The Summer of Sports with Anna Petchell

Anna Petchell has been filming sports events for years, but this Northern Hemisphere summer has simply overflowed with Kiwi sporting highlights. Anna’s camera recorded New Zealand’s breakout successes at Wimbledon and the Olympics, allowing Kiwis around the world to enjoy these events ‘live’ and up-close on their screens. An entrepreneurial freelancer and also career mentor, Anna has shared with our Network some of her epic shots and behind-the-scenes stories from filming this truly sensational sporting summer.

Now based in London, Waikato girl Anna has just finished up an intense fortnight in Paris as an accredited Outside Broadcast Sports Camera Operator at the Olympic Games. While some camera operators are on staff at broadcasting companies, many in the industry are freelancers contracted for a single game or an event series. Anna started off the summer season covering the Wimbledon tennis, which was her third year working on Centre Court. At Wimbledon, she particularly enjoyed getting into the midst of the crowd, doing high-speed ball follows with her camera on Djokovic, Alcaraz, Murray, Williams and other tennis greats. Filming Kiwi Lulu Sun’s stunning successes on Wimbledon grass was a real buzz, as the Te Anau-born tennis player reached the quarter finals.

At the Olympics, an obvious highlight for Anna was the rain-drenched Opening Ceremony, where she caught an iconic shot of the athletes turning to light the Olympic Cauldron suspended below its hot air balloon. Anna filmed mostly at the Parc des Champions throughout the Games. NZ House offered great hospitality and live coverage of New Zealand’s athletes - and even lent Anna some Kiwi flags to place strategically in her camera shots. Anna also enjoyed filming at the beautiful outdoor locations which were transformed into temporary sporting venues, such as Place de la Concorde for skateboarding, BMX and basketball. “The energy and atmosphere in Paris has just been vibrant”, says Anna of her Olympic experience.

There were of course many technical challenges to filming outdoors at the Games, from wireless units and camera cradles overheating in the blazing sun, to heavy-set clouds overshadowing key shots. Weather always influences Anna’s work, particularly in the UK, where rain and cold can quickly alternate with hot sun: “Recently I was filming the FIH Hockey Pro league in summer - and had to wear my massive winter sports jacket - and gloves and handwarmers!” Being part of a camera relief crew means versatility is everything. You may need to film handheld while running along the sidelines, or from a boat or moving vehicle, and then the next day manage a multi-camera set-up for afterplay interviews. Anna laughs, “you need to be able to join a crew and new team at the last minute and fit right in.”

Anna sat out the Covid disruptions in international sport in New Zealand, where she also worked on the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup for football. Returning to the UK after the pandemic, Anna has found her London base offers her incredible work opportunities, also in Europe and further abroad. “I was always optimistic that there would be those opportunities, but I didn’t realise just how many there would be!” she laughs. Career highlights have included filming the Formula 1 in the pitlane at Silverstone, the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, and the Hungaroring in Hungary. Anna’s camera followed British racing commentator David Coulthard interviewing some of the Grand Prix’s greatest drivers. As a keen kite surfer and snowboarder herself, Anna particularly enjoys filming individual sports like athletics, where she loves capturing the lively support offered to each athlete, also by their competition. Group sports have a different kind of team energy, as she discovered while filming the hockey at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August 2022, which was the largest international event she’d filmed at that time.

Anna recognises key differences between working in New Zealand and in the UK, where job roles are typically more specialised. She advises newbies to the UK to keep this in mind: “don’t try to sell yourself too much across different spaces - as they value a single skill a lot more over here.” This was a learning curve for Anna, whose skill set ranges from Production Floor Manager, Camera Operator, Yachting Bosun and Career Coach. “My learnings and experience is - start with the specific role that will get you in the door, but after you’re in, you can branch out again”. Alternatively, smaller companies may appreciate your more diverse skill set.

Camera operation, particularly in sports, is still male-dominated, and Anna is passionate about empowering women in her field. With another colleague, Anna founded a networking group last year called Outside Broadcast Camera Women to connect, support and upskill women in her industry. Wearing her Career Transitions coaching hat, Anna recommends “networking with everyone, you just never know how you might be able to help each other. Be genuinely interested in others and what they do.” Anna advises expat Kiwis in the UK to join professional groups and events beyond their role, or outside their industry, because “the opportunities you come across in the UK can look very different”. She encourages her clients to “say ‘yes’ to opportunities, and figure out the logistics later”. Anna also is a co-founder of the thriving local network Waikato Women in Business back in New Zealand, and was a leading force in establishing the environmental group, Keep Hamilton Beautiful.

The day after filming the Olympic Closing Ceremony, Anna was already on her way back to London, gearing up for a quick side trip to film international WTA tennis in Mexico before she returns to Paris to continue filming for the Paralympics. By the time the summer is over, she’ll have filmed competitions in hockey, football, rugby, basketball, tennis on three continents, and a triathlon, not to mention the Games - a truly Olympian effort!

Visit Anna's website for more information on career coaching.