Teacher nominated for journalism award

Published: April 1, 2008 | 6975th good news item since 2003

A SHEFFIELD (UK) schoolteacher found himself rubbing shoulders with sporting superstars when he was nominated for a top national journalism award.

Ian McNeilly, who teaches English at Brantwood School in Nether Edge, also runs a website in his spare time, BritishBoxing.net which has been up and running for the last four years.

And for his writing on the site Ian was nominated in the Internet Sports Writer of the Year category at the British Sports Journalism Awards held in London.

Although he lost out to a writer from the BBC, Ian mixed with the cream of the national sporting press as well as sporting heroes like Lord Coe and Sir Bobby Charlton who presented the awards.

Winners on the night included Fleet Street heavyweights like James Lawton and Martin Samuel, as well as Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling.

“I was one of only two minnows to be nominated, if you like – with Pete McKee, who is a Sheffield Telegraph cartoonist,” said Ian, 36.

“But to be nominated was a real shot in the arm for me – after all I run the website from my bedroom purely as a hobby, and there are now thousands of bloggers and online writers out there.

“When I became interested in boxing it was very much a poor relation of the sport, and you could easily get access to the athletes involved. Now it is booming and I think my nomination was another feather in the cap for the sport.”

Published in Teachers
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