Story Pitch

COVID-19 has not only impacted academics at UNC but also athletics as well. As a student athlete I have experienced the impact COVID-19 has had on UNC athletics and am very grateful for the amount of effort put in by the coaches, athletic training staff, and athletes to keep us all safe. I recently got through a minor injury and was able to see how head athletic trainer Nick Steif and the rest of the athletic training staff are handling COVID. For example, all athletes must have their temperatures taken before practices and before entering the training room. Masks are required inside Butler-Hancock and are required at all practices if social distancing is not possible. For cross country/track and field we must wear our masks when we aren’t running and also have to maintain 6 feet apart from one another while running. I wanted to use this story to shed light onto the impact COVID has on athletics and to show appreciation for the amount of work and effort the athletic staff has gone through to give athletes a chance to continue their sport. I will use Instagram as my main platform as it will be the best way to reach college students. I want to take some photos of the training staff, the sign-sheets with recorded temperatures, and one of the cross country team with their masks on. I think both my writing and visuals will do a great job in showing how much effort is being put in to keep athletics at UNC going.