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These Volleyball Stars Are Turning To Streaming With Kumu
Volleyball veterans Mela Tunay, Pauline Gaston and Jema Galanza are using the platform to build stronger connections with their fans
Missing tournament season? While old routines are still on hold, today’s hottest athletes are continuing to find ways to keep the community of fans together.
One way that volleyball veterans are doing this is by reconnecting with fans on the streaming platform Kumu. If their legions of supporters used to flock to the courts to catch their favorite women’s volleyball teams in action, they can now do the same online. Through Kumu, they have the opportunity to get up close and personal, engage with their faves in real time, and enjoy in-app features. Some names to watch out for? Volleyball stars Mela Tunay (@caarmelaloo8), Pauline Gaston (@paulinegaston) and Jema Galanza (@jemagalanza).
“With the official re-opening of the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), fans will want to reconnect and feel the competitive spirit more than ever,” the Kumu team says in an official statement. “[For this,] Mela Tunay, a former University of Santo Tomas Tigress and Petron Blaze Spiker, will be covering several matches for PVL on the streaming platform.”
According to the new guest correspondent, getting to stream such an event amid the pandemic is somewhat therapeutic; it bridges the gap between fans and players. “Through streaming, we all get to hang out, talk about volleyball, or just anything under the sun,” adds Tunay. “We get to connect.”
As a community platform, Kumu is dedicated to becoming a safe space for the volleyball Kumunity. It’s here where Gaston herself discovered how women athletes can thrive online, where they get to “be who they are and to encourage other women to do the same.” She expounds: “It’s already a difficult and challenging life for us as women in this world, so let’s lift each other up.”
For Galanza, it was the chance to finally get to interact with supporters that truly excited her about Kumu. “Mas nakita ko lang lalo ngayon yung mga taong totoo at susuporta sayo hanggang dulo (I see it more now, the people who will support you until the end),” she says.
Back to Tunay: joining the platform, according to her, came at a great time. During Women’s Month, she intends to rally hard behind women, sending out this message to them: “Continue to keep yourselves strong [because] we’re here to inspire each other and in our own little ways, even if we don't know it, we get to touch other people’s lives.”
Enjoy your dose of volleyball and more on the Kumu app (available for download on mobile via the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android). For the latest news and updates, follow @kumuph on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
