Where have all the sporting stories gone?

I’ve often found it curious, no, puzzling, how the word “free” usually has a magnetic pull.

Offer free Wi-Fi, free T-shirts, and free entry, and the crowd appears in droves. So why then, when local athletes and clubs are given a completely free opportunity to showcase their sporting achievements in the newspaper, does it fall on deaf ears?

As a journalist dedicated to telling the stories of our community, I make it a mission to highlight every local achievement I can find, especially in sport. Whether it's the young soccer star scoring goals on dusty township pitches or the weekend warriors grinding out marathon finishes, these are the stories I want to tell. And not for a cent. No costs, no hidden agendas. Just the genuine desire to give people the recognition they deserve.

Yet, the responses and story leads are few and far between.

In a time when social media is flooded with filtered selfies and quick wins, I’m left asking: Have we stopped caring about real recognition? Have we lost our passion for seeing names printed in black ink on white paper, names that once made families beam with pride, that were cut out and framed on walls, or tucked away in scrapbooks?

Some might argue that newspapers are no longer relevant, that digital media has taken over. But I still believe there’s something powerful about the permanence of print.

Social media is fleeting, here today, scrolled past tomorrow. A newspaper, though, offers a snapshot in time. It’s a place where your hard work, sweat, and dedication are honoured publicly. And in many cases, it’s the only platform willing to do so with care and depth.

It concerns me that people nowadays seem less inclined to share. Is it a loss of community spirit? Or are we so inundated with quick digital likes that the meaningful recognition of print feels outdated?

What’s even more concerning is that the silence from athletes and teams might reflect a deeper issue, not just a disinterest in media, but perhaps a quieting of sport itself. Are local competitions fading? Are kids playing less, training less, and competing less? Or is it simply that the pride once associated with being seen in the newspaper has been replaced by instant gratification online?

Whatever the cause, it’s a mystery I’m desperate to unravel.

Sport has always been a voice for passion, resilience, and hope. If our athletes no longer feel the need to share their stories, then maybe we need to rethink how we celebrate them or risk losing the voice of community sport altogether.