 10 metres away.

“Showing them that visual with the target and the distance of 10 metres can really help. Even though they can’t see it happening in the moment, they can start to imagine it and appreciate how difficult it is and how skilled these athletes are.”

For Strangroom, that is ultimately what broadcasting should achieve.

“So it’s a balancing act – not alienating those who already know the sport or patronising them, but also being there to educate and, hopefully, entertain. That’s really the job.”

The bigger objective is to turn curiosity into a long-term following.

“Hopefully, we can introduce new people to the sport as well and get them to come back again and again.”

From resistance to embracing the show

Shooting has changed considerably during Strangroom’s decade in the sport. Competition formats have evolved, finals have been shortened and organisers have increasingly looked at ways of making the sport easier to follow.

“The formats have changed. They’ve been shortened,” he said. “The longer events have been shortened, at least in the finals. The three-position event and the two shotgun events, skeet and trap, have been shortened as well. So it’s about making them shorter and, hopefully, easier to follow and easier to understand.”

But perhaps the biggest change has been cultural.

“When I first started, there was, within the sport, a little bit more resistance to people like me coming in, announcing, trying to get the audience making noise, having music playing, dramatic lighting – things like smoke machines at some World Cups when the athletes walk out, almost like WWE wrestler-style entrances.”

That resistance has gradually disappeared.

“We do that at some World Cups now, but there was resistance to it at the beginning. That was 10 years ago. Remember, I’m old!”

He has also noticed a change in the athletes’ attitude towards the atmosphere around competitions.

“When I do my rapid-fire interviews for ISSF Instagram, one of the ‘this or that’ questions is: loud crowd or quiet crowd? Only one person out of, I don’t know, 50 this year has said quiet crowd. That was Shengli Hao, by the way.”

The overwhelming preference is for noise.

“They all say loud crowd. They like the atmosphere. So I think the athletes are now starting to embrace what we’re trying to build around the sport – an atmosphere that helps make shooting feel more like, as you said, a more audience-friendly sport.”

Technology and presentation, Strangroom believes, will continue to play a role.

“Bringing in more visual elements like live aiming and building on that is how we can help the sport grow.”

He jokes about the scale of the challenge.

“And, you know, again, we know the ceiling is lower. We’re not going to be football. We’re not going to be cricket.”

“And that’s very negative of me! We are going to be football. We are going to be cricket. It might just take a bit of time.”

Watching India grow

A decade in shooting has also allowed Strangroom to watch athletes and teams develop, including India.

“Incredible,” he says when asked about the country’s growth.

“My first competition in India was quite a few years ago, and going there for the first time compared with my most recent visit last year, I haven’t seen too much change in terms of the passion and warmth of the nation and the people we work with. That has always been consistent. I love going to India – and I love Indian food too, so that helps!”

What has changed, he says, is the professionalism surrounding the athletes.

“In terms of the athletes and the professionalism of the NRAI, I think it has really grown. It’s incredibly impressive now.”

He recalls seeing the operation at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi and encountering the Indian team at competitions around the world.

“The preparation is remarkable. They’re always in the gym. In fact, my biggest battle at these competitions is trying to get into the gym before the Indian team because they’re always there!”

He puts India and China among the most impressive teams operationally.

“They’re consistent, they work hard and they’re always in preparation mode. Off the field, I’d say India and China are probably the most impressive in terms of the operation and the team around the team.”

His connection with Indian shooting also goes back to the athletes themselves.

“On the field, I feel like I’ve grown up with some of these athletes. When I started, it was at a junior World Cup, and Anish Bhanwala was there at one of his first international competitions. Now I’m announcing him at the top level, including when he won a World Championship bronze in Cairo last year.”

“So seeing the growth of these athletes has been really great. I feel like I’ve been on a journey with a lot of the Indian team. I’m neutral, I’ve got to say – I’m neutral! — but I do feel like I’ve been on a journey with India.”

A sport obvious for someone in the UK – football

After more than a decade in shooting, two Olympic Games and countless ISSF World Cups and World Championships, Strangroom has little doubt that taking that first opportunity was the right decision.

“For any young aspiring broadcasters out there, I think the lesson here is don’t automatically say no to things, because I almost did,” he says.

“I almost did that with this, not knowing what it was and knowing it was so far out of my comfort zone. But I don’t regret it at all.”

And, while speaking to someone from the UK, there is one subject that cannot be avoided: football.

Originally from near Coventry, Strangroom supports Liverpool, thanks to his older brother.

“My big brother supported them, so that’s how I got into Liverpool. We’ve had plenty of ups and downs in my time as a fan!”

His favourite memory as a shooting commentator is easier to identify.

“My favourite memory has to be announcing the first medal of the Paris Olympics — the 10m air rifle mixed team event.”

But as a fan, he goes back much further.

“I’ll go with Euro 96. Remember, I’m old! It was the first tournament I really remember England being involved in. We reached the semi-finals, lost to Germany on penalties, and for a while we thought, ‘Can we actually win this? It’s coming home.’”

Then came the familiar ending for an England fan.

“That was when that song came out too. Then we lost on penalties, which was probably an important life lesson, because England fans have experienced that pain plenty of times since!”

He remembers more than the result.

“Just seeing the whole country come together — it was summer, the sun was shining, everyone was singing that song. We’re still singing it all these years later, and we still haven’t won anything!”

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