Sports Writing

Sports Writing
Sports writing/write-up is (1) Who won (2) against whom (3) by

Action what score (4) where and (5) when.
News Item Compare the lead on the left with that on the
Descriptive right. What do you observe?
Raving (1) The Rizal
(1) The Rizal
Entertaining National High School National High School
Walk of Life basketball team won Quintet subdued (2)
against (2) Llanera High Llanera High School
A good sports writer must have School’s with the score Dribblers, (3) 87-53, at
• interest in all sports events of (3) 87-53 at the (4) the (4) opponent’s
• know the rules and regulations of the LNHS ground (5) ground (5) yesterday
event or game he is writing about yesterday afternoon. afternoon.
• have a working knowledge of the Perk-up the lead with
language and jargon of sports writing The Key play
usually referred to as sports lingo The RNHS Cagers squeaked past the
Qualities of a Good Sports Writer LNHS Dribblers with ten baskets in the last
1. Must know sports; rules, strategy, team three minutes to subdue a nerve-fuzzling
and players' records. Llaneran rally, 53-50, as they clinched the
2. Must attend the games or meets as a invitation game in connection with the
reporter, not as a spectator or cheerer. celebration of the Foundation Day of Llanera
3. Must know coaches and players as National High School.
intimately as possible. The outstanding player
4. Must observe accuracy. Forward Pining Garcia took the
5. Must be able to take notes quickly audience’s breath away by a make-or-break
without losing the sequence of the play. three-point shot within the last two seconds
6. Must be fair and unbiased in reporting that made the multi-titled RNHS Dribblers to
event, although he has a favorite team. clinch the most coveted HSAAP Championship
7. Must not make comments without over LNHS Cagers, 89-88, at the defender’s
supporting them with facts on which homeground last night.
they are based, although sports writers
have more freedom than any other Sample Story
news writers. The fast-breaking Baguio City High School
8. Must use the specialized language of Yellows edged Baguio Optical Athletic Club Blacks,
the particular sports that he is 47-41, in an exhibition game held at the Teacher’s
reporting. Camp basketball court this afternoon.
R. Sable, breaking loose to score six points
9. Must avoid sports slang and trite
in the last minute after the Black defense broke
expressions which hack writers use down, carried his team to victory.
today. He should tell the story in plain “I am confident that my team will this
factual terms that describe the action. game”, proud yellow coach Ting Ting Spoelstra said
10. 10. Must bear in mind that he writes for in an interview.
his readers and not for himself. It was an exciting game all the way with
Structure of the Sports Story both teams tying it up, 19-19 in the first half.
At one point in the game, the Blacks led by
as much as four points, 25-21, only to err a little later
after combined efforts of Sable and Valdez rendered
them helpless.
It was then that Sable poured in six points
and Valdez four points and the Yellow led 31-25.
G. de Leon, pouring in 18 points, 12 of them
in the second half, could not do well to score more
after he was double-teamed by R. Villanueva and J.
Catabagan.
Black guard J. Torres, fouled out in the last
Lead five minutes of play when he could not stop the
• One-sentence paragraph barrage of points by Sable, leaving the scoreboard
nailed at 47-41.
• Attention-getter
• News in a nutshell
• Score-oriented
Classic or Summary Lead Helpful Verbs
Mark Andrew U. Fernandez

English Department
Sports Writing
Big Margin defense, man to man, 30 second rule, ,
Overwhelmed full court, gun time, lemon time,
Clobbered keyhole area, long tom, follow-up
Ripped b. Volleyball-spikes, neat placing, change
Clouted court, Chinese kill, wallop, block, scored
Murdered off, straight set, two out of three,
Subdued spiker, blocked his kill, booming service,
Pummeled net ball, return play, three out of five
Crushed c. Tennis- best of three matches, surfeit
Overshot (basketball) services, straight set, singles, smash cut
Outspiked (volleyball) d. Swimming- tanker, naiads, aquabelle
Small Margin
Nipped
Edged out
Squeaked past
Survived
Clinched
Nosed out
Shaded
Helpful adjectives
Use adjectives sparingly
(poor performance)
Anemic
Tripid
Rustly
Limped
Bothered
Sore
Pathetic
Climax of the Game

It is the highlight of the game. This part of the
story accounts the aggressiveness of the team
or the player in the court.
Decisive Play
This accounts the most crucial part of the game
that gives a certain team the winning margin.
Quotes
It is important to account the sentiments of the
hero/es of the day. Words fresh from the
winner/s are vital in the writing of the story for
its posterity.
Play by play Account

This part of the story recaps the sports event
covered. This is usually done through a round
by round reporting. It is important to note that
this part must be score-oriented and must
describe the progress of the fight in detail.
Sports Lingo
a. Basketball- five, quintet, shot twinner,
pivot, rally, rebound, technical foul,
quarter count, 15-foot line, hook shot,
lay-up, ice-breaker, tip-in, press, one
Mark Andrew U. Fernandez

English Department

Sports Writing

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Sports Writing

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Sports Writing

Sports writing/write-up is (1) Who won (2) against whom (3) by

Mark Andrew U. Fernandez

Climax of the Game

Play by play Account

Mark Andrew U. Fernandez

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