The stars of the future… our Young Sports Writer, Young Sports Photographer and broadcast’s Ones To Watch certainly fit that bill.
Samuel Lovett (Independent), Alex Pantling (Getty Images), Emma Saunders (BBC) and Sumbal Syed (BBC Sports News) are revealed today as our very deserved winners.
All the winners and the highly commended will receive a complimentary ticket to the SJA British Sports Journalism Awards, sponsored by The National Lottery and Canon, on Monday February 24 at the Westminster Bridge Park Plaza Hotel. Buy tickets.
Young Sports Writer
Samuel Lovett of The Independent pipped colleague Tom Kershaw and Molly Hudson of the Times. Kershaw and Hudson were both highly commended.
The judges said of Lovett: “He showed an excellent range of reporting including news gathering, match reporting and feature writing. A very good all round entry which shows both talent and hard work.
“From investigative journalism and feature writing on delicate subjects to masterful match reporting from SW19, this was a highly accomplished and varied portfolio demonstrating a maturity beyond this journalist’s years.”
Young Sports Photographer
Alex Pantling of Getty Images, also shortlisted in the senior competition, finished top of a very competitive group. Chloe Knott (Danehouse Photography) and Tom Sandberg (Pinnacle Photo Agency) were highly commended.
The judges said of Pantling: “The winner included five different sports and caught some great sporting moments. He demonstrated the ability to access lots of events.”
The judges also noted that some superb entries had to be disqualified because they did not meet the criteria of more than one sport.
Broadcast Ones to Watch (on air)
The BBC’s Emma Saunders won this category, which was so tightly contested that we had a tie for highly commended – Katie Shanahan (BBC Sports News), Alex Jacques (F1 TV Channel, BBC 5 live, Sky Sports) and Jaydee Dyer (Sky Sports).
The judges said of Saunders: “Emma has had a really impressive year – she seems to have slotted with incredible ease into the BBC 5 live presenting line up. She was the perfect fit to take a central role in the Women’s World Cup coverage and has an excellent knowledge of the men’s game too.”
Broadcast Ones to Watch (off air)
BBC Sports News filled all the slots in another tight contest. The winner was Sumbal Syed, of whom the judges said: “Sumbal submitted the most dynamic and impressive showreel of work and you really got a sense of her creativity and personality.”
Highly commended were colleagues Charlotte Whistlecroft, Kate McKenna and Joe Lynskey.