A journalist who has been named the best sports writer in the regional press no fewer than eight times has been nominated for the award for the 14th successive year.

Jon Colman, left, of Newsquest Cumbria, is once again in the running for the Sports Journalists’ Association regional journalist of the year prize.

He will again do battle with Neil Allen of the Portsmouth News, himself a two-time winner who has been nominated seven times.

Other nominees include Steven Chicken, who enters as a freelance having lost his role as Reach plc’s Huddersfield Town reporter in the company’s recent cutbacks.

The SJA has announced the shortlists for 15 categories in the written section of the awards, which will be presented in London on 25th March.

Chair of judges David Walker said the shortlist “demonstrates the consistently high standards in this part of the British sports media, despite ongoing challenges for the industry.”

Said David: “We have an array of awards that reflect the excellence of writing in the British media.

“The past year has been a tough time for many sections of the written media but that has not impaired the quality of the entries our judges had to mark.”

Dedicated awards for both Cricket and Rugby Journalists make their returns to the gala ceremony, which will be held at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London.

Mike Dickson – the Daily Mail’s ‘Mr Wimbledon’ – is posthumously nominated for the Specialist Journalist award, just a few weeks after the tennis writer’s tragic death.

The full shortlist is as follows:

COLUMNIST

Alyson Rudd – The Times & Sunday Times
Jonathan Liew – The Guardian
Matt Dickinson – The Times & Sunday Times
Matthew Syed – The Times & Sunday Times
Oliver Holt – Mail Sport
Owen Slot – The Times & Sunday Times
Sarah Shephard – The Athletic
Sean Ingle – The Guardian

CRICKET JOURNALIST

Ali Martin – The Guardian
Dean Wilson – Freelance
James Wallace – Freelance
Lawrence Booth – Mail Sport
Mike Atherton – The Times & Sunday Times
Nick Hoult – Telegraph Media Group
Paul Newman – Mail Sport
Steve James – The Times & Sunday Times

DIGITAL PUBLISHER

ESPN
Mail Sport
The Athletic
The Guardian
The Telegraph
The Times & Sunday Times

FEATURE WRITER

Daniel Storey – The i newspaper
Don McRae – The Guardian
Ian Ladyman – Mail Sport
James Gheerbrant – The Times & Sunday Times
Jessica Holland – Freelance
Katie Whyatt – The Athletic
Riath Al-Samarrai – Mail Sport
Stuart James – The Athletic

FOOTBALL JOURNALIST

Adam Crafton – The Athletic
Alyson Rudd – The Times & Sunday Times
Henry Winter – The Times & Sunday Times
James Olley – ESPN
Jason Burt – Telegraph Media Group
Jonathan Liew – The Guardian
Jonathan Northcroft – The Times & Sunday Times
Nizaar Kinsella – Evening Standard

FOOTBALL NEWS REPORTER

David Conn – The Guardian
David Ornstein – The Athletic
John Percy – Telegraph Media Group
Matt Hughes – Mail Sport
Mike Keegan – Mail Sport
Rob Draper – Freelance

NEWS REPORTER

David Ornstein – The Athletic
Heather Dewar – Daily Mail
Martyn Ziegler – The Times & Sunday Times
Matt Hughes – Mail Sport
Matt Lawton – The Times & Sunday Times
Matt Slater – The Athletic
Rob Harris – Sky News
Sean Ingle – The Guardian

NEWSPAPER

Daily Mail
The Daily Telegraph
The Guardian
The Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Times
The Times

ONES TO WATCH – WRITING (THE IAN WOOLDRIDGE TROPHY)

Aadam Patel – Mail Sport
Alex Pattle – The Independent
Art de Roché – The Athletic
Elgan Alderman – The Times
George Simms – The i newspaper
Katherine Lucas – The i newspaper
Malik Ouzia – Evening Standard
Um-E-Aymen Babar – Sky Sports / BBC Sport

The winner of the ‘Ones to Watch – Writing’ category will be announced on the SJA website on March 11. All those shortlisted will be contacted shortly and invited to attend the awards as a guest of the SJA.

REGIONAL JOURNALIST

Chris Wathan – BBC Sport Wales
Ciaran Kelly – The Journal/ChronicleLive
Dafydd Pritchard – BBC Sport Wales
Danny Hall – The Star, Sheffield
Jon Colman – Newsquest Cumbria
Neil Allen – Portsmouth News
Phil Smith – Sunderland Echo – National World
Steven Chicken – Freelance

RUGBY JOURNALIST

Alex Bywater – Mail Sport
Alex Lowe – The Times & Sunday Times
Daniel Schofield – Telegraph Media Group
Gavin Mairs – Telegraph Media Group
Nik Simon – Mail Sport
William Kelleher – The Times & Sunday Times

SCOOP

2030 World Cup would be held in several countries – David Ornstein (The Athletic)
City’s 115 Charged – Martyn Ziegler (The Times & Sunday Times)
Dele Alli interview – The Overlap (Buzz 16)
England men’s cricket team ripping up selection – Will Macpherson (The Telegraph)
Gianni Infantino leaves Women’s World Cup after less than a week – Rob Harris (Sky News)
Manchester United told senior staff that Mason Greenwood will return – Adam Crafton (The Athletic)
The Concussion Files (Concussion in Rugby Union) – David Walsh (The Times & Sunday Times)
The hidden truth behind Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea FC empire – Rob Davies, David Conn and Simon Lock (The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism / The Guardian)
US Ryder Cup Team Tension – Jamie Weir (Sky Sports News)

SOCIAL MEDIA JOURNALIST

Aadam Patel – Mail Sport
Charlotte Daly – Mail Sport
Conor McNamara – Freelance
Milly McEvoy, Katy Hanscomb, Abi Curran and Megan Armitage – SPORTSBEAT
Rio Rosenberg – Hayters TV
Rob Harris – Sky News
Sanny Rudravajhala – Freelance

SPECIALIST CORRESPONDENT

Dave Lockwood – BBC Sport
Dominic King – Mail Sport
Don McRae – The Guardian
Mike Dickson – Mail Sport
Sean Ingle – The Guardian
Tom Cary – Telegraph Media Group

WOMEN’S SPORT JOURNALIST

Betty Glover – BBC Sport
Charlotte Harpur – The Athletic
Emma Sanders – BBC Sports News
Faye Carruthers – talkSPORT
Fiona Tomas – Telegraph Media Group
Kathryn Batte – Mail Sport
Nick Hope – Freelance
Suzanne Wrack – The Guardian