HOCKEY HEARTBREAK
TYLER BIEBER The newspaper headline read “Hockey Heartbreak”. The news of the horrific accident that claimed 16 lives of the Humboldt Broncos hockey players, coaches and staff quickly spread worldwide within hours.
In the days that followed, the tragedy generated an outpouring of grief, condolences, tributes, sympathy and unimagined generosity from around the globe — from the “GoFundMe” campaign, the “hockey stick” tribute, Jersey day, the crash site memorial of crosses, flowers and hockey sticks — to generous fund-raising campaigns of musicians, businesses and individuals — plus expressions of gratitude to the courageous first responders and medical staff.
From the eulogies, newspaper stories, radio/tv coverage, the world would learn that Tyler Bieber had those special qualities — the passion and dedication for the job of sports broadcasting!
And even more impressively, he was one of those rare individuals who by his own initiative, launched his own broadcast career without any broadcast training, but simply by sheer determination and natural raw talent,
Tyler started down the path of a professional broadcast career in an entry-level station. He would be in the station at 5:00am preparing the morning sportscast. He knew his information so well that co-workers observed him doing an entire sportscast from just a handful of scribbled notes. Doing play-by-play for the Humboldt Bronco hockey team was especially an “adrenalin rush” for Tyler.
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As the days passed, tens of thousands attended memorial services to pay tribute to those who had lost their lives. Eu- logies were given that provided details of who these people were — insight into their personalities, their ambitions and achievements, their laughter and their loves. Each of these people had many years of life ahead of them, snatched away in only a second. What they could have accomplished and what their lives could have achieved, we are only left to wonder.
For several decades, Western Academy Broadcasting College has had the privilege of helping young men and women start their careers in professional broadcasting — many dozens of them in the field of sports — from local sports announcers, to major TV network sports anchors, to play-by-play announcers. It was not simply “by chance” that these rookie sports broadcasters rose from entry-level stations to the ranks of being well-known polished pros in major markets. After broadcast college, years of initiative, motivation, drive, determination and hard work were required. But success in the competitive world of sports broadcasting would require something more — the special qualities of intense passion, the dedication, and even an addiction to the job of sports broadcasting.
What he could have accomplished and what his life could have achieved, we are only left to wonder, but most certainly with his talent and spirit, accomplishments would have been extraordinary.
It is with recognition of the talent and commitment to a career in broadcasting demonstrated by Tyler Bieber, that Western Academy Broadcasting College has created the Tyler Bieber Memorial Scholarship.
Thanks to Tyler’s mother Marilyn Hay for assisting with the presentation!
Scholarships will be awarded yearly to applicants who best represent the qualities that have so clearly been demonstrated by Tyler Bieber.
The ongoing scholarships will provide a legacy to the memory of sports announcer Tyler Bieber and the 15 other Humboldt Broncos hockey team and staff.
Thanks to Rawlco Radio, Pattison Broadcasting, Fabmar Communications for promoting the scholarships — thanks Spotlight Sport & Corporate Wear Ltd. for supplying the Humboldt Broncos jerseys
Applications for the Scholarship are available on the Western Academy Broadcasting College website:
www.wabc.ca or by calling (306) 665-1771.
Don Scott, Director
Western Academy Broadcasting College
Western Academy Broadcasting College is a Private Vocational School licensed to operate by addiction to the job of sports broadcasting!
Saskatchewan Advanced Education, Government of Saskatchewan
