Sports writing is news writing. But sports writing is more entertaining in nature.

Sports writing allows you to go to town in describing plays, the atmosphere, fans and other colorful aspects of a sporting
event.
TYPES OF SPORTS NEWS
I. Coverage Story – an actual game or event. It contains important reports like the following.
a. Outcome – the winner, score of both teams or opponents, draw, suspension of the game due to chaos and
others.
b. Significance of the outcome – the prize or the chance to move on to the higher level of competition like the
championship games.
II. Advance News - it gives advance information in the coming event.
III. Follow-up sports story – it summarizes the activities of the team. It also analyzes the recently concluded game like a
player, who was injured and the aspects of the players, chaos on the technicality, statistics and its significance.
IV. News based on the records - it is based on the data gathered from authorities or officials of the game. It could also
be a summary of different events almost simultaneously played in an athletic meet.

The headline should be an abbreviated sentence summarizing the game.

What is a striking headline?
-The headline of a sports coverage story should tell right away who or which team won over whom or whose team( and
whenever appropriate or applicable, by what score).
-Appropriate action words should be used to indicate who won depending on how the event unfolded

The headline should have:

SUBJECT + VERB (Present tense) + OBJECT
Example:
Juniors dethrones Seniors
It would be better if you will add the final score.
Juniors dethrones Seniors, 93-86

Examples:
Beermen dump Gins, 106-93
Fil-Am sprints for gold in 100m,
sets new record in SEA Games
Busch sweeps all 3 Bristol races
NU escapes UP on 'controversial' free throw
Davydenko beats del Potro to win ATP Tour Final
Don King: 'Mayweather will KO Pacquiao'

Like a news story, a sports story has a lead, a body and a conclusion.

LEAD – summarizes or analyzes the event by giving the significance, the winner, the hero, the score, the place and time.
BODY – contains the play-by-play account of the game like the most crucial part, star player, weaknesses and strengths.
CONCLUSION – usually contains quotes from players, coaches and statistics.

The main elements of a good sports story are:

Catchy lead
Clear focus
Use of quotes

THREE WAYS OF WRITING THE SPORTS NEWS LEAD

Key Play
Key Player / Outstanding Player
Analytical

The lead should contain these elements:

Who were involved
What happened
When
Where
What is the sport
What is the final score
How the game was won.
Example:
QUEZON CITY. Lightly-regarded NU Bulldogs pulled another come-from-behind victory over perennial favorite UST
Growling Tigers, 64-62, Saturday to stay in the hunt for a Final Four slot in the 67 th UAAP Men’s Basketball Tournament at
the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

We can see the most of the elements are present:

Who were involved? – NU Bulldogs and UST Growling Tigers
What happened? – NU pulled another come-from-behind victory over UST
When? – Saturday
Where? – Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City
What is the sport? – Basketball (specifically, UAAP Men’s Basketball)
What is the final score? – 64-62
How the game was won? – Come-from-behind

After writing the lead, add 1 more paragraph to explain further what has been written in the lead.
(Lead)
James Yap basket agility proved to be the perfect ingredient for his team as he fired three-pointer
shots in the fourth quarter that stole the momentum from the Turbo Chargers, 98-94 in the All-Filipino Cup held at
the Araneta Coliseum, Sunday evening.
End the story with a quotation
“We were very happy with our performance”, said Yap.

SPORTSWRITING RULES:

NEVER be a cheerleader for your teams on the sports pages. Don't write about "our" team, write about "the" team.
NEVER congratulate a team or an athlete in your sports stories.
NEVER end a story like this: "The Fighting Gnus will undoubtedly be the class of conference and will achieve anything
they set out to do.

Directions: Write a 5-7 paragraph of sports news on

the following data:
Teams: Senior Red Warriors Vs. Junior Golden Troopers
Final Score: 70 - Warriors
58 - Troopers
When: Friday – September 21, 2024
Where: City Gym, Butuan City
Event: Intramural Meet - Men’s Basketball Championship Game
Star Playmaker: Paul Lee of Warriors
Scores by Quarter:
First Quarter: 16 -Warriors 20 -Troopers
Second Quarter: 37 -Warriors 27 - Troopers
Third Quarter: 62 -Warriors 39 -Troopers
Last Quarter: 70 -Warriors 58 -Troopers
Players for Warriors
Lee, Zamar, Acuna, Reyes, Lingganay, Espiritu, Bandaying, Llagas, Ayala, Tagarda, Noble,
Duran
Coach: Alfred John Cuneza
Payers for Troopers
Ponferrada, Hermosisima, Magat, Baloran, Tungcul, Terso, Manito, Malanday, Singh, Luy,
Donahue
Coach: Angelo Bartolome
Note: You may provide other details like interviews, weather conditions, how the game was won,
individual scores of player, rebounds, lay-ups and other relevant info to complete your sports news.