Dig Pink and Blue was the first big project I was assigned after starting at The Side Out Foundation. In early June, Rick sat down with JC (the other Side-Out marketing assistant) and I to discuss a plan for the Olympics. It’s an opportunity that only happens every four years in the volleyball world. Dig Pink and Blue became real after two months of hard work, providing the volleyball community with an amazing resource for following all the USA volleyball teams through their journey. By mid-June, the beach and indoor teams were named allowing us to research and create the player profiles and social feed. The next challenge was finding streaming links and where each match would be streamed. Over the span of the summer, we were able to gather all the information from NBC Olympics and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). The closer the Olympics got, the more details we were able to put up on Dig Pink and Blue to give you the most information possible about everything Olympic Volleyball. We planned out everything for the pool play matches and were ready to execute.

Olympic Volleyball and Beach Volleyball Coverage

Day 1-6 of the Olympics, there were 18 matches a day of volleyball to cover. JC and I decided to update Dig Pink and Blue after each match rather than each point. From August 6th to August 21st, we were living and breathing volleyball. For every match, beach and indoor, we updated scores, but USA Volleyball matches required more attention. We updated social media, Digpinkandblue.org, our t-shirt giveaway, and our Side-Out MVP players. After pool play ended, it was a little easier to update as teams began to get eliminated and there were fewer matches. I think I watched all but three beach matches throughout the entire Olympics. #Dedicated. Midnight matches featuring April Ross and Kerri Walsh Jennings were worth the late nights working to see them win. We were supporting through the wins and the losses. Bronze is the new Gold.

“From August 6th to August 21st, we were living and breathing volleyball.”

Paralympic Sitting Volleyball Coverage

Following the Olympics, we had two weeks before the start of the Paralympics. The process started all over again. I gathered the rosters and player information, schedules, streaming links and news to try and provide the best coverage for volleyball fans. Since the Paralympics took place during school, matches were updated as often as possible or by the end of the last match. Unfortunately, the sitting volleyball matches weren’t live streamed until the very end, but we were cheering every step of the way. Congrats to the Women’s Sitting Volleyball team for winning their first gold medal! Dig Pink and Blue was a success for us and we hope it was useful for you. We had over two thousand people share it, and we were retweeted by Kerri Walsh Jennings, April Ross, Casey Patterson, Jordan Larson, Alisha Glass, Kari Miller, Katie Holloway, Alexis Shifflett, Heather Erickson and more.

Just like Kerri Walsh Jennings, Dig Pink and Blue isn’t retiring. See you in four years, Tokyo!