Download Sports Writing

Sports Writing
Sports Writing vs. News Writing
• Both use similar types of leads: feature (indirect)
or summary lead.
• Both look for the most interest-compelling facts.
• Both writers write the body of the story, add an
acceptable lead, and then present the
predominant facts in order of their importance.
• Writing about sports is more colorful, less formal
than news writing.
• Sports writing is faster paced and more lively.
Preview or Advance Story
• Builds excitement and gives insight into the upcoming
game, providing as many specifics as possible:
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Where and when the game or match will take place
Records of teams
Statistics of key players
Overview of how the season is going for both teams
Direct quotations from coaches and/or players about the
upcoming game
– Review of key players: who is injured, and/or whose
performance will be vital
– Importance of the game for each team’s chances for
playoffs or championships
– Discussion of the mood and atmosphere surrounding the
game
Game Story
• Report what happened during the game
• Not a rehash of play-by-play action – recap the most
meaningful and unusual plays and explain why the game
turned out as it did
• Use inverted pyramid format
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First, focus on interesting plays and game- changing moments
Second, provide a chronological recap of how scoring went
Include outstanding players and how they contributed
Discuss significance of the games’ outcome
Weave in practice, pregame, and postgame quotes from players
and coaches
*Seldom used in monthly student newspapers unless a late
deadline on a significant game
Post-Game Story
• Written in inverted pyramid format
• Follows up on an element of a previous game
– Where does a team go from here, given its last
game
– How a team deals with injuries
– Fans’ reaction to game
– Winning streak/Losing streak and team’s plan for
the future
Sports Feature
•These are the stories behind or beyond the game
•3 Types of Sports Features:
1. The News-Related Sports Feature - goes into greater depth
about a sports topic that is already in the news.
Ex. The story behind a team’s success
Ex. seasonal activities
2. The Informative Sports Feature - reports on larger trends in
sports.
Ex. athletes paying for personal trainers
Ex. Rituals
Ex. Unusual sports and the students who play them
3. The Sports Profile/Human Interest Feature - focuses on one
person (or a small group of people), with the emphasis upon getting
to know the subjects of the profile as ordinary people.
Ex. Athlete profiles
Ex. Students who coach teams with younger kids
Ex. Girls playing on boys teams
Part II. Sports Writing
Writing Tips
• Know the sport well (rules, strategy, team records, player records).
• Read professional stories to get an idea of what work.
• Spend time talking to coaches and players before game days.
– What parts of the game is the team working on?
• Attend games.
– It’s not enough to get info. second hand from coaches, players, spectators
• Be fair and unbiased even though you have a favorite team or player.
• Avoid the use of first and second person.
• Use the specialized language of the sport (jargon) if the average
reader would understand it.
• Tell the story in plain terms, with specific details, and let the facts tell
the story.
• Double check for accuracy (names, statistics, scores, etc.).
Things to Avoid
• Cheerleading – remain objective
– *Let your quotes state opinion.
• Quotes that sound like they could be about any sport
– Just because the coach says, “We have to play as a team,”
or “We’re going all the way to state,” doesn’t mean you
have to use it.
• Clichés ex. “a tough loss” or “a great win”
• Too much technical jargon (sports vocab.)
• Long lists of statistics or scores: highlight the most
important and put others in a sidebar
• Boring leads.
• Weak verbs *Use action verbs, not state of being verbs
– Ex. “The team will visit…” not “The team will be visiting…”
Sports AP Stylebook Guidelines
• Bold coach
• No apostrophe
– yes: boys tennis
no: boy’s tennis
• Don’t capitalize team levels
– Yes: varsity tennis no: Varsity Tennis
– Exception: JV (junior varsity) is always capitalized
• Capitalize “Coach” or “Assistant Coach” when used as a title
– Yes: Coach Mike Waters
No: The Coach warned the athletes.
• Use numerals and a hyphen to indicate scores
– Yes: 7-3 victory over NPHS No: Seven three victory over NPHS
– *Always put WHS score first
• Don’t write out rankings
– Yes: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
No: first, second, third
• Capitalize name of league
– Yes: Marmonte League
No: Marmonte league
• Capitalize names of professional or collegiate sports teams
– Yes: Ohio State Buckeyes
No: Ohio State buckeyes
• postseason and preseason (no hyphens)
Ethics
• When making assignments, avoid conflict of interest – or the
appearance of conflict of interest.
• Attend the sporting event as a reporter, not a fan. Do not
abuse the privileges of the press pass. Remind students that
they are representing the journalism program.
• Review the Code of Ethics created by the Society of
Professional Journalists, and ask students to abide by it.
Building relationships – and trust – is at the heart of solid
journalism.
Remember
It is not enough to report only the results of the
game. The game off the field, i.e. the strategy and
atmosphere, is as important as the one on it.