By Eddie Pells, National Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --The Olympic world’s ever-expanding quest to draw in young fans is meeting them where they are — on Roblox.
The U.S. Olympic team and NBC are collaborating with the kid- and teen-friendly gaming platform to produce a new “Obby” — that’s Roblox for obstacle course — and other features that include ways to interact with U.S. athletes while also checking out highlights from the Paris Games and making visits to a virtual Team USA House called “The Vibe House.”
This new Roblox feature debuting Monday includes animated versions of 20 U.S. Olympians, including a surfer, a skateboarder and two break dancers — all of whom represent sports that have been added recently to the Olympic program in hopes of driving young fans to the games.
“My sister-in-law said my nieces are going to be more excited about me being in Roblox than me being in the Olympics,” said one of the breakers, 35-year-old Sunny Choi.
Roblox says more than half of its 77.7 million daily active users are between 11 and 26.
Choi and breaker Victor Montalvo will be featured in “Emotes” — animated versions of themselves that will feature some of their favorite dance moves. Four of their Emotes will be available for free, with the other available for purchase, and some of the proceeds going directly to the athletes.
The company says these are the first “official” Emotes created in Roblox based on real athletes and their actual moves.
“I did it because I just thought it was adorable and I’ll take any opportunity to share breaking with the wider community,” Choi said. “It’s so great for kids. The messaging in the game, for me, is very much about ‘be you and do what makes you happy.’ So hopefully, that resonates.”
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More