Sportswriting 101: My first press con speaking job

SPORTSWRITING 101

Focus on Sports Features[i]

 

 

GENERAL INFO

Nowadays, Sportswriting is one accessory the newspaper is not without. Studies have shown that 95% of male readers pay much attention to the sports page than any other page in a newspaper. More and more readers, regardless of sex, are recently reeled in by the sports section than the more prosaic news of the day.

 

However, while many talk about sports, only few can write about them. Even experienced beat reporters get lost trying to cover such events because it takes more than just answering your typical 5 W’s and 1 H to come up with a live sports news story bait.

 

SPORTSNEWS AND SPORTSFEATURE

There are generally two types of Sports Article; the SportsNews (comprised of the Advanced Sports Story, the SportsCoverage, and the Advanced SportsCoverage Story) and the Sports Feature.

 

In comparison, a SportsNews is as similar to a News Article as a Sports Feature is to a Feature Article. The only difference is that a SportsNews and a Sports Feature focuses on Sports while the News Article and a Feature Article have both large areas of interest and scope, as blatantly perceived.

 

SportsNews is more commonly used in most publications. However, in basic campus journalism, Sports Features are given more depth for reasons such as it being a more interesting view and the lack of coverage time and respect given to a campus journalist.

 

In this situation, we will be tackling Sports Features.

 

BEING A SPORTSWRITER

A good sports writer does not necessarily need to be a sports fanatic.A sports writer should be more of the following:

1. have interest in all sports event

2. know the rules and regulations of the game or event he or she is writing about

3. have a working knowledge of jargons in sportswriting coined as the sports lingo.

 

Tips to sports feature writers:

1. Research or have a background in the sport you are writing in.. Know about the sport you are writing in or be an enthusiast of it. Basic information is a requirement for a good sports feature.

2. Always look for something that will interest the readers. Since sports feature steps over the feature boundary most of the time, it is always a good idea to focus on radical views.

3. Write with vigor. Use strong verbs, adjectives, and such but always make them seem blatant(obvious in what they mean).

4. Have a good know-how of the sports lingo. Using such new words can help not only in making your feature interesting but can also help uplift verbal intellect. In a sports feature though, you only have few uses for the sports lingo.

5. Have an adequate respect for the field of writing you are taking. The Journalist’s Creed exemplifies this, I think. Although, only going for the extracurricular points is an understandable reason of heeding the call of the pen, having respect for the field means not showing it too much.

6.-9. Writing seven words instead of ten is a rule that only applies to News and SportNews. Being thrifty works for News and the real world but it makes you look cheap when working with features.

10. Read the best sportswriting in the dailies. Analyze the techniques of other sports feature writers. Just analyze; do not copy. Flattery is the sincerest form of admiration but plagiarism will only either sue you or send you to jail.

 

SPORTS LINGOS

 

Basically, in a sports feature, you only get few chances to showcase your mastery of the sports lingo since you focus more on a detail rather than the whole of the sport itself.

 

Basketball

quintet, goal, dribble, pivot, rally, rebound, technical foul, 15-foot line, hook shot,

zone defense, first half, tip-in, full court, press, box out, slam dunk, man-to-man, trey, full-court press, hook shot, goaltending, baseline, board, layup, out-of-bounds, dominated the paint

 

Baseball

diamond, pitcher, catcher, back stop, homerun, rolling ball, short stop, southpaw, pegged at third, fast ball, playoff, slugger wild pitch, bullpen

 

Boxing

southpaw, slugger, rabbit punch, kidney punch, referee stopped contest(RSC), technical count out

 

Chess

checkmate, rook, queenside, Sicilian Opening, Ruy Lopez Defense, Queen’s Gambit, knight, white, black, fast pawn, en passe, castle, pin, open check, blunder, Philidor’s Defense

 

Volleyball

spike, placing, change court, kill, Chinese Kill, block, net ball, wallop, jump serve, spiker, server

 

Soccer or European Football

soccerites, goalie, corner kick, penalty kick, full back, defenders, booters, kick off

 

Track

pass on the baton, breasted the tape, clock a new record, photo finish, distance runner, century run

 

Tennis and Badsminton

best of three matches, love set, backhand, drive, doubles, racket, forehand, smash cut

 

Swimming

tanker, aquabelle, breast stroke, plunge, springboard, tank, dive, sommersault

 

ELEMENTS THAT MAKE UP A GOOD SPORTSFEATURE AND ITS BODY

 

Since the Sports Feature is a first cousin of Feature Writing, more often it is known that the former carries some if not all elements of a good feature story.

 

If you’ve been writing Feature Stories or even just Essays and Short Stories, then you’d get a good understanding of how this works. Basically, you focus on any radical detail and elaborate with facts that are interesting and that complements the radical detail well.

 

The Sports Feature can also be considered a cross between a Feature Story and a News Story since it also uses facts in featuring a detail.

 

A good Sports Feature almost always starts by introducing the background of the detail that is to be featured. This is almost always done in 1-3 paragraphs. The succeeding paragraphs then elaborate.

 

Usually, it does not matter what format you use, as long as you focus well and capture the reader’s interest.

 

SPORTSWRITING EXERCISE

 

Make your own sports feature using some of the facts below. Note: Focus on an interesting detail. You can add your own elaborations.

 

FACTS: (There are only three sports present; Chess, Volleyball, and Basketball. The facts pertain to the corresponding sports but are jumbled. You are not required to feature all facts and/or all sports. Hey, this is no piece of cake, mind you.)

 

*Jasmine Danica Raz is a 10 time International Chess Champion

*Maxinne Sentina is a Volleyball MVP of the Sibalom Swingers

*Jerick Paul Cahilig scored the Championship winning three point shot for the UST Tigers

*The Sibalom Swingers has endured a season standing of 22 losses and 4 wins

*Jasmine is only 7 years old

*Jasmine’s recent opponent was a 500 lbs, 7 foot supercomputer made of plastic

*Maxinne had a back surgery just before the season started

*Jerick was also the water boy of the team