PITCH magazine says in the competition, four age groups were invited to write 700 words on different hot topics in today’s sporting world.
The categories were:
- 14-15: Do sports players get paid too much?
- 16-17: Is winning is the most important thing?
- 18-19: Should e-sports be included in the Olympics?
- 20-22: Should transgender sports players be allowed to compete in the Olympics?
The judges were Matt Lawton (chief sports correspondent, The Times), Sam Pilger (The Athletic) and David Hepworth.
PITCH magazine has announced the winners as follows:
14-15: Harry Ainsworth. Harry said: "I am absolutely thrilled to have won this competition! As an avid sportsman, I am intrigued by current issues affecting the world of sport and, with a love of writing, I enjoy creating opinion-based articles. I would like to thank Pitch Magazine for this opportunity and who knows what the future will hold.”
16-17: Sophia Comer: “I am very happy to win this competition as it is a big surprise. I'm passionate about sports and I really enjoyed being able to write about many different sports, especially football and explore some of the reasons behind why winning is so important. It's not often I get an opportunity to write about sport so I really enjoyed putting this piece together.”
18-19: Jake Woolley: “I am honoured, and thank you very much for the opportunity, there is very little resources for young journalists to show their talent. I am thrilled with the result and the contest has been a great opportunity for me!”
20-22: Sam Flaherty: “I am really chuffed with winning this competition. I certainly didn't expect it so to win is really amazing and surprising! The prize money is always helpful however it unfortunately means that rounds are on me tonight. The opportunity at The Times is priceless though! The topic itself is something I am passionate about and I hope my work did it justice. I see no reason why transgender athletes cannot compete in the Olympics but unfortunately many others feel different.”
Each of the winners’ pieces will be published online and in the latest issue of PITCH - now available at www.pitch-mag.co.uk. In addition to this, they each win a cash prize and the older two categories have the chance of an internship at FIPP and work experience at The Times.
