By Melanie Jacob
Journal Staff Writer
[email protected]
Having roots in little old Humboldt, sports writer Darren Zary has come along way after winning the 2013-14 Canada West Fred "Gus" Collins Media Award and the Fred Sgambati Media Award.
"I knew I was nominated last year, but I didn't know if I would be nominated again," said Zary. "I was surprised and happy I won something."
The "Gus" Collins award is awarded to individuals who show a dedication to sports coverage for Canadian Interuniversity Sports (CIS). By winning that award, Zary also became a nominee for the Sgambati award, which he received on June 10.
"If you work at something long enough, somebody will take notice," said Zary. "I look at it as an award for a body of work over the years. I've been doing this a long time, covered a lot of national championships. The CIS people get to know that you're at these events. That sort of brought me into the limelight, so to speak."
Zary's career with sports writing actually began right here in Humboldt. His familiarity with sports came from his own varied experiences across the playing field and his father who was a physical education teacher.
"Our whole family was into sports," he said. "I played every sport there was in Humboldt."
It was also around this time that a few special English teachers sparked Zary's interest in writing.
"I developed a bit of a knack for writing and discovered it was one of my skills," said Zary. "I just pursued it further and ended up doing an English major in university."
With his interest in writing, it wasn't long before Zary was freelance writing for the Humboldt Journal and eventually hired for summer employment. He eventually obtained a job at North Battleford as the sports editor and when the News Optimist and the Telegraph integrated, he was the official sports writer for the combined paper. From there, Zary was soon hired to write full-time for the StarPheonix and he's been there ever since.
"I didn't even know if I would pursue it, but when you're young and don't have kids, you just do it for fun," said Zary. "It was more of a hobby to start and then I just kept at it. It was all I knew."
After 18 years of sports writing, Zary worries a bit about the future of print reporting with the ever-changing state of the media world, but not enough to really let it concern him.
"I've enjoyed it and it's been fun, even if the future is somewhat uncertain," he said. "But you can only control what you can control. It's been a fun ride up until now."
If not for sports writing, Zary said he might have pursued a career in education like his brother and father. He also said he'd have loved to be a letter carrier, but that position is soon to be extinct. For him, however, there are always other options.
"I enjoy wine and I have an interest in that area," he said. "If I became semi-retired, it's something I'd look at."
The future may be uncertain, but for Zary, life is looking good.
