New sports pundit category for British Sports Journalism Awards

The SJA British Sports Journalism Awards enter their fifth decade in recognising the talent and depth of the nation’s sports media with the 2018 competition now open for entries from writers, photographers and broadcasters.

Although the competition has been running for 40 years, the organisers are constantly reviewing and refining the rules and categories to reflect changes in the industry.

Having listened to the opinions of senior figures in television and radio in Britain, we have introduced a new sports pundit category in the broadcast awards.

This is for the pundit or expert guest who has most impressed the judges in the year. The sports pundit can be an expert summariser, studio analyst, participant in studio discussion and so on.

Entries may consist of work as summariser, analyst with or without technical aids. Entries should be submitted electronically and should consist of show-reel style clips lasting no more than five minutes in total. Entries should be accompanied by a written citation of no more than 150 words.

Mary Fitzhenry, chair of the SJA awards committee, said: “The SJA is very proud to run these awards, which are the most prestigious in the sports world. However we know that in order to maintain our reputation we need to consult with sports editors and leading figures in the sports media to ensure our competition reflects the changes in our industry. We have had a series of discussions across all the writing, photography and broadcast disciplines and have listened to their feedback. We are confident the 2018 competition will be our best yet.”

Alex Scott, the first female football pundit, is pictured above.

The closing date for entries is Wednesday 16 January 2019. Entry forms and further details can be downloaded from the links below.

The winners will be announced at a gala dinner supported by Canon and European Professional Club Rugby at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge on Monday 25 February 2019.

SJA members receive significant discounts to the entry fees and tickets to the awards dinner.

Writing and Broadcast categories
Photography categories