Meridian Sports — Back on the Block
By Kelly L. Martinez

Our last two Meridian Sports articles appeared in 2005 and they explored the question: As LDS, why do we care so much about LDS athletes and how they are doing in their chosen sport?  The responses that came in relation to those articles didn’t provide a clear-cut answer to the “why” aspect, but they did show that there is a huge interest in the LDS community (and like-minded individuals) about who LDS athletes and coaches are and how they are performing on the fields of competition.  Our intent at Meridian Sports is to provide information about how LDS in the sporting world are making an impact.

Meridian Sports, after a considerable layover, is back on the runway and, hopefully, headed to new heights.  In order to achieve liftoff, however, we are going to need a little help from our readers in two key areas.

Area I: The List

In 2003, Meridian Sports compiled a list of LDS athletes and coaches.  To be blunt, that list is now very much outdated.  We need your help in rebuilding and updating “The List.”  Please send us an e-mail (click on the “What do you think” link to the right of this article) with any verifiably LDS athletes or coaches that you’re aware of at the amateur (Olympic or World caliber), collegiate or professional levels.  If you’re not sure if someone is LDS or not, please indicate that and we’ll do what we can to find out.  If a person cannot be definitely identified as LDS, they will not be included on the list.  We ran into problems the last time around with a couple of professional golfers who were not LDS but were identified as such on our list.

Area II: The Staff

Don’t know of any LDS athletes or coaches?  We can still use your help.  We are looking for a few talented, eager and capable sports writers to help us achieve liftoff and to be a part of our sports staff. 

If you are willing to volunteer your time and efforts to researching, interviewing, and writing sports-related articles about LDS athletes and coaches, we would love to hear from you.  What we’re looking for are contributors who share a love of sports and the gospel, and are able to commit to a regular contribution schedule.  We will be producing articles to keep our international audience informed about the LDS sporting world and the influence LDS athletes and coaches are having on their respective sports.

If you think you can help out as a Meridian Sports contributor, send us an e-mail with a brief paragraph about yourself and your writing experience along with a writing sample.  We will be in touch soon as we are eager to get Meridian Sports up and running again.  Until then, feel free to browse through our archives to see the types of stories we’ve done and, as always, feel free to offer your thoughts about or suggestions for Meridian Sports.

Idaho Falls, Idaho

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