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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#256: Going for Gold

We're entering into a major summer of sports. From the Euros and the Copa America, through Grand Prix and grand slams, to the Olympics and Paralympics, you can barely switch on the TV without catching something. Even those of us who aren't usually sports fans seem to be finding ourselves caught up in the fever-pitch of excitement.

And there's a reason for this: sports bring us together. Whether we're viewing for the spectacle, for tales of heroism and tragedy, or for a feeling of community, there's just something about it. This week's prompts invite you to channel the experience of athletes and fans, and to capture that atmosphere in writing. We look forward to seeing who takes gold!

This week's prompts

Set your story in the stands at a major sporting event.

Fiction – 40 stories

Write about someone who has trained all their life for one moment.

Character – 45 stories

Write a story about an underdog, or somebody making a comeback.

Character – 42 stories

Write about a moment of defeat.

Angst – 54 stories

Write a story about two sporting rivals having to work together.

Funny – 23 stories

Stories

“On Thin Ice” by M B

Submitted to Contest #256

The roar of the crowd filled the arena as the teams took to the ice. Amber adjusted her press badge and settled into her seat high up in the stands. The meerkat wasn't there to enjoy the game: Amber had never been one for sports, especially hockey. No, she had a job to do. The tip had come in anonymously: a cryptic message hinting at a major scandal that was set to unfold during the championship match. Amber scanned the crowd, her keen eyes taking in every detail, looking for anything out of the ordinary. "Keep your eyes open, Amber," she mu...

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“From Now to Now” by Johanna Parry

Submitted to Contest #256

I was spindly, wild and always hunting for that place in nature where no one could find me. Except, of course, the toadstool fairies and elves I loved hiding with. Ducking under the bushes in the backyard, I crawled into a semi-clearing around an old tree stump. My toadstool.Here I conversed with that world no one else seemed interested in. The translucent other side. The realm where loud words did not have to fall out of my mouth. I was simply and fully understood.Here even smells were translucent. Sun-warmed grass, breeze-blown thicket lea...

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“The Race” by Jonathan Todd

Submitted to Contest #256

The crowds are gathered along the sides of the track. I feel butterflies in my stomach when I hear their excited voices but I must focus on the finish line. That is my goal.I am doing this for my grandfather. He competed in the Old Limp Dicks years and years ago. If I win then it will prove I have inherited his jeans. My father never got into sport the way my grandfather did. I do this now in my grandfather’s honour. They say that the sporting jeans must have skipped a Jenny Ray’s son. I do not know Jenny Ray or her son, but they are in my m...

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“The Last Race” by David Newcombe

Submitted to Contest #256

Most people awaken from a dream into reality, but to Jack the opposite appeared to have occurred. As though from nowhere he found himself surrounded by a cacophony of chaos and confusion. At first it made no sense, but the reader will have certainly been in a stressful or confusing situation where nothing makes sense and yet, at some deeper level, our minds battle to eventually create reason from surreal madness.For madness could be the only description for what Jack was experiencing. Sports events were always noisy, frenetic mayhem and, lit...

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“Scratch Your Back” by Keith Menendez

Submitted to Contest #256

I have heard people say that crying is therapeutic. Good for your soul. It releases endorphins or hormones to help your body cope with stress and emotions. Part of the grieving process. Those people are morons. For a seventh grade young man, like me, to cry in an eighth grade class even for an instant was not therapeutic. It was not good for my soul. The only thing it released was loud snickering by the eighth grade boys and, worse, sympathetic eyes from the eighth grade girls. Part of the humiliatio...

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“Don't Abuse Mercy” by Sophia Csulak

Submitted to Contest #256

Fiddling with the ring on my pointer finger, I looked at Darcy across from me. There was nothing concrete to warrant our meeting here, if you asked me again, I’d tell you that it was spontaneous. This pastiche mockery of a friendship is enough for us to meet on occasion and why we are still connected at all. “How is she?” I spoke first. Apart from our hellos and him mentioning his switch from cappuccinos to straight black coffee, we’ve let the strangers make all the noise. “More of the same. Doctors are hoping she dies soon so the ...

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“A Lifetime of Victories Ahead” by Hannah Foust

Submitted to Contest #256

March 14th 1945 Pvt. Daniel Brody. 9th Division Infantry.Nurse Cora says I should write about what happened. She thinks it might help me get over the emotional trauma, or at least help me cope, and deal with the nightmares that continue to haunt me. It has been six months, and still it continues to remain vivid in my memory, sometimes I feel like it's happening all over again, and I cannot be rid of the torment, or the guilt. In my sleep, I see the faces of my comrades looking at me in shame and distress. I would much rather face defea...

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“A Different Kind of Defeat ” by Sloan Plourde

Submitted to Contest #256

Tick, tick, tick. The handle on our kitchen clock keeps drudging forward, almost as if taunting me. I tear my eyes away and sigh as I look back down to my half-eaten dinner of roast chicken and rice. Micheal was supposed to be home from work at 5:30, it is now 6:15 and the dinner I cooked for us is cold. He's late with no text or call; I would honestly accept a letter via carrier pigeon at this point. I wish I could say I am surprised by his lateness, or that this is something out of the ordinary, a one-time thing, if you will. But as much a...

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“The Art of Being Boring” by Maisy Stevens

Submitted to Contest #256

Perhaps the answer is to pack your bags and move to the city. As a somewhat shy and partially introverted twenty-year-old, recieving the opportunity to complete an internship in Central London felt like a gift straight from the graceful fingertips of God, like I’d finally been looked down on with something less pitiful than disdain. I quit my tedious retail job in the middle of an industrial retail park, so barren a piece of tumbleweed was a regular, without so much as a regretful smile. My manager had begged me not to leave, but, no m...

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“One-Handed Catch” by Nomar Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #256

What many don’t know about the nearly undefeated 2005 USC Trojans is that they had Jose Alvarez as a wide receiver on the team. His name has since been erased from history. Wikipedia articles don’t mention him, Youtube clips have censored him out, and ESPN no longer shows footage of the 2005 National Championship game.The government doesn’t want you to remember Jose Alvarez. But I do. I was his teammate, after all.Here is his story.“Alvarez, you’re up!” yelled wide receiver coach Lane Kiffin during tryouts before the season.Alvarez, a 5...

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“Strangers” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #256

Nora was never much of a musician. In fact, in eighth grade she’d received a D in music – partly due to her lack of talent, and partly due to her incessant talking. You have a lot of potential, all her teachers would say, and she wore it like a badge.But I suppose that isn’t relevant, so where were we? Nora was never much of a musician, so it was a peculiarity, albeit an endearing one, to find her onstage at an open mic night. She hadn’t anticipated the crowd, and amongst them her muse glistening like a pearl, lifting a bottle to his lips. W...

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“The Duel” by C. Charles

Submitted to Contest #256

Outside Campbell Creek, New Mexico, 1880 “All right, on the count of three. One... Two... THREE!” Stevie yelled. Two pistol cracks split the hot air, one a half second before the other. The can Billy was aiming at flipped into the air while the one Stevie was aiming at didn’t move—there was only a spray of sand behind it. “Shit,” Stevie said while a wide, goofy grin spread across Billy’s face. “Billy, Hell, I think you just might be the fastest gun in the West.” Billy held the barrel of the Colt up to his mouth and blew across the barrel bef...

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“Volleyball Rivals” by Yanna Khaleel

Submitted to Contest #256

In the sunny coastal town of Bayside, volleyball was everything. The beach was always packed with students, and two names stood out: Alex King and Jamie Rivera.Alex was a defensive genius. He could dive and dig like nobody else, always saving impossible shots. Jamie, on the other hand, was the queen of the net. Her spikes were fierce, and her blocks were solid. Their rivalry was legendary, and every tournament was a showdown between their teams. It was always intense.This year, the Bayside Volleyball Classic threw a curveball. To shake thing...

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“Giddy up” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #256

Once upon a time, when I was a fierce Product Manager, I was invited to the Company's Top Hundred annual meeting. Neither I nor any of my group colleagues - invited as well- were part of such a select group, but our manager had decided that year to do a bit of self-promotion and convinced the organization that we were worthy of being included. So when the day arrived, we were there, the top hundred, a few organizers, and the ten extra-worthy ones, in a remote location, surrounded by greenery and chirping birds, ready to discuss the organizat...

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“For the Love of the Game” by Todd Crickmer

Submitted to Contest #256

I had worked at Rocco’s for almost four years. And had been the bartender for the last two when three of my co-workers and I went in together on a tiny three-bedroom rent house off Van Nuys Boulevard. Jennie and I chipped in a little extra so we could have a room to ourselves, leaving Nicholas and Samuel to share the third bedroom. Jennie, Nicholas and I weren’t natural baseball fans. But Samuel certainly was, and driven by his love of the game, over time, we had all become certifiable Dodger fans. Tickets were expensive,...

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$250

Prize money

204

Contest entries

102

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 28, 2024 EST

Won by Melissa Van Rensburg 🏆

Title: Injury Time

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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