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[Paul Copioli]

I have to say that I enjoyed hearing Sir Charles announce, but I did only hear him a couple of matches at a time and noticed he was a bit repetitive. Here is some observations and opinions coming from a fellow announcer:


1. Outstanding energy. I thought I was energetic .. he makes me look like I'm half asleep.

2. His knowledge of the game was lacking at first, but it got better by Saturday. He should have done a little more research beforehand.

3. The "Raising the Bar" phrase was actually supposed to be said a lot (maybe not as much as he said it). In announcer training (yes, there is announcer and MC training), we were told to use "raising the bar" during the competitions.

4. His way to get the crowd into it during elims was awesome! I am actually going to use some of his stuff at Great Lakes next year.

5. O.K. Here is my biggest critique: his repetitiveness was distracting from the game. As announcers, our job is to keep the game exciting while keeping the focus on the game. He had many of us counting how many he times he said certain words (I was counting "hellooo") and that is distracting our attention away from the game. Often, in public speaking the person doing the speaking doesn't realize how much repeating is actually happening. I think if Sir Charles sat down and watched some of his matches, he would see this habit and adjust accordingly.

In conclusion, I think he did a great job and hope to see him announce in the future. And Sir Charles, if you are reading these forums ... thank-you for volunteering your time to this great program.

-Paul