As the six strongest teams of the HardMoves Fight Club met at Wuppertal’s
magnificent Historische Schwimmoper indoor swimming center to compete in the
international bouldering series’ SuperFinal, Riedel Communications supplied the
real-time media network and intercom system that supported live links to other
venues, as well as live streaming. During the event on March 5 in Riedel
Communications’ hometown, the company provided a MediorNet fiber network,
Artist digital matrix intercom system, Performer digital partyline intercom system,
and STX-200 professional Skype® interface, as well as a variety of control panels,
beltpacks, and radios, to enable flexible, reliable signal transport and
communications.
Hailing from Wuppertal himself, Riedel Communications CEO Thomas Riedel avidly
supports HardMoves. “We first partnered for the SuperFinal in 2013 and were
thrilled by the organizers’ passion and enthusiasm,” he said. “The HardMoves
sporting standard is impressively high, and we were delighted to participate in this
event again in 2016 as a local business.”
Over the past season, nearly 7,000 climbers from six nations participated in the
HardMoves series. Competitors included World Cup winners, world champions, and
the best boulderers on the planet. Hosted by the city of Wuppertal, the concluding
event of the HardMoves FightClub Edition 2015/2016 featured athletes climbing
floating 7-meter-high walls in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 1,600, with another
2,300 fans watching on a giant screen at the nearby Historische Stadthalle. In all,
more than 10,000 viewers watched the event live or later at sportdeutschland.tv,
and the event’s two YouTube channels drew 32,000 views during the competition.
To support audio signal distribution, Riedel tunneled AVB over a MediorNet fiber
network to connect two Avid consoles from satis&fy. To create links between the
three Schwimmoper locations and the Wuppertal city hall, more than one kilometer
of fiber was used. Together, an Artist 64 system and Performer system enabled
communications at the two sites. Riedel also supplied a wireless HD camera
production unit, a commentary control panel and headset, and 35 analog radios.
Riedel’s STX-200 interface facilitated real-time interaction between fans watching at
a climbing club and the fans in the Historische Schwimmoper during the
competition. Licensed by Microsoft, the STX-200 is a stand-alone, broadcast-grade
solution that leverages Skype to bring live content from remote participants directly
into the live production. Together, the STX-200, MediorNet, and Artist systems
enabled transport of program video with embedded audio to production, as well as
flexible routing of signals to individual Skype users using tablets and other smart
devices. The MediorNet network also was used to feed several live streams to the
Wuppertal city hall. With fans around the world watching at public venues and on
several online platforms, organizers estimate that up to 100,000 spectators watched
the SuperFinal.
The HardMoves event was organized by the team at Wuppertal-based Climb-Inn
Klettersport GmbH & Co. KG, headed by managing directors Arndt Wilmanns and
Christian Popien.
Further information about Riedel and the company’s products is available at www.riedel.net.
