For the first time ever, Little League® International has received a Gold Telly Award thanks to its storytelling efforts around its Girls with Game initiative. In addition to the organization’s first Gold Telly, Little League also picked up a pair of Silver Telly Awards to add to its collection as part of the 44th Annual Telly Awards.
“Telling the story of Little League and the experiences our participants have is such an important piece of organization’s efforts to help inspire and motivate our volunteers and players, and we could not be more proud that our Girls with Game initiative is what helped us to bring home our first ever Gold Telly Award,” said Brian McClintock, Little League Senior Communications Executive. “We are incredibly proud of our team who helped make this happen, led by the efforts of Hannah James and our video production teams, and most importantly we are honored that these awards continue to highlight the amazing volunteers and players that make the Little League program so special.”
Established in 1979, the Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens and are voted on by the Telly Awards Judging Council each year. Below are the three videos that earned recognition for the 2023 Telly Awards:
Girls with Game (Gold – Series: Sports & Leisure)
Launched in 2019, the Little League Girls with Game Initiative is dedicated to honoring all the girls and women who have made the Little League program what it is today and those who inspire the future generation of female participants at every level. Over the course of the past year, Little League celebrated told stories of the memorable moments, exciting events, and inspiring individuals throughout the Little League Baseball and Softball program as part of its Girls with Game initiative, including the following features:
- Girls with Game: To Whom It May Concern
- Honoring the All-Female Grounds Crew at the LLSWS
- Girls with Game: I Am Strong
- Meet Italy’s Loredana Auletta
- First Ever Girls with Game Experience Brings Softball Fun to Lamade Stadium
The Story of Josiah Porter (Silver – General: Motivational)
From being declared legally blind in his right eye as a six-year-old to his stellar performance on the mound and at the plate throughout the 2022 Little League Baseball Region and World Series tournaments, Josiah Porter was an inspiration and role model for everyone who watched the Southeast Region team from Nolensville, Tennessee, that summer.
World Series Expansion (Silver – Series: Non-Scripted)
Opportunity means everything in the Little League program, and thanks to the expansion of the Little League Baseball and Softball World Series that started in 2022, six additional local leagues now get the chance to live out the dream that thousands of leagues strive for each summer and play on the biggest stage in youth sports. To see first-hand how this opportunity has come to life and what it means for the future, check out each of the video features below that detail the impact that the World Series expansion has on each of the different areas of the program, from the region level to the overall World Series experience in both Williamsport and Greenville.
The majority of the features outlined above were produced in coordination with Philadelphia-based video production company, 20/20 Visual Media.
While marking the organization’s first ever Gold Telly, Little League International has received four other Telly Awards for its storytelling efforts over the past five years, including a trio in 2020:
- 2018 – Silver: Non-Broadcast/General-Documentary: Individual (Omar Romero, La Bujia)
- NOTE: This video also received a Bronze People’s Telly, an award voted on by the fans.
- 2020 – Silver: Non-Broadcast/Non-Profit Category (Parkland Community Continues to Heal)
- 2020 – Silver: Social Video Series/Sports and Leisure (Girls with Game Social Video Campaign)
- 2020 – Bronze: Non-Broadcast/Sports (How Baseball Bonds and Inspires the Louque Brothers)
To learn more about the video storytelling efforts of Little League Baseball and Softball, and to check out all the great features that have been put together over the years, visit LittleLeague.org/Videos.
About The Telly Awards
The Telly Awards is the premier award honoring video and television across all screens. Established in 1979, The Telly Awards receives over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents. Entrants are judged by The Telly Awards Judging Council—an industry body of over 200 leading experts including advertising agencies, production companies, and major television networks, reflective of the multiscreen industry and includes executives from Dow Jones, Duplass Brothers Productions, Complex Networks, A&E Networks, Hearst Media, ESPN Films, RYOT, Vice+ and Vimeo. Winners are selected for recognition based on excellence in the following areas: Branded Content, Commercials & Marketing, Immersive & Mixed Reality, Non-Broadcast, Series / Shows / Segments and Social Video.