31189a - Learning activity 02

Sports today

• Search online for a sporting event that happened last weekend.

• Find five different sites that present information about the sporting result in different ways. For example, you might find a blog written by a sports fan, an official website, and video streaming and so on.

• What do the five sites do differently?

• Who do you think they are aiming their content at?

• Which is the most effective in providing information about the event?

Answer

Last weekend went from Friday, 25^th November to Sunday, 27^th.  I unfortunately don’t follow sport of any kind (let alone what events occurred last weekend) so it is hard to know where to start?  .  Anyway, I began by looking at Fox Sports[1], because they had an events calendar whereby one can follow their preferred sports (c/o News Corp Australia)[2]. 

The following events took place last week (and some of which are still taking place).

v     23-December 7 Surfing Maui Women’s Pro, Honolua Bay, Hawaii

v     25-27 Tennis Davis Cup Final

v     25-27 V8 Supercars Sydney 500

v     26 Rugby Union Australia v Ireland, Dublin

v     26 Soccer Asian Champions League Final, 2nd Leg, TBC

v     27 Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Out of these events, I chose the V8 Supercars Sydney 500 (which occurred between the 25^th and 27^th of November this year).  I don’t know much about Motorsports, so I thought it would be a great idea to talk about it.  I also chose this event because it is local to Sydney.

So what is the V8 Supercars Sydney 500?

This event is a must-see for all V8 car enthusiasts[3].  It is held annually in Sydney at the Homebush Street Circuit in Sydney Olympic Park.  Previously, the event occurred in Oran Park.

Here are five different websites that covered the event.

Fox Sports

This article was up 13 hours’ ago (this morning) on Fox Sports: Jamie Whincup throws down gauntlet to Shane Van Gisbergen for Supercars Sydney 500[4].  Fox Sports covered this and many other, sporting events and is one of the leading producers of sports television coverage of events here in Australia.  It airs on many of the subscription (pay-TV) sports channels and has its own website: www.foxsports.com.au – where you can catch the news and anything else you might have missed[5].  It aims its content at sports fans and has news articles, photographs and videos.

Speed Café

This is another web site that offered coverage of this event: Axe Falls on Sydney Olympic Park Street Race[6].  The article stated that the event was postponed to the 3^rd and 4^th of December (tomorrow and Sunday), and that it might face the axe because it was too ‘costly’ to run.

This web site[7] is specifically for car racing and motor sports enthusiasts, and performs the same functions as Fox Sports but probably goes into the motorsports in more detail.

Tiketek

This online booking site is selling tickets to the 2016 event[8]. This site is one of the most experienced when it comes to ticketing and booking live events[9].  Its target audiences are many and it performs a specific service for people attending live events.  Its presence is not only online but offline also, where one can book through many different outlets.

ABC News

This news website (of the Australian Broadcasting Commission) just published an article yesterday (1^st December) regarding the Supercars Sydney 500 event for this year: Sydney 500 to farewell Supercars at Sydney Olympic Park[10].  The website for The Australian Broadcasting Commission delivers news and information about its programs, and you can catch up on apps like iView.  However, the News section delivers news from all around the world[11]; and the target audiences for this site are many, including sports fans.

Holden Racing Team

This team is one of the many teams participating in the Supercars Sydney 500 event, and this article includes the team’s participation in this race: Preview Sydney 500[12].  The web site is targeted specifically for fans of the Holden Racing Team, where they can get up-to-date information on the team – in this instance, the Sydney 500 is on right now, so even if you are not watching the even on TV (or hearing about it through some other medium), you can still find out the results[13].  For all the events that have happened this year, there is a Season Calendar[14].

What site do I think is best?

If I were specifically following car racing, and in particular, V8 supercars, then either the Speed Café or the Holden Racing Team would be the best sites to choose for my information.  If I were specifically a fan of the Holden Racing Team, then I would choose that one for my information.  However, if I wanted to follow other sports, then Fox Sports would probably be my best bet.

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[1] Fox Sports (2016): 2016 Sports Calendar – Plan Your Entire Year, http://www.foxsports.com.au/more-sports/2016-sport-calendar--plan-your-entire-year/news-story/8a6f7a4bbcf64584800694ee0aa52fb0

[2] News Corp Australia (2016): 2016 Sports Calendar, http://resources.news.com.au/files/2016/01/04/1227696/941335-hs-file-2016-sports-calendar.pdf

[3] Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_500?oldid=742717385

[4] Phelps, J (2016): Jamie Whincup Throws Down Gauntlet to Shane Van Gisbergen for Supercars Sydney 500; http://www.foxsports.com.au/motorsport/v8-supercars/jamie-whincup-throws-down-gauntlet-to-shane-van-gisbergen-for-supercars-sydney-500/news-story/5c2fb2e45f3fb8852c18bcbc3028dd1f

[5] Fox Sports (2016): About Us, http://www.foxsports.com.au/about-us

[6] Speed Café (2016): Axe Falls on Sydney Olympic Park Street Race, http://www.speedcafe.com/2016/03/22/axe-falls-on-sydney-olympic-park-street-race/

[7] Speed Café (2016): Sydney Motorsport Park Super Sprint 2, http://www.speedcafe.com/event/sydney-motorsport-park-super-sprint-2/

[8] Tiketek (2016): Coates Hire Sydney 500 Tickets, http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=SYD50016

[9] Tiketek (2016): About Us, http://premier.ticketek.com.au/Content/aboutus/aboutus.aspx

[10] Browning, J (2016): Sydney 500 to farewell Supercars at Sydney Olympic Park, in ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-01/chequered-flag-to-fall-on-sydney-500-finale/8083224

[11] ABC News (2016): News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/

[12] Holden Racing Team (2016): Preview Sydney 500, http://www.hrt.com.au/racing/2016/news/story/?ID=2449&title=PREVIEW%20-%20Sydney%20500

[13] Holden Racing Team (2016): Round Results – Sydney 500 Practice, http://www.hrt.com.au/racing/2016/racing/results/

[14] Holden Racing Team (2016): Season Calendar, http://www.hrt.com.au/racing/2016/racing/calendar/