BYCHRISTIAN EDEZON B. LOPEZ

Let’s see if you’re ready to be a sportswriter!

TASK. Identify the sports the following

slides refer to.

FULL BACK

Ans: SOCCER/FOOTBALL

BOWMAN

Ans: ARCHERY

ZUGZWANG

Ans: CHESS

TANKER

Ans: SWIMMING

DISCUS

Ans: FIELD EVENTS

PHOTO FINISH

Ans: TRACK EVENTS

ACE

Ans: TENNIS

TEE-OFF

Ans: GOLF

WALLOP

Ans: VOLLEYBALL

DIAMOND

Ans: BASEBALL

Why is the sports page one of the most read sections of the newspaper?

What is Sports Writing?

Sports writing has become one of the most popular forms of modern journalistic writing.

Scope of the Sports Articles

Sports page is not only confined on sports news. It also contains other kinds of articles like feature, editorial, editorial columns and editorial cartoon and others.

What are the characteristics of a sports writer?

1. Aside from having the “nose for news,” a sports writer should also:

2. have interest in all sports event

What are the characteristics of a sports writer?

3. know the rules and regulations of the event or game he is writing about, and

4. have a working knowledge of the language and jargon of sports writing usually referred to as the sports lingo.

What are the qualities of Sports News?

3. It uses more colorful words, adjectives and figures of speech, local color and longer sentences, which are not commonly used in straight news.

4. It uses special vocabulary called sports lingo.

1. Basically, it answers the 5 W’s and 1 H.2. It primarily describes the most thrilling and eventful part of the game.

Overview of the Kinds of Sports News

Advance News

Gives an advance info in the coming event. Following are the expected contents of the advance news.

Advance News• Significance of the game• Historical background of the game• Players and coaches• Physical and Mental qualities of the

athletes• Strengths and weaknesses of

each player based on their previous competitions

Advance News• Venue of the event• Noteworthy event that could be

included in the news• Weather that could affect the game• Expected viewers• Statement of the coaches

and players.

Coverage Story.

On-the-spot news of an actual game or event. It contains important reports like the following:

Coverage Story.

• Outcome• Significance of the outcome – the

prize or the chance to move on to the higher level of competition like the championship game• Spectacular parts of the game-

how the winner outsmarted the loser, see-sawing scores and last minute play.

Coverage Story.

• Comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the athletes of both teams.

• Star Player• Weather• Audience/viewers

Follow-up sports story

News based on the records

What is the Structure of a Sports News Coverage?

Sports stories follow the structure of straight news, that is, the inverted pyramid structure – this means that the facts are presented from the most important to the least important.

The Lead. Like any other news story, a sports story has a lead and a body. The sports lead is the attention-getter and the body is the news in a-nut-shell.1. Summary Lead. The classic 5 W’s and 1 H appear in the sports lead as: 1. Who won? 2. How did they win? 3. Against whom? 4. By what

score? 5. Where? and 6. When?

Example. The Torres High School Quintet (1) poured 10 baskets in the last three minutes (2) to edge out the Osmenians (3) 65-63 (4) at the opponents homeground (5) yesterday afternoon (6).

The traditional sports lead consists of the 5Ws and 1H. it may play up any of the following:1. Significance of the game2. Spectacular play3. Hero of the game4. Unusual circumstances5. Human interest

Example 1. The University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers earned a measure of revenge on the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles for the result of last season's Finals, eliminating them from post-season contention in Season 76 with an 82-74 triumph, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

//gmanetwork.com

Example 2. University of Santo Tomas led from start to finish to crush National University, 71-62, in the 76th UAAP men's basketball semifinals Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

//rappler.com

Example 3. La Salle joined Far Eastern University and National University in the final four after defeating University of Santo Tomas, 69-64, Saturday in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

//inquirer.net

Example 4. The son of the former “Tower of Power” proved to be just as promising.Showcasing his high-flying act on the world stage, Kobe Paras bagged the slam dunk crown in the side event of the Fiba 3×3 Under-18 World Championship Sunday night in Jakarta.

//inquirer.net

This kind of summary lead may vary.1. THE KEY PLAY

Ex. LAKANDULA, Iloilo—The visiting Soliman High School sluggers bombed the Lakandula batters with six runs in the third inning to subdue a nerve-frazzling Lakandula rally, 14-12, as they clinched the invitational

game here, in connection with the celebration of the school’s Foundation Day.

2. THE OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Example. EDWARD Ong of Ateneo de Iloilo, after almost four hours of battle over the chessboard, copped the most coveted YMCA trophy after outwitting Philippine Science High School chesser William Santos in 27 moves of a Sicilian defense.

3. ANALYTIC APPROACHExample. RIDING high on sizzling spikes and tricky placing, the spitfire Ateneo Blue Dragons blasted the Ateneo Blue Eagles killers in the crucial third set to won 15-10, 11-15, 15-7 in the Jesuit Athletics Meet (JAM), Sept. 21, at the Sacred Heart School in Cebu yesterday.

2. Novelty Lead. Promptly describes the action through carefully selected sentences that instantly deliver the reader to the sports scene.It can also be used in writing sports news, but the second paragraph should also answer the five Ws and One H.

Example. Who says that height is might!Henry Balbon, 5’4 cager of Labangal National

High School (LabNHS) slammed them wrong when he grabbed the limelight with his do-or-die three-pointer shot in the dying five seconds to carry his school’s thrilling victory against Ireneo L. Santiago National High School (ILSNHS) in a basketball exhibition game during the Educators’ Week celebration at the Oval Plaza Gym, General

Santos City, September 30.

3. The Body. 1. It contains the play-by-play account of the game like the following. The most crucial part of the game2. Star player3. Record of the background of athletes and coaches4. Observation of the number and reactions of the audience or viewers and weather condition

After the lead, the other elements follow in descending order. These will include:

1. Team and/or individual standing2. Decisive plays3. Best scores for the day4. Play-by-play5. Quotations

Conclusion. It usually contains quotes

from players and coaches, statistics and team standing.

Example. “They are excellent players, too. Perhaps, we are just lucky to win this game,” said Balbon, the star of the game.

Sports Headlines. HEADLINES are an equally important part of a sports news story. While the lead summarizes the entire news development, the headline summarizes the lead itself.

Tips and Rules on Headlining Sports News1.Use present tense of the verb/future

tense (using to + the base form).2.For net games include the set score

not the real score in each set, example, volleyball (Blue Spikers demolish Black Setters, 2-0)

3.Use the appropriate verb that will summarize the win or the event

Tips on Writing the Sports News (Gelly Elegio Alkuino)1.Write the story immediately after the event2.Be accurate not only with the score but also all other highlights of the game.3.Include human interest like the personal background of the player.4.Inject humorous event when needed.

Tips on Writing the Sports News (Gelly Elegio Alkuino)3. Follow the inverted pyramid

structure in presenting the data.

4. Support data with opinion.5. Use sports lingo but do not

overdo it.

Tips on Writing the Sports News (Gelly Elegio Alkuino)Be selective and pick out only from the multitude of details, the ones that count and can tickle the interest of the readers.

Sports Lingo

- quintet, zone defense, five, rebound, rally, man-to-man, keyhole area, 30- second clock, long tom, tip-in, press, steals, 15-foot line, twinner, follow-up, lemon time, playoff slot, haul rebounds, dish out assists, inside baskets, point guard, homecourt advantage, playmaker.

BASKETBALL

Sports Lingo

- diamond, pitcher, short stop, southpaw, shut out, back stop, pegged at third, swatters, pitcher’s mound, hit a homerun, fails to make the catch, deep center, fielder, strike out, innings, a double steal of second and third bases, unearned runs, reaches first base safely.

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL

Sports Lingo

VOLLEYBALL - booming service, net ball, spikes, change court, wallop, best attacker/receiver/ server/blocker/digger/setter, block, two out of three, blocked his kill, spiker, peppered with 12 hits.– SOCCER FOOTBALL - goalie, fullback, corner kick, pigskin, penalty kick, centrada, corner kick– SIPA - fancy kick, dead ball, single,

ball on play, double.

Sports Lingo

GOLF - hole-in-one, birdie, bogey, par, fired a 7- under-64, win by two strokes second putt, behind the green, one- shot lead, tee-off, four-stroke lead, sprint down the fairway, hit pivotal shots, hole clutch putts, carded a two-under par 70

Sports Lingo

TENNIS - straight sets, singles, smash cut, doubles, half volleys, passing shots, good serving, grass court, backhand volley, double fault, lost serve , ace

Sports Lingo

TRACK EVENTS - breasted the tape, dashes, runs (200, 400 & 800), hurdles,burned the cinders, relay, clocked a new record, photo finish, middle distance runner, anchor man, pass the baton, bore down on him, break the record

Sports Lingo

FIELD EVENTS - heaved the shotput, hurled the javelin, threw the discus, broad jump, pole vault, hop-step-and-jump, Grecian disc, long jump.–

Sports Lingo

CYCLING - wheel by wheel, remate, multi-lap, yellow jersey, lead pack.– BOXING - round by round, slugfest, flyweight, welterweight, jab, uppercut, heavyweight, uppercut, ring, knockout loss, landed a left body blow, lightweight, super-featherweight, split decision,

boxing stable, flurry of punches.

Sports Lingo

SWIMMING - aquabelle, freestyle, tanker, breaststroke, naiad, backstroke, diving board.– TAEKWONDO - turning side kick, jins, heavyweight, finweight, flyweight. CHESS - grandmaster, chess board, zugzwang, plus 47 ELO rating, nine-round tournament, blitzkrieg chess, king,queen, board one, bishop, knight,

opening move, rookor tower, pawn.–

Sports Lingo

ARCHERY - bowman, drawing backTENNIS AND BADMINTON- Best of three matches, love set, backhand, drive, doubles, racket, forehand, smash cutSOCCER OR FOOTBALL- Soccerites, goalie, corner kick, penalty kick, full back, defenders, booters, kick off (v.), kickoff (adj)

Verbs for headlineSalitang magkasingkahuluganNagwagi – namituin, bumandila, namayani, nagnunaNatalo – nagapi, nagahisMagtutuos – magsasagupaan, magkakasubukan, magpapaligsahanKalaban – katunggaliPinatumba – ginupo, nilampaso, pinulbos, tinambakan, pinayukod, pinakain ng alikabok

Verbs for headlineOther terms for defeats: (Singular)ousts outspikes; overwhelms ; dampens; outpowers; topples; outwits; dismays; disarrays; nips; conquers, routs; trounces; overthrows; smashes; crushes; blasts; clobbers; bashes; inches out; edges out

FINAL TASKPretend to have watched/covered live the “2011 All England Open Badminton Tournament Men's Single Final”. Watch the two clipped videos for your reference of the game; then make coverage sport news to inform the readers of the action and the result.

Some Facts You might use.LEE CHONG WEID.O.B: Oct 21, 1982Hometown: Bukit MertajamWorld Ranking: 1Career highlights: Beijing and London Olympic Games silver medalists, 2011 World Championships runner-up, 2010 Asian Games runner-up, All-England champion twice, Commonwealth Games gold medalist.

Some Facts You might use.LIN DAND.O.B: Oct 14, 1983Hometown: Longyan, FujianWorld Ranking: 286Career highlights: Beijing and London Olympic Games gold medalists, four-time world champion, Asian Games gold medallist (individual once and team twice), Thomas Cup (five times), Sudirman Cup (four times), All-England (five times).

THANK YOU!