The Brentwood International Regatta Tradition

Brentwood College, a prestigious international boarding school in Mill Bay, British Columbia, boasts a 104-year history defined by a balanced commitment to academics, arts, and athletics. Central to this tradition is the annual Brentwood International Regatta, a cornerstone event spanning over 50 years that draws rowers from across North America.

For Brentwood, the regatta is more than a competition; it is a vital community mission. "We stream our regatta to make it easier for international parents in South America, Europe, or Africa to watch their children compete," explains Shay, Director of IT and Educational Technology. Bridging the geographical gap allows families to share in the emotional milestones of their children, many of whom compete at the Olympic level. 

The event also serves as a high-stakes, real-world classroom for the school’s broadcasting students, who manage multiple camera feeds—including floating cameras at the start dock, roof-mounted cameras, and finish-line perspectives—to provide comprehensive coverage.

However, delivering a professional-grade broadcast from the water presented significant technical hurdles, requiring a fundamental rethink of the school’s digital infrastructure to ensure a seamless experience for a global audience.

See how Brentwood College used Cisco’s Ultra Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) to stream their 54th annual regatta. Overcoming distance and ocean interference, Cisco technology delivered a seamless, high-speed connection for a global audience.

Solving the floating dock challenge

The primary challenge was the regatta’s floating start dock, positioned three kilometers offshore. Previous attempts using cellular and Starlink failed to provide the necessary stability. "Down at sea level, cellular coverage was inadequate, and satellite solutions suffered from synchronization issues," explains Cisco technical lead Ian Procyk.

Satellite solutions like Starlink require a "hand-off" between satellites, necessitating protocols like Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) and a 1.5–2 second buffer to maintain stability. "The challenge is a massive timing mismatch," Ian notes. "If you buffer dock feeds to account for satellite delays, but onshore cameras are real-time, you lose synchronization. A rower might cross the finish line on one camera while another still shows them approaching. That lack of continuity is confusing to the viewer."

The alternative to these options was Cisco Ultra-Reliable Wireless Backhaul (URWB) in Cisco Catalyst IW9167E access points. Antenna selection was driven by the differing physical characteristics of the deployment environment: the dock is in constant motion, while the campus roof provides a stable, fixed anchor. Using a high-gain, narrow-beam antenna on the dock would have been counterproductive, as even minor shifts in the water would cause the signal to drift and drop. To mitigate this, the team deployed a broader, dual polarity patch antenna with a wider beamwidth (14dBi 30-degree) to the dock. This broader pattern provided a consistent connection despite the dock’s constant movement. On the rooftop, a high-gain 22dBi antenna with a 9-degree beam was used. The higher gain, antenna made up for the slightly compromised antenna on the dock, ensuring a stable, high-capacity bridge. 

The marine environment also posed challenges. When RF signals travel over water, they don't just move directly from the transmitter to the receiver; they also bounce off the surface of the ocean. These reflections arrive at the receiver at slightly different times than the primary signal. This multipath can create significant challenges which could leads to constant rate-shifting and unstable throughput. To combat this, the team increased the guard interval to 3.2 microseconds in the URWB configuration. By extending this interval, they provided the receiver with a longer window to process the incoming data, effectively allowing it to ignore the delayed, reflected signals and maintain a clean, stable connection.

URWB provided a fiber-like wireless link that enabled a successful broadcast without a single link fade or synchronization error. "The signal did not fade," Shay notes. "That for us is incredible. We’ve been struggling with that for years." The team was able to transmit the camera feeds and support on-site timing data without a single link drop.

Hear Ian Procyk discussing the technical challenges and how the team overcame them.

Collaborative success in action

When Brentwood College reached out to Cisco regarding the challenges they faced livestreaming previous regattas, the Cisco team prioritized understanding the school's unique needs. They took the time to analyze the technologies previously used, the specific environmental hurdles, and the precise network requirements for the broadcasting applications.

To ensure success, the team deployed and configured the system the weekend before the event, performing a comprehensive validation test to verify the solution. Throughout the regatta, the Cisco team monitored the network to ensure everything performed as intended. This collaborative effort highlights Cisco’s commitment to enabling customer success, regardless of environmental complexity.

"For me, this is a great example of what partnership is all about," says Monica Alfonso Bernal. "It’s about understanding our customer's challenges, bringing the right people together, and helping create a better experience for their students, families, and community."

The success of this proof-of-concept has paved the way for future campus-wide innovation. By demonstrating that Cisco technology can overcome extreme environmental challenges, the school is now exploring ways to integrate drones and boat-mounted GoPros into future events.

"This year has been very special," says Shay. "The signal did not fade, which for us is incredible—we’ve been struggling with that for years." The partnership has provided the school with a scalable foundation for future growth. As Shay concludes, "Our imagination now has no limits, thanks to the input from Cisco."