Drawing teams from all over the globe, the 2022 World Rowing Coastal Championships and Beach Sprint Finals took place in Saundersfoot between October 7th and 16th. Perhaps not unusually for this time of year on the stunning Pembrokeshire coastline in beautiful southwest Wales, weather conditions on the first day of racing ranged from driving wind and rain to bright sunshine, providing quite a challenge for the competitors and the team at Total Sound Solutions who were contracted to provide a sound system for the event.
Commentaries from wireless mics both on the beach and from a boat at a sea were relayed to the spectators and rowers via 4 pairs of front and back facing NEXO PS10 speakers along the shoreline, with additional PS10s in the official event area overlooking the beach where yet more of NEXO’s workhorse point source speakers were also on duty at a live performance stage and screen. Yamaha QL consoles at either end of a 500-metre fibre cable connected the two areas via Dante, with an additional feed to a broadcast truck covering the second weekend of racing.
“Along with the weather, one of the main challenges at this event is the rapidly changing tide” reports Declan McNevin of Total Sound Solutions. “The starting line is moving as much as 50 metres up and down the beach with each race, and we need to move the speakers with it, ensuring that we’re not trailing too much cabling between the PS10s and the all-terrain utility vehicle housing the microphone receivers, mixer and NXAMP powered processors. And the system must remain live while we’re doing it.”
Determined to use local services wherever possible, event organisers Identity appointed Total Sound Solutions following firm recommendations from colleagues in the events industry in Wales. “They say no plan survives first contact with the enemy” quotes Simon Dunnell, Executive Project Director at Identity. “Declan and the team at TSS have been quick to adapt to the rapidly changing conditions on the beach and they did it with an endless supply of good humour. They’re doing a great job.”
The World Coastal Rowing Championships wraps up a busy and varied summer of events for Total Sound Solutions, which has seen the Swansea-based production services specialists in action on jobs as diverse as the mainstage at Lakefest, the Swansea University Summer Ball, NRF Fest and Wales Air Show.
“Versatility and a focus on customer satisfaction are key to success for an ambitious company like ours” comments Total Sound Solutions founder and MD Chris Hooke. “The expertise and professionalism of our team combines with the performance and versatility of our NEXO inventory to ensure we deliver a quality service at every type of event.”
For further information about the 2022 World Rowing Coastal Championships, visit: worldrowingcoastals2022.org
For further information about Total Sound Solutions, visit: total-sound-solutions.com
For further information about Identity, visit: identitygroup.co.uk
