NSW primary school student is changing women’s sport coverage
She may be in Year 6, but Sydney schoolgirl Abbie has a second life as a rising media star, crushing it as a women’s sports reporter and commentator while raising money for other girls
READING LEVEL: GREEN
Primary school student Abbie has cemented* herself as one of the country’s most recognisable faces in women’s sport.
The 12-year-old Sydney girl is the brains behind Her Way magazine, a collection of features on Australia’s top and emerging* female sporting talent.
After subscribing* to a celebrity fashion magazine in the Covid lockdown period, Abbie yearned* for something similar to increase the coverage of women’s sports and Her Way was born.
The young reporter has interviewed and been backed by some of the country’s biggest names in women’s sport, including 11 time Olympic medallist Emma McKeon, gold medal Paralympians Madison de Rozario and Ellie Cole, basketball star Lauren Jackson, GWS Giants legend Amanda Farrugia and more.
Asked how she addresses criticism of women’s sport when her credibility* is questioned due to her age, Abbie said she tries to block out the negativity.
“Obviously people are allowed to have opinions but people shouldn’t be spreading negativity about women’s sport because it is really good and it deserves more positive attention,” she said.
“Women’s sport has only been around for a little while, some games have been going on for years and years like tennis, but some sports are only growing now – the men’s have had hundreds of years to evolve* it.”
The junior journalist even covered the Women in Sport awards on Sunday night for Fox Sports, taking over their social media channels for official interviews.
“Anytime I am interviewing someone or someone is interviewing me, I am like, ‘This is crazy, out of all the kids in the world it happened to me’,” she said. “I get nervous before an interview every time but I am also just super excited.”
Her Way celebrated its first birthday in September after “exploding” in 2021, with the Year 6 student changing the game when it comes to inspiring new generations of girls in sport by donating $1 from every magazine to UNICEF Australia’s “Empower* Girls Through Cricket” appeal.
Abbie has raised over $8,000 so far and was recognised last week at the Women in Sport breakfast, where she was invited to be a guest speaker.
“I was worried people weren’t going to take me seriously because I’m only a kid but all the athletes I’ve chatted to have been amazing,” she said.
“When I have been to some games as media, some security guards have said, ‘Are you sure you’re a journalist?’ I guess it’s kind of funny when that happens.”
Do you want to become a top junior journalist like Abbie? Stay tuned on Kids News for an exciting announcement coming in Term 4, 2022.
GLOSSARY
- cemented: firmly established, confirmed, made something strong or permanent
- emerging: growing in strength or ability and becoming more respected and widely known
- subscribing: paying money to regularly receive a product or use a service
- yearned: longed for something, desired, craved, wished for something
- credibility: having established qualities that mean someone is reliable, believed and trusted
- evolve: develop, come gradually into being over time
EXTRA READING
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Dayleni is Australia’s best kids’ newsreader
Celebrating our female sporting champs
QUICK QUIZ
- What is the name of Abbie’s magazine?
- Which two gold medal Paralympians have backed Abbie’s work?
- Abbie covered which event on Sunday night?
- Which fundraising appeal does Abbie support to inspire more girls in sport?
- How much money has Abbie raised so far?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Test out your interview skills
Have a go at interviewing somebody, like Abbie does. First, write down some interesting, open-ended questions that you could ask your subject. Then, interview them, recording their answers. Try to be adaptable during your interview – if they mention something particularly interesting, ask more questions to get them to elaborate on this. You don’t have to stick strictly to your list of questions! Finally, use your interview notes to write an article about your subject and your interview with them.
Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English; Personal and Social Capability
2. Extension
If you could interview anyone in the world, who would it be and why? Write a paragraph to explain.
Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.
Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.
Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.