A group of fledgling sports journalists have kicked off their career by attending the international football friendly between Wales and Ireland at Cardiff City Stadium to write match reports.
Organised by Bridgend County Borough Council’s Arts and Community Development team in partnership with the FAW, the budding writers probed Football Correspondent for Media Wales, Chris Watham for some tricks of the trade in a Q&A session, before making notes for their reports during the clash between the Celtic counterparts.
Chris Watham, said: “It was great to have the chance to speak to budding journalists who showed a real enthusiasm for the industry and sports reporting in particular. In any profession, gaining the experience of an insight into how things work behind the scenes can be vital and hopefully help them make the next step. It was fantastic to have so many questions come my way which shows there were definitely some reporters of the future there!”
The workshop formed a new part of the wider Young Critics scheme, which offers expert guidance to young people to explore the role of the arts critic and discover new ways of expressing their views on arts performances in South Wales.
Councillor Lyn Morgan, Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, said: “I think that combining our popular Young Critics scheme with sport is a perfect match. Football is often described as the beautiful game and I’m sure the budding writers will identify the many similarities between sport and the arts.
“It’s great that, through forming strong relationships with organisations such as the FAW, our Arts and Community Development team continues to uncover new opportunities to provide a wide range of high quality experiences for the county borough’s young arts enthusiasts.”
If you’re interested in getting into writing about sport or the arts and want to find out more about the Young Critics scheme, contact Guy O’Donnell, Young Critics/Get the Chance coordinator @odonnell.guy@gmail.com