Who can apply for credentials? The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s Board of Directors adopted the following policy regarding media credentials: “The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union shall grant, at the discretion of management, media access credentials for its state championship events to radio, television, print and on-line media to those organizations or companies which routinely provide coverage during regular season play for either teams or individuals which are participating in the tournament, or which regularly offer general coverage of the sport. The number of credentials issued to each organization or company shall be held to the discretion of management. Private talent evaluators, scouting services, etc. shall not be granted access to area of any venues restricted for media access.”
Applying for Credentials: For those requesting media credentials, please download and fill out the Media Request Form and return it to Sherry Tegtmeier at [email protected]. Please let Sherry know the individual(s) that will be representing your organization and what team(s) you are following. If you are broadcasting a game we need to know if you will be broadcasting via a phone line, if you are sharing a line with another station or if you are broadcasting via cell phone. This helps us with our seat assignments. The deadline for requesting credentials is 4:30 pm Thursday, Feb. 23. Access to the media area or media-level seat is not guaranteed after this deadline.
Student/School Media: Schools are allowed one representative to have a courtside media pass (this includes videographers, social media, yearbook/student newspaper). A school administrator (AD/Advisor) needs to submit the individual's name to Sherry Tegtmeier at [email protected] by 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23. The student media representative must purchase a ticket and exchange it with Sherry at the media entrance. There will no exceptions to the one media pass per school rule.
IGHSAU/IHSAA All-Tournament Passes: Media that received the 2022-2023 All-Tournament pass do not need to request credentials. However, it is helpful to let us know if you plan to cover the tournament. A reminder: The media area, materials and credentials are intended for working media. Do not abuse this privilege. Please limit your requests to actual working media members.
Picking Up Your Credentials: NO CREDENTIALS WILL BE MAILED. All media that have applied for credentials can obtain their passes and information at the northwest media entrance door to Well Fargo Arena. THIS IS THE ONLY ARENA ENTRANCE FOR MEDIA. There will be IGHSAU staff at the media entrance. They will provide a packet that will include your media pass. The media entrance will be open at least 90 minutes before the first session each day. Be prepared to show photo identification at this entrance point. If you did not request credentials as outlined above, you will be required to purchase an admission ticket at the southwest corner of the arena. If space remains available, you will then be issued a credential at the northwest media area.
Exchanging Credentials: For media with single day passes (i.e., media covering selected teams, rather than each session of the event) – the IGHSAU reserves the right to limit the total number of credentials to no more than two. In addition, credentials for subsequent days (if the team you are covering wins) must be exchanged by seeing Sherry Tegtmeier at the northwest media entrance on the day your team plays its next game. We will not issue credentials in advance.
Media Seating: All media will be seated at floor level during the Girls State Basketball Tournament. This is a secure, pass-only area. There is no spectator seating at floor level. NO CHILDREN WILL BE PERMITTED ACCESS TO THE FLOOR LEVEL. Media will be seated on two rows opposite the team benches. The second row will have risers. Again, as the floor area is a secure area, it is imperative that media credentials are visually displayed at ALL times.
Media Workroom: Adjacent to the media entrance is an elevator which will take you directly to the media work and interview rooms, located off the northwest end of the arena floor. The media room has both secure wireless and ethernet accessibility. As in the past – box scores will be available during the tournament in the media workroom. We will also have box scores and short summary stories posted online on the IGHSAU website. It is recommended that all media bring extra equipment such as extension cords and cables as they will not be provided by the IGHSAU or Wells Fargo Arena.
Interview Room: Adjacent to the media work we will have an interview room. Following each game, teams are given a five-minute cooling off period in their locker rooms. At that point, the head coach and three players will report to the interview room to answer requests for interviews from the media. I will be asking media for their input regarding the players needed for post game interviews.
Ordering phone lines and internet at Well Fargo Arena: If you are planning on ordering a phone line or ordering a secure internet line to broadcast tournament games, an order form can downloaded by clicking here. Carrie Petersonat the Iowa Events Center (515/564-8018) is the contact person to order materials. Please order your materials from Carrie as soon as you find out that your team has qualified. Please note - phone lines and internet line that are installed at the media tables are there for media that have paid for those lines. If you did not order a phone line or directly order internet lines, you must use the the wireless internet provided by Wells Fargo Arena.
Video Streaming - Video streaming is prohibited at the Iowa Girls State Basketball Tournament. The first two round of the tournament will be broadcast by the IGHSAU digital network while the championship games will be broadcast by Iowa PBS.
Radio/Streaming Informations: Radio stations will be allowed to originate a live audio broadcast of an IGHSAU Iowa High School State Tournament/Playoff/Championship/ Event/Meet for the following rights fees: Basketball – $150.00 per game.
BROADCASTING INFORMATION – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. LIVE AUDIO STREAMING, AUDIO ARCHIVING OR DELAYED AUDIO REPLAY OF THE BROADCAST IS ALLOWED. Specialized radio or television broadcasts or acquiring content for live or delayed broadcasts may be subject to a rights fee charge. There is no charge for live updates of an IGHSAU Iowa High School State Tournament/Playoff/Championship/Event. A live update is a broadcast from a station representative with press credentials that takes no longer than five minutes per hour and does not include “play by play” coverage during the update.
ALL CHECKS SHOULD BE MADE PAYABLE TO THE IOWA GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC UNION (IGHSAU) AND MUST BE PRESENTED WHEN PICKING UP YOUR MEDIA CREDENTIALS.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support and coverage of the Iowa Girl. Please don’t hesitate to call (515-401-1836) or e-mail ([email protected]) if have any further questions. I look forward to seeing everyone at the tournament.
Jason Eslinger