SPORTS WRITING

Sports pages have become one of the

most read sections of the newspapers now a
days. And the readers are not dominated by
men. More and more women, young and old
alike are addicted to sports, hence they too,
are avid readers of sports stories.
 Aside from the newspapers, TV or
radio coverage of different games have
the greatest appeal to a large number of
students readers. Intramurals, unit
meet and other forms of games are part
of thrill of high school life. So that,
school papers devote space to sports,
hence the need for more sports writers.
 Sports writing is a form of news
writing – an action story. However, a
sport writer does something more than
a news writer. He has the privilege to
use colorful words with quick tempo.
Lively and informal style that is usually
centered around a conflict.
Here are some differences between Straight News and
Sport Writing

In news writing, the journalist uses short words, short

sentences, short paragraphs.
The sports writer has more freedom in his writing
style than the news reporter. His writing has more pep,
more enthusiasm.
 A news reporter is not permitted to write his opinion
about persons or events. The sports writer can do this
to a certain extent. He can even use slang which is
discourages in the news page.
The sports writer uses figures of speech like:
Simile – Ben Johnson, the world’s fastest man, ran like
a demon-possessed.
Metaphor – Jaworski, the living legend was a tiger at
both ends of the court.
Synechdoche – The San Miguel were all over the court
weaving in and out piercing the hoop at will.
Climax- “It’s God’s play” ( this was James Yap’s remark
after Purefoods won over San Miguel in that game that
determined Redbull Barako opponent in the all
Filipino finals) .
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD SPORTS WRITER

Must have nose for news and has interest in

all sports events.
Must know the rules and regulation.
Must have a working knowledge of the
language and jargons of sports writing
usually referred to as sports lingo.
Should avoid clichés ( tired old phrases)
GUIDELINES FOR SPORTS WRITING

Take down notes, don’t trust your memory.

 Report the reaction of the spectators at
some point of the game. But this is
secondary
 Don’t devote the entire sports section to
just one game or just one sport.
 Read a lot. Learn how other sports writers
practice their craft.
WRITING THE SPORTS STORY
A. LEAD – the first part, the attention getter, the news in a nutshell. It
summarizes the main points who won, who lost, the score, and what the
star player did.

Sports lead may be one of the following:

1. The classic(it answers)“ Five W’s : A ( Who won? B. ) Against whom?

C.) By what score? D.) Where? E.) When

e.g. The San Mateo Blazzers ( A ) poured 10 baskets in the last 10 minutes
to edge out the Rodriguez Unit I (B) 65-63 (C) at the opponent
homeground (D) yesterday afternoon(E).

Wagi ang Gilas Pilipinas kontra China sa umaatikabong laro sa FIBA World
Cup nitong Sabado. Malaking puntos ang ambag nina Jordan Clarkson at
Rhenz Abando sa 21 points na lamang ng Gilas Pilipinas sa China.
2. The Key Play- it starts with the most
exciting parts of the game where a certain
team scores more points.

The Soliman High School sluggers

bombed the Roosevelt batters with six runs
in third inning to subdue a nerve fuzzling
Roosevelt’s rally 14-12 as they clinched the
invitation game here in connection with the
celebration of Roosevelt Foundation Day
3. The Outstanding Player- it features a
favorite, outstanding player. It is sometimes
called “the hero of the game lead”

Rikki Mae Barros of Justice Vicente

Santiago Elementary School, after almost
four hours of battle over the chessboard
copped the most coveted YMCA Trophy
after outwitting San Mateo Elem. School
chesser William Santos in 27 moves of
Sicilian defense.
4. The Analytical Approach ( The outcome of
the game is the result of a particular key play
in action)

Ridding high on sizzling spikes and

trickly placing, the Banaba netters blasted
the Dona Pepeng Hi- Killres in the crucial
third set to win 15-10, 11-15, 15-7 in a mini
District Meet August 10 at the San Mateo
Elementary School Quadrangle to celebrate
the Thanksgiving Day.
2. BODY

After the lead the other elements in descending

order follow. This will include :
 Team/ or individual standing- if the event is part of a series of
games, the story must report how the teams or players stand in
relation to their competitors.
 Decisive plays-the most crucial part of the game that give a certain
team the winning margin.
 Best score for the day – the score usually appear in the headline and
the lead. The writer must not neglected the top scorer of the day.
 Play – by- play account- set – by- set, quarter-by quarter, innings-
by-innings, round- by –round. Etc, describe the progress of the
games or events in detail.
 Quotation, sentiment of the hero or coach recorded for prosperity.
TYPES OF SPORTS STORIES
Advance Story – sometimes called dope or
prognostication- builds up enthusiasm for coming
events. It may be straight news story, background story
or prediction story.
Coverage Story – an on the spot coverage of an actual
game or event.
Advance Coverage – includes information of a coming
events in the first part of the story, and the formation
of the past event as the last part of the story.
SPORTS TERMS
To sound more authoritative and convincing to
the reader, the sports writer must have a full stocks of
sports language. However, appropriate terms must be
used for each game and situation.
The following words/ phrases are commonly used
in sports”
To win by a big margin – battered , clovered, crush,
humbled, overwhelmed, overpowered, rooted,
swamped, ripped, walloped, pulverized
To win by one or three points – shaded, edged, nipped,
nosedott, ekedout
To defeat a champion – dethroned, toppled,
turned the table, overthrow, overturned,
rested the crown, bag the title, capture the
title
To remain the champion- kept the crown,
retained the title
To give opponent zero score- blanked, white
wash
To have the same score – draw , deadlock,
deuce, tie
To describe a set back – hearth breaking,
stinging, cushing, devastating, costly error
Hard fought victory/ game – unexpected,
resounding, rallied, come from behind,
marathon move, ding-dong or see saw,
battle
To describe the best players – aces, best
stand outs, stalwarts, main stays, hopefuls,
sentinel
To describe players’ strong points - fleet
footed, cat quick, south paw slugger, counter
puncher, road runner, hard driving, body
puncher and speedy mighty mite
Terms for different games:
SEPAK TAKRAW- head-bat , tekong, apit kiri, apit
kanan, bicycle kick, banana kick
TENNIS - best of three matches, surfeit services,
straight set, singles, smush cut volley, ace,
fault, error
TRACK AND FIELD / ATHLETES – discuss, shot put,
high jump, standards, flop, pole vault,
long jump, triple jump, sector, hammer throw,
javeline throw, heaved a shot put, hop
step and jump, Grecian disk
GOLF – eagle, bogey, birdie, 18-holes
BOXING – knock-out, jab, hook, clinch, technical
knock – out, upper cut, right cross,
duckling, slipping, hitting bellow the belt,
Boxing Divisions: fly weight, bantam
weight, feather weight, light weight, welter
weight
BASKETBALL – field goal, foul, quintet, alley hoop,
dunk, travelling, backing, goal tending,
rainbow shot, lay 0 up
BOWLING – ten pin, frame, bowler, kegler, spare,
strike, duck pin
VOLLEYBALL – toss, spike, net, libero, 3 touches,
netters, blockers, spikers, tossers, netball
CHESS – castling, en passant, capture, check,
checkmate, stalemate,touch
move,opening
SOCCER/ FOOTBALL – goal, penalty, area, goal
keeper, goalie, fullbacks, halfbacks,
wingers, free kick, corner kick, offside,
banana kick, heading, tackle.
SWIMMING – tanker naiads, aqua bell, breast stoke,
freestyle, butterfly, flippers
FENCING – yhrust, lunge, epee, foil, saber,fleche,
balestra, parry, beat feint
SPA – fancy kick, dead ball, ball on play, single, double
TAEKWANDO – axe kick, advance forty five kick , jins,
pin weight
COLOR YOUR WORDS:

String of solid play

Poured in six of his 12 points in the fourth
quarter
Rallied to trim the margin
With a comfortable 40- point cushion,63-23
Bailed us out in this game
Adopting-to – lose mentally
Boosted their moral with a victory
Pocketed 2nd place
Buckled down to work in the second set
Finished with eight markers
Completed his heroics by nailing his free throw
Strung up four points to push the jewels with in six, 81-
75
Nearly blew the huge advantage
Shattered the hopes of the eagles
Bounce back after disappointing lost

NOTE; the word must be used in accordance with the

degree of winning.
Write the sports in which the following terms may be used:

1.banana kick 11. breast stoke

2.High jump 12. backing
3. Straight set 13. light weight
4. knock-out 14. toss
5. Travelling 15. quintet
6. Upper cut 16. foul
7. Spikers 17. capture
8. Ten pin 18. checkmate
9. Check 19. dunk
10. Goal keeper 20. netball
Write the sports in which the following terms may be used:
1.banana kick-sepak takraw
2.High jump-track & field
3. Straight set-tennis
4. knock-out -boxing
5. Travelling-basketball
6. Upper cut-boxing
7. Spikers-volleyball
8. Ten pin-bowling
9. Check-chess
10. Goal keeper-soccer/football
11. breast stoke-swimming
12. backing-basketball
13. light weight-boxing
14. toss-volleyball
15. quintet-basketball
16. foul-basketball
17. capture- chess
18. checkmate- chess
19. dunk-basketball
20. netball- volleyball
 Write a basketball story based on the following facts:
Scores: Crispa- 96 Toyota- 91
Facts:
Quarter scores 21-16,43-42, 69-68, 96-91
The victory gave Crispa the 3rd conference title in the Philippine Basketball
Association.
The first two conference were won by Toyota.
“My boys seemed to have lost their confidence in their shooting. The referees were
making all the bad calls against us”, said Toyota Comer coach Dante Silverio.
“The idea was to tire Toyota’s first stringes before I sent in a fresh and rested
combination,’’ said Crispa coach Virgilio Dalupan.
Highest pointers for Crispa were: Adornado, 18; Cezar, 14, Hubalde,14; Co, 12; Burk;10.
For Toyota: Arnaiz,16;Segura,16; Cherry, 14; Jaworski,13;Jones, 12; Fernadez, 13.
Segura fouled out with six minutes left in the final period and Jaworski followed him
to the bench with 1:07 in a vain attemp to stop the red- hot Adornado.
The game was played at the Araneta Coliseum. Attendance was 23,000. Saturday
night. Crispa missed 17 free throws and lost imports Crotty and Burk on fouls with
three minutes 10 seconds remaining in the game.Burk finally held his own against
Jones scoring six of his 10 points in the third quarter that put Crispa out front at 91-84
before Adornado