Brett Robinson
With the news of teens doing the live broadcasting for the MFNWT, I thought it would good idea to share a little back ground on the Mattagami First Nation Spring Walleye Tournament before talking about them and the jobs they will be doing during the tournament.
With Walleye tournaments growing throughout Northeastern Ontario in the 90s, Larry Naveau, with the help of Tammy Gregoire and Chad Boissoneau, decided to hold the first Mattagami First Nation Walleye Tournament in 1999.
From the very start, anglers where shown a warm and friendly welcome by the community and still are today.
Larry, his team and volunteers ran the tournament for four years before he decided to toss his hat into fishing the tournament, turning the tournament over to Cindy Mckay in 2003.
Cindy and her dedicated team, including Joanne Naveau, Deanna Heyde and Sue Naveau, worked hard at growing the tournament through the years.
During that team’s term, anglers had a chance to fish for a $10,000 first place prize and became part of the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail.
Jessica Naveau joined Cindy’s team in 2010.
It was then that Cindy decided to go back to school and Joanne was expecting a baby so they asked Jessica to take over the tournament.
When Jessica took over the tournament, she asked Crystel Vallee and Dominique Morin to join her team.
With their hard working volunteers, they continue to grow the tournament for area anglers.
One of the things Jessica and her team did this January was have NOWT angler and web designer Andy Yu look after their Facebook page and website.
The next step they took in kicking off the first event of the Northern Ontario Walleye Trail was adding live interviews throughout the weekend.
Here is the kicker – the live interviews will be done by teens overseen by Crystel Vallee.
Fifteen-year-old Brett Robinson told me that he was very excited for the opportunity to be the front man during the interviews.
Over the years Brett says he has watched many walleye and bass tournaments online so this was right up his alley.
Doing the interviews is a great opportunity for him to gain more experience and to further his skills in this field, he said.
He sees this opportunity as a huge step for him in accomplishing his goals of maybe one day having his own outdoor television show.
Although Brett has no prior experience in tournament interviews, he has covered his own tournaments and outdoor experiences since he was 11 years old, sharing his videos on YouTube channel under BUSH KID TV.
During the tournament, Brett says that the viewers can expect to see how the anglers days are going, their techniques, equipment used and the weather conditions throughout the tournament.
When asked if he would be interested in doing more live interviews, he replied: “Definitely, I feel this is a great way to advertise these tournaments and any other events.”
Fourteen-year-old Caleb Robinson-Ethier will take care of the video footage.
Caleb said that he was surprised and excited when he was asked, but wasn’t sure how to respond at first.
“With the encouragement from my parents I decided I couldn’t pass up this opportunity,” he said. “I’m always up for trying something new and think it will be a challenging and rewarding experience. It’s also a good opportunity to spend some time with my dad, experiencing something that he loves.”
Caleb says he has been making videos as a hobby since he was 10 years old.
A couple years ago, Caleb did a promotional video for Kamiskotia Ski Hill and also manages his brother’s YouTube channel.
“This will be my first time filming a live event, and I am looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
When asked what viewers can expect to see, Caleb replied: “Although this will be my first time filming live, I seem to have a good eye and take pride in my videos. I always do my best to be creative and to keep things interesting.”
Caleb definitely would love to pursue photography and making videos in some manner later on in life however he says if it never turns into a full time job, he will definitely continue to do it on the side.
Fifteen-year-old Sarah Gasparetto will be in charge of taking pictures throughout the tournament.
Sarah says that she felt honoured and privileged to be included as part of the MFN Youth Media Crew, and looks forward the experience it can provide.
When asked why she agreed to be part of the live interviews, Sarah said that the idea started off during this winter’s Pike Derby in February.
“Since I need volunteer hours Jessica welcomed me to the Spring Walleye Tournament,” she said. “I was really happy that they ask me to take pictures for them because this is something I love to do.”
Sarah has taken a digital photography class at her school and belongs to an online community of video editors where she has a mass of followers totalling over 12.9K.
This is a self-taught skill which she enjoys.
During the tournament Sarah will be taking the photos for the administrator to review and then decide how they will be posted on the MFN Facebook page .
Viewers can expect to see pictures of every aspect of the derby along with pictures showing how much work the committee is putting into setting everything up before the tournament.
Sarah says this is something she would like to do later in life and sees photography and video editing as a hobby.
The live interviews can be seen on both the MFN Facebook page and the MFN website on June 4 and 5.
Although there are still a few spots open, don’t delay and register now to ensure your chance at the $10,000.00 first place prize and taking part in the First Live Interview Broadcast Walleye Tournament held by Mattagami First Nations.
Hope to see you there.
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