By Mike Sherman, APSE First Vice President/Contest Chair
Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz Sentinel in Scotts Valley, Calif. won the APSE 2013 contest for Explanatory writing in the under 30,0000 circulation category for his story on youth baseball rankings that anoint children as stars even before they are teenagers.
Seimas will be presented a first-place plaque at the 2014 APSE Banquet June 28 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald finished second for his story on the college hockey trend of recruiting even younger players. Dan Goldman of Messenger Post Media in Canandaigua, N.Y., placed third for a story on the safety merits of helmets in girls lacrosse.
The top 10 is listed below with links to each writers’ Twitter pages and entries.
Sports editors in the under 30,000 circulation category submitted 49 Explanatory entries. Contest catchers numbered each entry, assuring they had been stripped of headlines, graphics, bylines and any other element that would identify the writer or news organization.
In early March, preliminary judges at the APSE Winter Conference in Indianapolis selected a top 10, with each judge ranking the entries in order from 1 to 10 separately on a secret ballot. Entries were given 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second and so on down to 1 point for a 10th-place vote. The final 10 were given to a second judging group, which ranked the entries 1-10 in the same fashion. The winner and final rankings are determined by tallying the ballots.
For purposes of the APSE contest, explanatory stories include trends, issues and original ideas. They shed new light on issues and personalities in the news. They are more than the feature and less than the project entry. They go beyond the “yesterday” of the breaking news story.
The contest is open to APSE members. Go to this link to join.
2013 APSE Contest: Explanatory, under 30,000 circulation
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1. Jim Seimas, Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.), (1), 50 points
Youth baseball rankings disconcerting for many parents, coaches and players
2. Brad Elliott Schlossman, Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald, (3), 42 points
COLLEGE HOCKEY: Recruiting younger players yields mixed results
3. Dan Goldman, Messenger Post Media (Canandaigua, N.Y.), (1), 41 points
Game Changer? The helmet debate in girls lacrosse
4. Ross Dellenger, Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune, 38 points
Lack of academic scholarships puts MU at disadvantage
5. Tommy Deas, The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News, (1), 36 points
'A rising Tide lifts all boats'
6. Alex Riley, Wyoming Tribune Eagle (Cheyenne), 33 points
Burns track team adapts to life without a track
7. Andrew Wagaman, Columbia Missourian, 31 points
Concussion worries cause tension in Columbia's youth football community
8. Ryan Wood, Opelika-Auburn News (Opelika, Ala.), 28 points
A LONG TIME COMING: Auburn set to host inaugural SEC Equestrian Championship
9. Bob Blubaugh, Carroll County Times (Westminster, Md.), 18 points
Liberty's Crouch returns to the gridiron; Should kickoffs be removed?
10. Ross Jacobson, Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Ill.), 13 points
As more girls play sports, fewer women have coaching jobs
(Mike Sherman, APSE first vice president and contest chair, is sports editor of The Oklahoman. Email him at msherman@opubco.com, follow him at @MikeSherman or call 405-475-3164.)
