Skype Play

Batter up! Use Skype to stay in touch during baseball season.

It's the start of the 2012 Major League Baseball season - and if you want to share your love of the sport with your friends and family, use Skype to make sure you can stay in touch if life throws curveballs that keep you apart.

Enjoy sports together using Skype
Watching sports is much more fun when you're with friends and family, but sometimes we can't all watch the big game together.

Sign up for Skype and you can keep your bases covered by ensuring you can still enjoy the game with the people you love, wherever they are. You can chat about the game on a video call or via instant messaging - and, no matter which sport you follow, you can invite everyone to join you for the big game, match or race.

You could even set up your own fantasy league with friends and keep up to date with it by chatting online using Skype.

In 2011, we marked the start of the Major League Baseball season by partnering with fantasy sports site Rotowire and enabling nine baseball fans to conduct a virtual fantasy draft using Skype group video calls. And you could do the same, whether your favorite sport is baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, or motorsports.

Share your sporting moments
Skype's also a great tool for sharing your favorite sports moments with family and friends, whether you're a player or a spectator.

If you're visiting a famous sports stadium, you can share the experience with fellow fans you know (or make them jealous) by video calling them from the venue, or by taking photos of your trip and sharing them using Skype's file-transfer feature.

And if your kids play in Little League or other junior sports events, you can share their successes with everyone you know via a free Skype call or instant messenger chat, and send photos of their big event to family and friends too.

Skype for athletes
Skype's not just for sports fans - it can be a great tool for both amateur and professional athletes too.

Earlier in the year, we told you how NFL players took part in the NFL draft using Skype and how running sensation Mo Farah keeps in touch with his family using Skype while he's travelling to athletics meets around the world.

Athletes can also use Skype video calls to have personal sessions with trainers, meaning they can cut down on travel and make the most of their practice time. And you don't have to be a professional athlete to use Skype for fitness training either - many personal trainers are starting to offer one-to-one sessions using Skype video calling, so it's the perfect option for anyone looking for that extra motivation to get game-ready.

How do you use Skype to indulge your passion for sports? Have you tried an online Skype training session? Please leave a comment and share your story with us...

Screen Share Your NCAA Bracket Selection

The month of March marks a beloved time of year for sports enthusiasts' across the United States. The Men's NCAA Basketball tournament, also known as "March Madness," spans a majority of the month with 67 games played before one college team is named champion.

This Sunday, the excitement will begin with "Selection Sunday," the day that tournament contenders are placed, ranked and announced ahead of the single-elimination tournament. As everyone gets amped for their alma mater or favorite school's team placement, people across the country will begin predicting the results of the tournament with their NCAA bracket.

If you're taking part in National Bracket Day this Monday, March 12, there are several ways that Skype can help you share or compare your bracket with long-distance friends and family. In fact, with Skype Group Screen Sharing, available on both Mac and PCs, you can share your online bracket with up to nine of your friends across the country - from your computer to theirs - making sure you can pick the best bracket possible! Part of Skype Premium, you can easily Group Screen Share by starting a Group Video Call with several of your buds and then selecting "share screen."

Once your friends and your brackets are all set, you can sit back and relax and enjoy the opening games! And don't forget, you never have to watch the game alone, even if your favorite sports fan friends are out of town. With Skype video calling on your laptop, iPad, mobile phone or TV, you can always watch the games together from your couch to theirs with free one-to-one video calling.

What team are you rooting for? Leave a comment and share with us.

Skype and sports: a winning combination

Athletes don't have much free time between training and competing, so we're not surprised that they use Skype to train, strategize, network and stay in touch. Read on and find out how athletes use video calling and group calling to stay on top of their game.

Skype and team drafts
Though the Super Bowl has come and gone, we heard about NFL players who used Skype to take part in the all-important NFL draft. In fact, shots of Andy Dalton celebrating his selection by the Cincinnati Bengals with his family in Texas via Skype were shown for the whole world to see.

Skype and training
We've been encouraging people to use Skype to get fit, so it makes perfect sense that athletes and people looking to get into shape are training via video calls. Some personal instructors already offer one-to-one training sessions through Skype. And, with group video calls, up to nine people can use Skype to exercise together in one shared call. It's also great for injured players looking to train with specialists, or for smaller teams or college students looking to fit some training into their busy schedules.

Skype and sharing knowledge
It's not just the winning that matters. Teams are showing their great sportsmanship by using Skype to share their best tips, plays and training methods.

Earlier this year the Maurice J. McDonough High School Unified Track Team took part in a youth video conference arranged by Special Olympics Massachusetts. During this group video call, the McDonough High team, who won first place at the 2010 Special Olympics Unified Track and Field State High School Invitational, shared their personal experiences and gave their peers advice on how to set up a successful program.

Skype and staying in touch
Professional athletes have some pretty gruelling hours between training, traveling and competiting. The dedication these men and women put into mastering their sport often takes them away from their families for months at a time. Skype helps many of these athletes remain a part of their families' lives. Mo Farah is one such athlete and he talks about balancing his training and home life, and how Skype has helped him do it, in the London Evening Standard. We look forward to hearing more stories of how Skype is helping athletes and their families keep in touch as the 2012 Summer Olympics approaches!

Do you use Skype to help improve your game? Has your sports team connected face-to-face from different locations using Skype? Please share your experiences with us by leaving a comment below ...

Skypercise in the New Year

What was your New Year's resolution? If you're one of the many people who made the choice to get physically fit in 2012, then Skype has some ideas for you! Whether you live in an area far away from a gym, have a cram-packed schedule that makes it difficult to leave the office, or just have a difficult time working out alone, Skype can be the perfect tool to help you fit that exercise in.

Want to do aerobics with your friends in different towns? Rather than drive somewhere to exercise together in person, prop up your laptops and try out Skype Group Video Calling, part of Skype Premium. Group Video Calling will allow you and up to nine other friends to exercise together through video call, making your daily aerobics routine fun and social! If you just want one work-out buddy, try out Skype-to-Skype video calling, which is a free and easy solution.

Are you always on the road and as a result, constantly missing your personal trainer sessions? With Skype video calling on your iPhone, iPad, Android, laptop and more, you can now work out with a trainer from the convenience of your hotel room, home, and more! No matter where you go in 2012, Skype can go with you and ensure you keep up your fitness routine. In fact, we've seen an increase in the number of trainers now offering their services via Skype video call, making it easy to find something that can help you with your workout routine, no matter your location!

With Skype, the opportunities are endless to get fit in the New Year. Not only can you work-out wherever you are, but connecting with others while you do makes it a fun and enjoyable experience.

How do you plan to use Skype to work out in 2012? Leave a comment and share with us.

Skype comes to the NFL Draft

Last Friday, United States football fans were full of anxiety and excitement during the 2011 NFL Football Draft. The annual NFL draft is an event where the 32 National Football League teams name their top picks for football players. Broadcast nationally, we saw this year how the NFL is utilizing Skype video calling, just like the rest of you.

With this year's draft held at Radio City Music Hall in New York, not all eligible football players in the US were able to physically attend the momentous event. However, with Skype video calling, some of them were able to virtually take part and share the moment with the attending football industry. Take for example, Andy Dalton, who lives in Texas and used Skype to take part in the draft. When selected as the Cincinnati Bengals Quarterback, Dalton was shown via Skype celebrating with his family on his living room couch all the way in Texas. Even more, the Buffalo Bills used Skype video calling on the iPad to show off Marcell Dareus, their draft pick, to Buffalo Bills fans.

We love seeing how Skype is used on broadcast TV, especially during exciting events such as the NFL draft. Leave a comment and let us know how you've seen Skype used on TV recently.

"Virtual" Fantasy Baseball Draft with Group Video Calling

Today is Opening Day! It's the the beginning of a new Major League Baseball (MLB) season. While the real players hit the field today, fantasy baseball season has already been in full-swing, with baseball enthusiasts around the world busily drafting players for their fantasy teams. Now, they can even strategize a home run on Skype.

The game of Fantasy Baseball lets fans manage a roster of MLB players, keeping track of their scores and statistics in a friendly competition throughout the season. To pick players in the preseason, leagues must use their knowledge of players and predict who will have an outstanding season. With all this information, league members draft their picks, hope their players have a great season and let the fun begin!

To celebrate the Fantasy Baseball season and the many fantasy leagues strewn across the country, Skype partnered with popular fantasy sports site RotoWire to facilitate a "virtual" fantasy draft via video call. With the help of Skype Group Video Calling, nine baseball enthusiasts across the country were able to conduct a mock fantasy baseball-draft together. Despite the distance between them, the members were able to discuss each other's picks and get excited for the upcoming season.

To learn about RotoWire baseball expert's number-one picks this year, you can watch the first round of their draft via group video call below:

Go Team HTC-Columbia!

The start of the 97th Tour de France in Rotterdam started on Saturday and we were on the starting line with some of the world’s most successful cyclists, Team HTC-Columbia.

Team HTC-Columbia’s riders hail from over 20 countries, and they spend over 200 days of the year travelling around the world to race and train.That’s why they’ve been using Skype for the last few years for both business and personal needs. We spent some time with the team during the lead up to the tour and captured a video that we thought you might like to see.

Make sure you look out for the Skype logo on the team’s kit too - go Team HTC-Columbia!