Journalism Students at All England Championships in Birmingham
Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:04:00 GMT
We had 10 of our 1st and 2nd year sports journalists working at last week's All England Championships on behalf of Badminton England. One of the first years, Conner Kacperski, has written a piece on his experience.
When I started at the University of Huddersfield I never thought that I’d interview an Olympic champion in my first year. Yet I found myself recently holding a microphone to badminton gold medallist Lee Yong-dae.
I was one of 10 sports journalism students from the University of Huddersfield who selected to work at the YONEX All England Open in Birmingham, maintaining a longstanding relationship between the university and Badminton England.
Some of the best players from around the world descended upon the Barclaycard Arena to battle it out for the Super Series Premier title.
Before the event I had never watched a game of badminton in my life. However, it was an exciting endeavour.
It’s always fun to discover a different sport. Furthermore, the ability to branch out also increases your chances of getting employed.
During the event, we got to produce content for Badminton England. This included blogging, managing the media in the mix zone, and interviewing world class players. The quotes we produced were then distributed to media from around the world.
Managing the media was interesting, because journalism and public relations are closely linked. It was intriguing to switch between the different roles and see how the two-way relationship works in practice.
Personally, I think it’s essential to try and work at different events and meet new people. Many people aspire to be a football journalist, but the ability to be versatile is also key to being successful.
The amount of opportunities on offer on the sports journalism course at Huddersfield is fantastic. The tutors always push us to take every chance that comes our way. They encourage us to go out and get involved in activities. Building up experience is vital to gain employment.
I know people from other journalism courses from around the country who have never ventured out of the classroom.
This year I’ve already covered some Rugby League games, and I’m currently on placement at the British Weightlifting national governing body. These are two sports which were completely off my radar last year, but I’ve learned a lot about them since I started the course.
Getting work experience can also make assignments easier as you can build up contacts in the industry. When you need to get an interview, you are not starting from nothing. Sports starts are also more receptive to people they know.
Working at the badminton was a fantastic experience and I would recommend the event to anyone. The tutors at Huddersfield University are very good at helping people kick-start their journalism careers.
