SMT Assists American Flag Football League With Event, Broadcast Graphics

SMT (SportsMEDIA Technology) continues its collaboration with the American Flag Football League (AFFL) to provide game management technology for the AFFL’s first U.S. Open of Football Tournament (USOF). The teams playing in the Ultimate Final at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston will battle for a $1 million cash prize.

SMT technical teams will be onsite at the USOF Tournament for every game, providing the customized virtual and clock-and score technology and graphics package that helped to define the league last year during its launch on June 27 at Avaya Stadium. Retired NFL stars Michael Vick and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson return to the field to captain the teams, along with basketball legends Nate Robinson and Carlos Boozer, former NFL running back Justin Forsett, and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson.

SMT’s virtual 1st & Ten line system, used in NFL broadcasts, will be deployed from its Camera Tracker system, working in tandem with SkyCam to give viewers the “Madden-style” play-by-play angle used during NBC Sports’ 2017 season. SMT’s virtual Go Clock, designed specifically for the fast-paced AFFL, will synchronize with in-stadium displays to indicate when the defense can rush the quarterback.

SMT’s Design Studio designed and implemented the AFFL graphics package — including show open and score bug — and the virtual-graphics package.

SMT’s clock-and-score technology is made available via its dual-channel SportsCG, a turnkey graphics publishing system that allows greater autonomy via a second channel laptop that can be operated remotely. In addition to producing the score bug, the SportsCG offers real-time, in-game offensive and defensive statistics powered by SMT QB Stats, the same system SMT uses for NCAA and NFL games.

“SMT is proud to have helped the AFFL launch a new sports era, and we are thrilled to build on last year’s great success by offering flag football fans the same platform they’re used to when watching college and NFL games,” says Ben Grafchik, SMT Business Development Manager. “With the debut of our dual- channel SportsCG, we can decrease the production bottleneck associated with rendering graphics on-air, allowing the quickly developing storylines to be told in a more dynamic way.”