A glimpse of the country’s future in sportswriting was on display as budding journalists from top universities and colleges got to taste firsthand sports coverage in the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps Sportswriting Summit held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday.
The finest writers from NCAA schools Letran and CSB, together with resident UAAP campus media reporters from Adamson, National University, Ateneo, UST, and UP, were in attendance in the organization’s first basketball sportswriting clinic. The event also included a contest right after.
Young Achievers International School from Las Pinas also sent high school representatives, who served as the youngest participants in the event organized by the Collegiate Press Corps in partnership with Chooks-to-Go and the UAAP in a mission to help promising talent kickstart their sportswriting dreams.
Business Mirror sports editor Lorenzo “Jun” Lomibao and Rappler sports editor Jasmine Payo served as honorable speakers of the summit organized by the group composed of print and online scribes on top of the collegiate scene.
Seasoned editor and mentor Lomibao, who also serves as PhilCycling’s Director for Road and Track, tackled the basics of sportswriting.
Payo — an award-winning journalist from Philippine Daily Inquirer prior to her ascent as editor of Rappler — then delved into the nitty-gritty of collegiate beat coverage.
Afterward, the participants put their newly-acquired skills to the test as they were given a chance to cover a thrilling match between the UP Fighting Maroons and the National U Bulldogs in the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the same venue – then write about it right after.
In the end, three writers shone the brightest. Jillian Nicole Velasco from UP’s Tinig ng Plaridel was hailed as champion after a thorough deliberation by a panel made up of Payo, Manila Bulletin’s Kristel Satumbaga-Villar, Inquirer.net’s Bong Lozada, ABS-CBN News’ Camille Naredo, and Philippine Star’s John Bryan Ulanday.
Paul Adrian Hular from Adamson’s Chronicle and Alyssa Aquino from Letran’s Lance clinched second and third place, respectively.
