News

Bookings open to celebrate sports journalism on Feb 27

By Steven Downes

The 2016 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards have already broken records – with more entries across the writing, photography and broadcasting awards than at any time in the event’s history, which dates back to 1976.

And tickets for the 40th staging of the SJA British Sports Journalism Awards gala dinner, to be held in London on Monday, February 27, are now on sale.

In total, more than 500 entries had been received by this week’s competition deadline, including 82 broadcast entries, 199 submissions in the photography categories and 240 sports writing entries. The entries have come in from across the business and from some of the biggest names in British journalism, from local newspapers, to regional radio stations, from small independent websites, to the biggest selling national red tops.

The entires are now with the judges of the various categories, who will consider the qualities of the submissions over the next fortnight.

The leading entries in most categories will be whittled down into shortlists, and these will be published on this website in early February.

You have to get up early to beat 2015 SJA Sports Photographer of the Year Alan Crowhurst to the best racing images, as this image, taken at dawn in March on Lambourn’s gallops, demonstrates

The results – including the Sports Writer of the Year, the Sports Photographer of the Year, Sports Commentator and the Sports Newspaper of the Year – will be announced by the SJA President, Patrick Collins, at a ceremony hosted by Jim Rosenthal next month.

The 2015 winners of those categories were, respectively, Paul Hayward of the Daily Telegraph, Alan Crowhurst of Getty Images, Sky Sport’s football comentator Martin Tyler and the Daily Mail. The awards include another 20-plus categories across all aspects of our business.

If you want to be part of our 40th awards presentations, being staged for the first time at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, you are advised to book your tickets now, as demand is expected to be high and there are limited places available.

SJA members get a massive discount on their tickets, and can also bring a partner or colleague with guest tickets on special offer.

  • For full details and to book your place for a memorable night when colleagues and members gets together to celebrate our business, visit our ticket-booking site here: www.sjabritishsportsjournalismawards.co.uk