sports-writing lessons for aspiring sports writers

Sports Writing
Mark John Diocado
Sports Writer, Editor, Layout Artist,
Rizal Skylarks

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
HUGOT OR NOT
“Ang sports writers ay
mapaglaro, o mahilig
paglaruan?”

HUGOT OR NOT
mapaglaro, o mahilig
paglaruan?”
Sports writers would love to witness
games, they also love to explore
sporting events, not just one but
various sports

HUGOT OR NOT
stick-to-one”

HUGOT OR NOT
hindi stick-to-one”
In journalistic sports writing bawal
ang stick-to-one. You have to have
knowledge on various sporting events
kung ano ang binigay dapat alam mo.

HUGOT OR NOT
“Ang sports writers
lagi na lang
nag-aadjust”

HUGOT OR NOT
“Ang sports writers
lagi na lang nag-
aadjust”
Dapat marunong kang mag-adjust sa
sports environment, kahit anong laro
man, live game man or video

HUGOT OR NOT
“Ang sports writing ay
parang
pagmumove-on,
Mahirap sa umpisa pero
sa huli makakasanayan
mo na”

HUGOT OR NOT
“Ang sports writing ay parang
pagmumove-on,
Mahirap sa umpisa pero sa huli
makakasanayan mo na”
As beginning sports writers, you might find
it hard to cope up with sports jargons, with
the structure, with the play-by-play pero
makakasanayan mo rin

HUGOT OR NOT
sanay maghintay”

HUGOT OR NOT
sanay maghintay”
Sa presscon lagi talagang hintayan ang
sports kung anong laro ang
ico-cover mo, madalas huli pa sa
schedule haha

Sports writing vs. News writing
• Both use similar types of leads: feature angle
or news peg.
• Both look for the most interest-compelling
facts.
• Both writers write the body of the story, add
an acceptable lead and then present the
dominant 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.

STRUCTURE OF A SPORTS NEWS
HEADLINE
Par. Supporting the lead
Quote from the star player
Play-by-play
supporting the lead
Play-by-play of the
last quarter
Play-by-play of
the 3rd quarter
Play-by-
play
Lead

Inverted pyramid counts for sports writers, too
• Don’t let what you’ve learned about news writing
disappear. Sportswriters also make use of the “5-Wives and 1
Husband” in determining the summary of the Lead Paragraph.
– Inverted pyramid presents details and facts in descending order
of importance.
• The “Who” represents the team or player; the “What” is the
event, the tournament, the outcome; the “When” – is the date;
the “Where” is the place the game is held; and the “Why and
How” describe and explain the other relevant details in the
game.
•

LEAD
1. Who won? Sino ang nanalo?
2. How did they win? Paano nanalo?
3. Against whom? Laban kanino?
4. By what score? Ano ang iskor?
5.Where?Saan?
6. When? Kailan?
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 Sports Leads
Thomas Morrison won the first three rounds of the scheduled 12-
round fight,
scoring mostly with overhand rights and jabs to capture the World Boxing
Organization Middleweight title at the packed MGM Grand Arena in Las
Vegas yesterday. (Boxing)
American David Wheaton beat compatriot Michael Chang in straight
sets (6-3, 7-6) to advance to the US Open men’s finals yesterday. (Tennis)
Iran took the first gold medal at the 9” Asian Track and Field
Championship yesterday as Hamid Sadjadi won the 3,000 meter steeple
chase in eight minutes 33.89 seconds. (Athletics)
A 10-man Bulgarian side held-off Paraguay in the dying minutes to
come away with a goalless draw in their World Cup opener yesterday.
(Football)

TYPES OF LEADS
BEST PLAYER LEAD
• Example:
Stephen Curry scored a career high 41
points, including 17 assists, to help the
Golden State Warriors defeat the Cleaveland
Cavaliers, 114-99, in the National Basketball
Association (NBA) final game Sunday.

TYPES OF LEADS
• BEST PLAY LEAD
• Example:
• Joe Johnson scored on a tough fade-
away with one second left to tie the score in
regulation and another jumper in overtime to
lead the Brooklyn Nets defeat the Phoenix
Suns in the National Basketball Association
game Sunday.

TYPES OF LEADS
• BEST RUN LEAD
• Example:
• Never say die University of the East
wiped out a 10-point deficit in the fourth
quarter and snatched a 68-66 victory over La
Salle to stay alive in the race for a Final Four
berth in UAAP Season 77 men’s basketball
tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta
Coliseum.

• If in doubt, stick to simple words
• The search for emphatic and strong words should not be
done to sacrifice simple but appropriate words such as
“win” and “defeat”.
•
• Ex. Using three consecutive punches, Nonito Donaire, a
slender man from the Philippines ravaged the defenseless
Jorge Arce, a fiery fellow from Mexico via knockout victory
held at Houston, Texas on December 15.
• Banking on heavy punches and tricky strategy, Donaire
knocked down Arce three times in three rounds of action on
their tight match.”

Modifier overload
Overwhelming power of Thailand
Thailand exhibited an extra-ordinary skills
against China to clinched the victory in Volleyball
semifinals in Bangkok, Thailand yesterday.
At the start of the astonishing game, Thailand
disported a brain-sucking placing and electrifying
strategies and that’s the key to break the defense of
China.
• They unleashed devastating explosive bomb
shots.

Discard unnecessary phrases; avoid exaggeration
• Simplify your sentence. Phrases that do not add
thoughts and those that tend to exaggerate must be
discarded.
• Ex.
Chris Lutz produced an MVP-like performance as he
unleashed fifteen points and six rebounds to help Petron Blaze
Boosters galvanized Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and
fashioning out a 96-86 squeaker in the Philippine Basketball
Association (PBA) Philippine Cup held at the sold out Smart
Araneta Coliseum on Nov. 14.
• Better:
• Chris Lutz produced 15 points and six
rebounds to help Petron Blaze Boosters beat Rain
or Shine Elasto Painters 96-86 in the PBA
Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

Keep it short. Keep track of the total word count of
each paragraph. This will help you maintain the
overall readability of your story.
• Ex.
• It just took a very short time for the Filipino Flash Nonito
Donaire to work it all out as he scored two knockdowns in the
second round to tarnish the Mexican boxer Jorge Arce and
retain his World Boxing Organization Super – Bantamweight
crown at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas yesterday.
• Better: (After eliminating the verbal deadwood)
• Nonito “the Filipino Flash” Donaire scored two
knockdowns in the second round to beat Jorge Arce and
retain his WBO Super Bantamweight crown at the Toyota
Center in Houston, Texas, yesterday.

HEADLINE
• USUAL HEADLINE
Winner (no moniker) – Verb (should describe the win) – Losing team
Ateneo repulses La Salle
Gilas annihialates Malaysia
Murray edges Djokovic

HEADLINE
• MODIFIED HEADLINE
Winner (no moniker) – Verb (should describe the win) – Losing team –
Phrase Modifier (tournament)
Ocampo thwarts Santos in Taekwondo
Dan wallops Wei in Badminton
South Korea stuns Gilas in FIBA Semis

HEADLINE
• STORY-BASED HEADLINE
Winner (no moniker) – Verb (should describe the win) – Losing team –
Phrase Modifier (Story-angle)
Bata Reyes pockets gold in pool tilt
Ombrete leads Juniors atop rivals in Baseball
Lobusta, Iñosa stuns couples to extend reign in Dancesport

Headline and lead with embedded angle
Resurgent Archers thump Tams
Brilliant Bulldogs rip Falcons
La Salle flirted with disaster once again but regained its bearing this time to
prevail over Far Eastern U, 75-66, and tighten up the race in the UAAP
Season 76 men’ basketball tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena yesterday.
Serena vows no letdown after Stephens victory
World number one Serena Williams felt like she had reached a Grand
Slam semi-final or final after she ousted rival Sloane Stephens from the US
Open, but vowed no letdown for her upcoming quarter-final.
Note that: The angle (written in red letters)provides a different spice to your
lead making it more informative and interesting to read.

Write to express, not to impress
You might hope that your audience knows as much as
you do, but you know better, you’re the expert. Be sure to
make things easy to understand for them. Write for your
audience.
Ex: One of the back four sent a chip down the pitch before a
lofted cross from a forward resulted in a goal.
Easy : A defenseman kicked a short pass down the field before
a long pass from a forward resulted in a goal.

Use Active Voice for headline and caption
The active voice is usually more direct and economical. The same
information sounds better in the active voice because it is shorter and more
direct.
A verb is active when the subject performs the action and passive when the
subject receives the action.
Active Voice: Team USA massacre Slovenia
Lakers beat Celtics
Schumacker wins 9th Grand Prix title in Barcelona
USA
Passive Voice: Slovenia was massacred by Team USA
Celtics was beaten by the Lakers
The Grand Prix title in Barcelona was won by Schumacker

Examples of Sports Headlines
Vintage Federer seals first Davis Cup for Switzerland (tennis)
Villanueva attacks Schumacher (motor racing)
Year’s top marks fall at Slovakian meeting (Athletics)
Confident Thais set for takraw battle (Takraw)
TAWA (Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association) eyes
gold medal at Sydney (weightlifting)

Examples of Sports Headlines
• Pacquiao knocks down Algieri six times, wins by unanimous decision
(boxing)
• Taha ties career-high in Purefoods win over Meralco (basketball )
NU beats FEU, forces Game 3 for UAAP title (basketball)
Sampras slumps further with loss to Woodforde (Tennis)
NU's Rosario delivers in 'most important' game
Bulls just a win away from their sixth title (Basketball)
Rusty Graf prevails in two-hour battle (Tennis)

Below is a list of words sportswriters substitute for
“defeat” in different situations. Pick those words that you
believe are inappropriate, can be used in close matches
or in total dominance.
crush rip kill ruin pummel
destroy murder slay poke wreck
down edge upend devastate
beat trounce bury wallop nail
rout annihilate clobber bomb upset
rock beat up punch put away
surprise

Composite Sports Stories
• 2 or more gamers in 1 news
• Same principles are followed in writing
composite story.
• The challenge lies in merging 2 or more
articles in one
• However, sports writers should find a way to
smoothly combine the action, ideas, ,
highlights and angle into one coherent article
• Separate the articles with transition devices
like meanwhile, on the other games, likewise
etc.

Composite Sports Stories

Know what’s going on
Reporters often go to coverage with hardly any knowledge of what
they’re going to write. But in spite of this, they often find a way to get what
they’re looking for because they have the tools to do so.
Asking will help:
Even if you don’t understand the particular game you’re covering, at
least look up to common terms or penalties. Advance reading on such
particular sports can also help a lot.
Find the right person:
You can also interview the players or coaches in advance to ask for
common sports lingos or terms.
If you still have time, you can glance over the rules for the
leagues. You’ll have a general understanding of the sports and the game
and you’ll be able to more accurately describe what’s going on.

Find time to read
Read the sports page and see what
other sportswriters are doing. What
seems to work for them? What sets them
apart?
It can never be over emphasized that
reading newspapers provides the
necessary tools we need to improve in
writing.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD
SPORTS WRITER
• Must have nose for news and has
interest in all sports events
• Must know the rules and
regulations
• Must have a working knowledge of
the language and jargons of sports
writing
• Should avoid clichés

GUIDELINES IN SPORTS WRITING
• Take down notes, don’t trust your
memory
• Report the reaction of the spectators at
some point of the game
• Don’t devote the entire sports section
to just one game or one sport
• Read a lot. Learn how other sports
writers practice their craft

sports-writing lessons for aspiring sports writers

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to sports-writing lessons for aspiring sports writers (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

sports-writing lessons for aspiring sports writers