18TH ANNUAL USA TODAY NATIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP DAY ESSAY CONTEST

For the past 18 years, USA TODAY and the Institute for International Sport have co-sponsored an annual essay contest in support of this major sportsmanship initiative.

As part of the celebration, students from elementary, middle and high schools, as well as colleges and universities, are invited to write essays of 500 words or less which address a sportsmanship theme of your choosing. Essays may speak to any aspect of ethics and sportsmanship in society, or share a personal reflection of exemplary or poor sportsmanship you have seen or experienced. Topics could include:

• Perhaps write an essay about the role of gamesmanship in sports. The dictionary definition of gamesmanship is as follows: “The art or practice of winning games by questionable expedients without actually violating the rules – or the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective.”
• Perhaps write an essay about the term “competitive self-restraint,” as coined in Dan Doyle’s book “The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting.” Competitive self-restraint means learning to compete hard but within the rules. Why is this so important?
• Perhaps write an essay about the problems created from fighting in games. Research shows that fighting or other forms of violence in games can often lead to a number of ill-advised consequences later in life.
• It is the view of the administrators of National Sportsmanship Day that the singularly biggest problem in sportsmanship in America is crowd behavior. Consider writing an essay about the issue of crowd behavior, perhaps focusing on what policies a school should implement regarding the behavior of the crowd at home and away games.

USA TODAY will publish online a selected essay from each student group as part of National Sportsmanship Day. The deadline for receiving the essay is February 24th, and winners will be announced on March 2nd.

To view the winning essays from the 2009 USA TODAY National Sportsmanship Day Essay Contest, visit: www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-03-02-sportsmanship-day_N.htm.

QUICK FACTS:

• Submission Deadline: February 24, 2010
• Winners Announced: March 2, 2010
• Number of words: 500 or less
• Theme: Please see above suggestions
• Winners: Four winning essays are selected, one from each of the following divisions:
  • Elementary School
  • Middle School
  • High School
  • College
• What Happens to the Winners?
• Winners from each division receive an honorary certificate
• Winning essay from each division featured on www.usatoday.com
• Names of winners from each division announced in USA TODAY

Essays may be sent to:

USA Today Essay Contest
Institute for International Sport
P.O. Box 1710
Kingston, RI 02881
Or Fax entries to: 401-874-2429
Or email to: jskiff@internationalsport.com