The mission of the Center for Sports Poetry is to encourage young people throughout the United States to engage their creative spirit by writing poetry, using sport as their motif. In the tradition of honoring academic excellence, the Center will name All-American sports poets in elementary, middle, high school and college divisions.

2008 NATIONAL COMPETITION FACT SHEET:

• Do you like to write poetry and do you enjoy playing sports? This is the contest for you! We are challenging creative writers in elementary school, middle school, high school and college.



• Individual submissions for Elementary, Middle and High School: all submissions from students at the aforementioned levels of school must have the poem pre-screened by an English teacher before submission. Please inform the English teacher that pre-screening involves confirmation by an English teacher that the poem is of “A” grade quality. The confirmation should come in the form of the submission being signed by the author and English teacher. (This competition stipulation does NOT apply to the college/university category.)



• Special note to teachers- In-School Contest: Should a school decide to administer an in-school All-American Sports Poet contest, three (3) poems may be submitted per grade level, per school (in the elementary, middle and high school categories). Regrettably, schools submitting more than three poems per grade will disqualify themselves. Therefore, schools who wish to administer an in-school contest for All-American Sports Poet consideration should submit the winning poems from each grade only. Winning poems from each grade should be submitted to the Center for Sports Poetry for the national competition, and all poems must be signed by both the author and English teacher. (This competition stipulation does NOT apply to the college/university category.)



• 2008 submissions will be accepted beginning February 1, 2008, with a deadline for submission on May 1, 2008.



• Poems must clearly incorporate sport as the motif.



• Poems are to be no longer than 25 lines.



• Click here to view the winning poems from the Rhode Island pilot program, which drew over 600 submissions.



• Click here to view the winning poems from a recent National Contest, which drew over 1100 submissions.



• All submissions must be typed and include a cover page with the student’s name, email (if available), grade, teacher’s name, teacher’s email (if available), name of school, address of school, and school phone number. (College/University students do not need to list a professor’s name)



• Ten nationally acclaimed poets will serve as judges.

Submissions should be mailed (not emailed) to :
Center for Sports Poetry
c/o Institute for International Sport at URI
The Feinstein Building
P.O. Box 1710
3045 Kingstown Road
Kingston, RI 02881-1710
Attention: Andrea Cortes

• Honors:
• Ten elementary school students will be selected as All-American Sports Poets.
• Ten middle school students will be selected as All-American Sports Poets.
• Ten high school students will be selected as All-American Sports Poets.
• Ten college students will be selected as All-American Sports Poets.



• Winners will be published on the Institute for International Sport website. Deadline for all submissions is May 1, 2008.



• Press releases will be issued to the local media of honorees, and the winning poems will be included in the Institute’s monthly newsletter which is received by over 200,000 people. In addition, winning poems will be posted on the Institute’s web site.



• All honorees in the New England area will be invited to a special on-site ceremony at the International Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame, home of the Institute for International Sport and based on the University of Rhode Island campus. For those who cannot attend the ceremony, their schools will be encouraged to host a special reception or a school assembly to honor the winner. Details of the Rhode Island event will be provided after the winners have been selected.



• All questions should be directed to iis102@etal.uri.edu (Attention: Andrea Cortes)

We are delighted to administer this program, and will rely on your much appreciated assistance. Please make sure that all submissions follow the aforementioned guidelines. Regrettably, we will be unable to judge any poem that does not follow these guidelines. As you can well understand, this should not be treated as a “class assignment,” but as a contest within your school to select only exceptional poems for consideration.

Click here to download a printable version of the National Competition Fact Sheet.