44-17: Livewire's Derby Day 2025 Broadcast

It's the highlight of the UEA calendar - our annual Derby Day against the Essex Blades was a whirlwind of victory and excitement. Max Gowers sums it up, with an insight into how Livewire's all day broadcast kept fans up to date.

Derby Day is always an event to remember. With this being my second (and penultimate!) one that I've directly involved myself in the broadcasting of, I can say that it's the most high-energy, at points stressful, but overall, rewarding, days of the year.

Every single year for over two decades, the University of East Anglia have battled the University of Essex in an all-out Derby Day. This year, over 40 teams from each university were present on our campus in Norwich, looking to win the most events, and claim victory.

But alongside the incredible sporting, the media collectives on campus have a big day, too. Livewire and Concrete were present everywhere you looked - and I was lucky enough to work behind the scenes on our social media output for the day - as well as see some sport for myself at its end, getting some photos of the women's netball, as well as the overall trophy lift shortly afterwards.

Everyone had their role on our team - and we all agreed at the end that it couldn't have gone any smoother. Some took the role of reporting Edie, Charlie, Jade, Moe and Martha were all out in the field, reporting live - and with the magic of some software called CleanFeed, we were able to have them report and commentate from the sidelines live on air, with audio quality much better than that of a phone call.

Back at base, we had presenters on air all day, too. Nathan and Harrison took the helm in the morning, and Edie, Katherine and Lucy helped out over the afternoon. Off-air, we had myself, Chris and Kizzie clipping up audio from our reporters to be played on air. Even ex-SM George Cooke paid us a surprise visit during the final stretch, a welcome surprise for tired eyes.

I got my chance to go out into the field to get some content and enjoy the sun, too. In the early afternoon, myself and Jade took Llwellyn Livewire, our beloved mascot, out to play a game of hide and seek on our social media. We hid him in five different places, filmed a short clip of him being hidden, then took a photo of each spot - and challenged listeners to find him in each photo.

As we neared the end of the day, I felt the need to escape our headquarters in the upstairs of the Student Union, and see some of the sports for myself. So, myself and Evelyn headed down to the Sportspark, where the final event of the day was hosted - women's netball.

With our press passes, we were able to stand by the sidelines - and let me tell you, it was terrifying but thrilling to be that close to the action. I'd borrowed a camera from the university in lieu of bringing my own, and got some great photos - but also had the life scared out of me when I thought the ball was going to hit me!

After Evelyn reported live from the (incredibly loud) sidelines on air as the game wrapped up, we took a seat in the bleachers to wait for Harrison to come and meet us. Evelyn was going to be on air as the result was announced, and I was taking photos - so Harrison raced down for a video that we could put on social media.

It was such a joy to be there in the final, climactic moment. It gave me perspective on how many people were involved, how many people were invested, and the amount of work it takes to put on an event like this.

Livewire's broadcast was a triumph - and we can't wait to submit highlights to the Student Radio Association Awards later this year. Thank you to everyone who tuned in - and if you want to get involved next year, be sure to. It's such a fun day, and we had a great time bringing the excitement of sport to everyone listening.