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Sports writing is notoriously vulnerable to cliché and jargon. Apart from direct quotes, avoid the type of language used by players and television commentators.

GENERAL STYLE

All England Club

baseball inning (not innings)

Blue (cap) from Oxford, Cambridge, for the award or the sportsman or woman

cross country hyphenate only adjectivally, as in cross-country trials

Cup Final the FA Cup Final, but l/c final for World Cup final, Worthington Cup final, and all other sporting cup finals (also FA Cup semi-final, l/c because by definition more than one)

divisions, groups, sections etc in a sporting context always take l/c. Thus, World Cup group A, Nationwide League first division, European Championship section D etc

England Under-21 etc

first division, second division etc (not Division One, 2, etc or any variant)

hat-trick (cricket or football)

Olympics can be used as a short form of the Olympic Games. Similarly, the Games (always capped) can be used (same rule for Games in Commonwealth Games etc). Always cap Olympics and Olympic even when used adjectivally, eg, an Olympic athlete. Note International Olympic Committee (no final “s” on Olympic).

In reference to the London Olympics of 2012, no need to capitalise venues that do not yet exist, eg, the Olympic (note no -s) aquatic centre. Tessa Jowell is the Olympics (note -s) Minister (caps) as well as the Culture, Sport and Media Secretary

racecourse, racehorse, but horserace, horse racing

avoid stretchered off; say carried off on a stretcher instead

Super Bowl (American football), two words

refer to women's (not ladies') competitions, championships, events etc

World Cup (caps), also World Championship (caps) in all sports

Boxing

featherweight, heavyweight, light-heavyweight etc; knockout(s)

Cricket

wicketkeeper, mid-off, mid-wicket; follow on (verb) but the follow-on; hat-trick; hit-wicket; mis- hit; thirdman; extra cover; off break; leg-before; no-ball; a four (not 4); Norwich Union League; Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy

An off spinner is a bowler who bowls off breaks. Delivery in cricket is a bowling action, not a ball: “Qadir has a puzzling delivery”, not “Warne bowled Gatting with his first delivery”

From January 1, 1997, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) took control of all levels of the domestic game, and the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) is no more. The First-Class Forum (FCF) represents the views of the first-class counties. MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) is concerned with the laws of cricket and matters at Lord's. Do not refer to the MCC

Football

By itself, football means the association code. Soccer is an acceptable alternative

American football should always be described thus, unless thecontext is so obvious that football on its own is enough

General terms: goalkeeper, kick-off (noun), Arsenal (not the), midfield, offside, play-off, shoot-out

Fifa (not FIFA), football's governing body; similarly Uefa (not UEFA)

Champions League (European football), no apostrophe; the later knockout stages of the competition (from quarter-final onwards) become the European Cup

the Football Association (or FA), never the English Football Association

St James' Park (both Newcastle and Exeter); St Andrew's, Birmingham (unlike St Andrews, golf)

refer to the Barclaycard Premiership (no longer Carling) at first mention, the Premiership thereafter; the organisation that runs it is the Premier League.Take care not to confuse the competition and the organisation. Similarly, the lower divisions form the Nationwide League first division, second division (note l/c) etc; this competition is run by the FootballLeague

Rugby union, rugby league

Both rugby union and rugby league take l/c in general usage (though not, of course, in titles)

NEVER use the word rugger

Six Nations Championship, no longer Five Nations except in historical contexts

General terms: full back; scrumhalf; fly half; dropped goal; knock on (verb) but a knock-on (noun); scrummage; threequarter; open-side flanker; wing (not winger); lineout(s); 22-metre line, the 22; touch judge; triple crown; grand slam; the British Isles, not the British Lions (though Lions on its own is acceptable at second mention). NB: stand-off half in rugby league; also replacements (not substitutes) in rugby union

Golf

The holes should appear in both text and results as 1st, 2nd, 10th, 18th, but write the “third extra hole” after that. In a matchplay use “Jones beat Brown 2 and 1” (not two and one). Usual Times style for numbers (spell out from one to ten, figures thereafter) in sentences such as “Faldo holed from eight feet/15ft”

General terms: the Open Championship (not British Open); bogey; birdie; eagle (no quotes); dormy, only if the match can be halved — a player cannot be dormy if the match can be taken to, say, the 19th hole to reach a decision; the Masters (not US Masters)

Motor racing

the British Grand Prix, Japanese Grand Prix etc (cap as specific); but grand prix racing etc (l/c, unspecific); plural grands prix

Formula One motor racing (two caps, One spelt out)

pitstop (one word)

Sailing

sailing correspondent (not yachting correspondent)

America's Cup

Whitbread Round the World Race (caps, no hyphens)

Swimming

freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke (no hyphens)

Tennis

Carlos Moyà (note accent)

Flushing Meadows (not Meadow), New York, home of the US Open tennis championships