Jenny Taft (born September 5, 1987) is an American sports television personality who served as pit reporter for BattleBots World Championship IV and V.
Born in Minnesota, she is the daughter of John Taft, a former professional ice hockey defenseman and member of the USA Men's ice hockey team at the 1976 Winter Olympics. Her mother, Mary Taft, was also a speed skater in her own right.
Jenny Taft joined the BattleBots team ahead of the 2019 season, replacing Jessica Chobot. Her role was more hands on than that of former pit reporters, capturing candid moments within and between teams outside of the BattleBox. A notable example of this include a moment during World Championship IV ahead of a bracket match between Lock-Jaw and Skorpios, where Zach Lytle revealed how Donald Hutson's superheavyweight Diesector inspired him from a young age when watching the original run of BattleBots on Comedy Central.
As well as this, Jenny Taft led special segments during the 2019 season which proved particular strengths of certain bots, such as a time trial obstacle course to display HyperShock's speed and maneuverability, placing a baseball on Gruff's lifting forks to showcase its flamethrowers and SawBlaze using its weapon to cut a bicycle in half.[1] Jenny even offered to assist with repairs on occasion, helping to drive impact bolts into HyperShock as she had not long since spoken to team captain Will Bales for the show.
Her role continued into World Championship V, even despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Jenny often spoke to teams to assess the technical aspects of configurations before fights and post-fight damage. Notably, ahead of the title decider between End Game and Whiplash, Jenny Taft interviewed both teams and discussed both their journeys to the final and plans to win the Giant Nut. On 6 August, 2021, it was announced that Jenny Taft would not return to BattleBots for World Championship VI due to a conflicting work schedule.
In December 2021, she confirmed to be expecting a child and would likely be unavailable for filming of World Championship VII in 2022, but took to Twitter in February 2022 to state she would "hopefully" be able to return.[2] Taft's daughter was born a month later and she has since returned to sports reporting, but Greg Munson confirmed in the September 14, 2022 release of the Behind the Bots podcast that there would be no pit reporter present for the seventh reboot season.
It is as yet unknown whether she will be available for future BattleBots seasons, but Jenny explained she "would love to be back" in a February 2023 TikTok video.[3]
- "I loved working on BattleBots, and last season they filmed during football season which was really hard, so I couldn't do both. But I would love to be back; I am all about BattleBots. Some of the most fun individuals I have ever been around."
- — Jenny Taft on TikTok
Outside BattleBots[]
Away from BattleBots, Jenny Taft is a sports reporter for FOX Sports 1, for whom she has worked since 2011. In 2014, she worked as an interviewer and trackside reporter for Supercross events, despite never having attended a Supercross event before.[4] After impressing in this role, she progressed to work in a similar role for FOX Sports' coverage of NFL games. She has since covered other sports as well, including soccer during both the men's and women's World Cups in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and landed several opportunities as a result of her professional approach to work. Since 2018, Jenny Taft has featured on the sports talk show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, replacing Joy Taylor.
Jenny Taft married ice hockey player Matt Gilroy in 2015, and the couple had their first child together in March 2022, a daughter named Georgie James Gilroy or "Gigi" for short.[5]
In June 2022, she returned to FOX Sports following the birth of her daughter to report on the announcement of host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. She has also conducted interviews with US Men's National Team players and staff ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Away from traditional sports, Jenny Taft has provided behind the scenes coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show for ExtraTV.
Trivia[]
- Jenny Taft is fluent in French. During her days reporting for Supercross events, she also conducted part of her interview with driver Cedric Soubeyras in French.
- She also gained critical acclaim for being able to interview the French men's soccer team in their native language during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
- Prior to confirmation of Jenny Taft's involvement with BattleBots in 2019, fellow FOX Sports reporter Katie Osborne was considered an alternative for the BattleBots vacancy. She has since become the pit reporter for National Havoc Robot League events in December 2021 and March 2022.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrpqCP1_qdKjzS_On7-9hxaRroiepsORs
- ↑ https://twitter.com/JennyTaft/status/1491606733252272133?s=20&t=_2I1NtjdEVNs67B-eAi8Zw
- ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@jennytaft/video/7205261199099972907
- ↑ https://racerxonline.com/2018/04/04/between-the-motos-a-day-in-the-life-of-jenny-taft
- ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CbqVsU6jKOQ/?hl=en