The main obstacle is speed. During updates, sportscasters tend to read their script double time, often interjecting sports metaphors between the names and scores. Our captioners are trained to keep up with them and caption verbatim, to the greatest extent possible, the unique terminology used in sports events, while maintaining high accuracy.

     For sports events, current rosters for the teams involved must be gathered ahead of time to insure proper spelling of the players' names. The names of coaches, stadiums, and other activities surrounding the event also must be researched prior to the start of the game.

     Finally, familiarity with the sport being closed captioned helps captioners keep up with the pace. Understanding what a ground-rule double is in baseball, or knowing the difference between a three-pointer and a free throw in basketball, makes it easier for captioners to capture the sportscasters' commentary.