Judges widen the field for Picture award after being wowed by the runners and riders; shortlists for News Picture, three Portfolio categories and Young Sports Photographer also announced; tickets on sale now for ceremony on March 6…
A “simply stunning” selection of Photography entries for the SJA British Sports Journalism Awards has resulted in an expanded shortlist of 10 in the Picture category.
The chair of the photography judges, Alastair Grant of Associated Press, has praised the extraordinary standard of submissions for the Canon-sponsored section, with seven separate awards to be handed out at the ceremony in London on March 6.
The most contested will be that of Picture, with memorable moments from Argentina’s World Cup challenge competing with crashes captured in cycling, mountain biking and Formula 1 as well as images from athletics, boxing, gymnastics and swimming.
None of the 10 photographers shortlisted are previous winners in this particular category, indicating the calibre of the overall competition.
“2022 was a year full of sport,” says Grant, “and indeed for us in the United Kingdom, one might say our cup was overflowing.
“Such was the amazing variety of sports, the year produced a simply stunning set of entries for the SJA photography awards.
“The jury was faced with some daunting and difficult decisions. Indeed, normally we have a shortlist in each category of six but this year in Picture, we have 10 – such was the quality, the jury refused to cut to six.
“That could have happened in each category, such was the brilliance of the entries.”
Click here to see all the images from the shortlisted Photography entries
The judges did whittle down the rest of the shortlists and having been named on three of those, Julian Finney (Getty Images) is particularly noteworthy.
Finney picked up awards in 2018 for Canon Portfolio and Football Portfolio, and is in the running again in both of those categories, while his image of England forward Chloe Kelly’s iconic goal celebration in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley is also up for the News Picture award.
The other five contenders for that gong cover headline-making moments in Test cricket, the men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, tennis, F1, and synchronised swimming.
The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony taking place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on Monday, 6 March 2023. Tickets and tables are available to purchase now via the awards website.
CANON SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
The Ed Lacey Trophy is awarded to the photographer who, in the opinion of the judges, has been the overall best sports photographer of 2022 and has demonstrated an outstanding range of photographic skills.
This will be judged on submitted entries into the categories listed below. All other awards are subject to entered submissions which are then put before our panel of judges.
CANON SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS – CATEGORY SHORTLISTS
CANON PORTFOLIO
Alex Pantling – Getty Images
Clive Brunskill – Getty Images
Julian Finney – Getty Images
Oli Scarff – Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Ryan Pierse – Getty Images
Shaun Botterill – Getty Images
FOOTBALL PORTFOLIO
Carl Recine – Reuters
Catherine Ivill – Getty Images
Julian Finney – Getty Images
Martin Rickett – PA Media
Peter Cziborra – Action Images / Reuters
Richard Pelham – The Sun
SPECIALIST PORTFOLIO (PHIL SHELDON TROPHY)
Alex Broadway – Freelance
Clive Mason – Getty Images
Laurence Griffiths – Getty Images
Mike Egerton – PA Media
Oli Scarff – Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Richard Heathcote – Getty Images
NEWS PICTURE
Alex Livesey – Getty Images
Ben Stansall – Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Julian Finney – Getty Images
Oli Scarff – Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Philip Brown – Popperfoto
Tom Jenkins – The Guardian and The Observer
PICTURE
Andrew Couldridge – Action Images / Reuters
Ben Stansall – Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Clive Brunskill – Getty Images
Ian MacNicol – Freelance
John Walton – PA Media
Justin Setterfield – Getty Images
Martin Rickett – PA Media
Michael Regan – Getty Images
Michael Steele – Getty Images
Paul Childs – Action Images / Reuters
YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER
George Wood – Getty Images
Harriet Lander – Getty Images
James Chance – Getty Images
Joseph Portlock – Getty Images
Will Palmer – Freelance
Zac Goodwin – PA Media
The winner of the Young Photographer of the Year will be announced on the SJA website on February 27. All those shortlisted will be contacted shortly and invited to attend the awards as a guest of the SJA.