VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Only a handful of area cities area making a return to high school sports while trying to maneuver through the Covid-19 pandemic. There still no fans alllowed in the stands. For parents and relatives who can't make it, schools are providing pixellot cameras as an option for everyone to have a front row seat.
One is mounted at any event like a recent wrestling match at Cox High School. Folks can link up an start watching. Its been in place the past couple of years around the state through the National Federation of State High Schools and the Virginia High School League. David Rhodes, who's the coordinator of student activities for Virginia Beach Public Schools feels it couldn't have come at a better time. "It kind of ratcheted things up it made it even more appropriate for us to look into this and so we researched it we gave the approvals".
Jessica Horning says it gives family members of student/athletes to not miss any special moments. "Not only is Pixellot allowing mom and dad up the road to watch, it's allowing grandma and grandpa in California or a parent who's deployed to watch", she says. "So they've been really thankful for that."
It can be used for outdoor sports like football, baseball, soccer or track and field. As great as it is, there are still some things that are missed before the pandemic. "One person from our school division said jokingly, 'I need to smell popcorn. Can you pipe in a smell for me?' So we're missing those things. They're definitely missing the smells and the sounds. We need to get in some smells and some audience sounds."