"I always thought that having a grounding in another, more general area was good for being a sports journalist. Maybe I’m being sort of pious about this stuff, but if you only know sport and only talk about that, you cannot bring anything from outside your life into your writing."
Simon Cambers studied government and sociology at university, but his professional life has seen him cross the globe as a sportswriter, spending most his time as a freelancer. Over the years, his coverage has included cricket, golf and soccer, with the most recent years being dedicated to writing about tennis.
Being a freelancer is a different animal than simply being on assignment for a single publication. For Simon, being opportunistic has been a key to building a successful career as a freelancer. He does share that there is certainly a little bit of luck that comes into play as well.
In this episode, Simon talks about the challenges of balancing multiple assignments for a variety of outlets during a single event, how he generates ideas to pitch to editors, his preparation for interviews and touches on what Americans should know about gambling on sports.
Below are Show Notes from Episode 3 with Simon Cambers.
Simon Cambers
• FA Cup
• 2019 ICC World Cup Final highlight
• 2019 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship, long highlight
• 2019 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship, short highlight
• Pele
• Socrates
• Aldair
• Zico
• 1984 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship, NY Times
• 1987 Toyota Match Play, LA Times
• 2002 Fed Cup Final, NY Times
• Reuters
• 2003 Halle final, The Guardian
• 2003 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Championship, BBC
• 2006 ATP San Jose Draw (ed note - referenced 2005 on pod, but it was 2006)
• Murray wins first career title, The Times
• Marseille coverage in The Times
• Marseille coverage in The Guardian
• ESPN.com
• Cancellation of 2020 Wimbledon, ESPN.com • ASAP Sports
• ASAP profile, USA Today
• ITWA
• Gambling in UK, NY Times
• Gambling in US, SB Nation
• Gambling sponsors in Premier League, The Guardian
SET PIECES
Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Inner Game of Golf by W. Timothy Gallwey
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
1980 League Cup Final highlight
Borg at Wimbledon video