Basketball for all: Olimpia Milan opens its doors to fans with visual impairments
On the occasion of Game 4 of the semifinal against Virtus Bologna, Olimpia Milano gave an immersive experience to fans with visual impairments. Thanks to the ‘Connect Me Too’ service, an inclusive audio description platform, blind and visually impaired people were also able to experience the match.
For the first time, in fact, Olimpia Milano made available to its blind and visually impaired fans a fully digital system ‘Connect Me Too’ provided by technology partner CMT Translations. Each person was thus able to enjoy a hyper-descriptive chronicle not only of the match, but also of what happened around the playing field.
The narration was edited by a professional self-describer, specially trained to enthuse and excite those listening. His voice was broadcast live and without delay via the brand new CMT Translations branded App, which can be downloaded from the Android Play Store and the’Apple store and relies on the 5G and 4G network. To take advantage of the innovative service, fans simply had to download it to their smartphones and connect their earbuds or headphones.
Michele Samaden Youth Development Program & CSR Executive of Olimpia Milano: “We are proud to have introduced the audiodescription service ‘Connect Me Too’: for us, inclusion is an indispensable principle: making the live experience accessible also to those who live with a visual disability means strengthening the bond with you’our fans, without leaving anyone behind. Sports must belong to everyone, and we want every voice to feel part of our story”.
“Olimpia Milano’s is not just a technical choice, but a concrete gesture of caring for those who too often remain on the margins. Choosing to open up to a service like ‘Connect Me Too’ means believing that inclusion is not an add-on, but part of the club’s very identity. We are proud to stand by them as a technology partner to bring more voices, more emotions, more humanity inside basketball“ clarified Tony D’Angelo, project manager ‘Connect Me Too’ for CMT Translations.
From 2019 to the present, the inclusive system ‘Connect Me Too’ has been employed by numerous sports entities: Serie A and B soccer clubs (Milan, Genoa, Inter, Lecce, Juventus, Reggiana, Hellas Verona), the Italian national team, basketball teams (Libertas Livorno), and the Italian National Rugby team.
Through an international team, formed by the best professionals in the field of translations, transcriptions and interpreting, and state-of-the-art technologies, CMT Translations makes the communicative process between different codes usable. CMT Translations is headquartered in Milan but boasts relationships and staff all over the world: it represents a bridge between all cultures that need to communicate with each other. The company is particularly active in the field of equipment rental for the’inclusion of the visually impaired, both from a technological and logistical point of view.
