Grasmere Sports Seeks Young Sports Reporter 2024

-       Writing tips training for 5 contenders and trophy and prize on offer

Grasmere Sports and Lakeland Show, the traditional August Bank Holiday event held since the mid 19th century, is looking for a young, creative writer, who can be crowned its Young Sports Reporter 2024.

Whoever takes the title, will follow in the footsteps of Molly Haigh from Hertfordshire, the inaugural winner of this accolade in 2023.  

By pure coincidence, Molly came from a family used to winning at Grasmere Sports.  Her great-grandfather, Richard Greatorex, from Arrad Foot near Ulverston, won the Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling world championship at Grasmere Sports, back in the 1930s.

This year, the Young Reporters contest age limit has been raised to 13, to encourage secondary school pupils to get involved and maybe put some great experience on their CV.

Entrants should send in 1-3 paragraphs that pitch themselves for the role of young reporter, explaining why they would excel at it. 

Five young reporters will then be selected.  If they are not pupils at a school already provided with free tickets, they will be given a family admission ticket, to attend the event.

Prior to the show, they can join an online video call with Jane Hunt, managing director of Catapult PR, who has just won a 66th PR award and is the only two-time winner of the national CIPR Excellence Award for Best Independent Practitioner.  

Jane, who has also given writing workshops in schools, will provide the five contenders some tips, to help contenders create a great story about the overall experience, or one aspect of it.

They will learn how to structure their story and what to include, as well as how to try to convey the essence of this traditional day out, rooted in Lake District history.

For those wishing to concentrate on one part of the sporting action, Jane will provide tips from her son, a sports Duty Editor at the Press Association, an F1 reporter for PA at times, most recently in Montreal 2024, and a freelance cricket journalist for various national newspapers.

The writing advice will not only help entrants with the task at Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show 2024 but also give them an idea of how to write other articles and stories.

At Grasmere Sports, on Sunday August 25, the five contenders will need to produce a story for judging that day.  The best story will win its author a prize of a Kodak Mini Shot camera, sponsored by Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show and a trophy sponsored by Catapult PR.

The initial applications for the Young Sports Reporter of the Year competition should be sent to manager@grasmeresports.com by July 31.  It is a condition of entry that entrants attend the show on August 25, where prizes will be presented on the arena podium.

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show manager, Richard Hooper, says, “This is a fantastic opportunity for young reporters to showcase their writing skills, creativity and ability to marshal facts to convey the effort behind sporting achievement.  They could not only win a prize and trophy but also learn new skills with which they can return to school.”

Entries can be accepted independently or via schools. Each entry should include the name and age of the entrant and be submitted by an adult, on their behalf, who provides their own address and contact details.  If a school is submitting the entries, the teacher should ensure they provide contact details that will apply during the summer holidays and that the entrant will be contactable in this out-of-school period.

For more information about the event and the type of action that will form part of the story, visit www.grasmeresports.com 

Ends

Editors notes

Grasmere Lakeland Sports and Show is an iconic event taking place in the heart of the English Lake District on the August Bank Holiday weekend. Its long historic roots date back to 1868 and it is renowned for its fell running, hound trails and Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling competitions, as well as being a fantastic family day out.