September 2009: Sports Pitches

I'm not sure which of these have been picked up by writers, but if you're interested in sports photography there are a lot of great stories up for grabs. As always, they're first come, first serve.

Pitches are after the cut:

SPORTS:
Athlete Profiles
- Dave Boyd (Football)—the star running back for the team. He's broken through in his third season with the team, and is currently propelling the offense.
- The offensive linemen (Football)—I'd like to do a profile on them as a whole. Offensive linemen are the ones protecting the quarterback, and are generally the biggest players on the team. They're also often the most intelligent.
- Janie Frazao and Rachel Sawyer (Women's Soccer)—they're two first-year students who are starting forwards on a team laden with veteran players. Sawyer already has two goals, and Frazao has one.
- Jaclyn Dunnett (Women's Soccer)—she's one of the top goal keepers in the CIS. We've never done a preview of her before. I'd like to change this.

Upcoming Games:
- Field Hockey: Series vs. UVic. September 26th-27th. 1pm start for each game (due September
- Football: Homecoming Game vs. Regina. September 26th. 2pm.

Athlete of the Week
There are two every week, and it's a great place to work on environmental portraits.

Stories:
1. Day of the Longboat—Preview
Day of the Longboat is the most popular intramural event of the fall at UBC, with over 3000 people participating in the races at Jericho beach on September 26 and 27. How did the event start? Are there teams that annually do well? Are there any Totem/Vanier teams that are going to be extremely creative in how they present their team?

2. UFC in Vancouver: Interest at UBC?
Mixed martial arts (and specifically UFC) are exploding in popularity, especially in Canada, and especially with university-age students. There is also a push by the UFC to host an pay per view in Vancouver next year—which would require Vancouver to change its laws. How popular is MMA on campus/Vancouver? Is there any chance an MMA club will appear anytime soon? This could be a longer piece if you have ambition.

3. Best Intramurals to Join
Every year, thousands of students join the intramurals set up by UBC REC: Ultimate, Flag Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Dodgeball, and many more. We're looking for a quick rundown on how successful these are, what are the best groups to avoid to get bang for your buck—You'll have to do some researching around and talk to some friends to figure out what the best deals are.

4. UBC Men's Rugby Overview
The UBC Men's Rugby program plays against club teams in the area. There is no Canadian University competition. Why is this? Who does UBC play against instead? What are some of the issues the team faces? Who are some of the top players?

5. UBC Women's Rugby
On the flip side of that, there is a women's rugby program, and it actually competes against other Canadian universities. The paper last did a story on the program/how it was formed/what it's like to be a female varsity rugby player four years ago, so I think it's a high time for another profile on this group.

6. T-Birds Football Player has a new kid to care for
A fun little human interest story: A starting offensive linemen for the football team (Oamo Cuthberth) has a girlfriend who just had a baby. What's it like balancing school, sports, and a newborn child?