The world’s best sport photography competition is open for entries! Find out how to win big with my insider advice

World Sports Photography Awards, sponsored by Canon, is the world’s best showcase of sports photography. Entries are now open for the 2027 edition of the competition until 23rd November 2026. I’m pleased to say that I am a judge and cannot wait to see everyone’s photos.

Amateur and professional sports photographers from around the globe are invited to submit their photos that convey the drama, emotion, and physicality at the heart of sport. Entry remains free, and photographers can enter up to 10 images taken between December 2025 and November 2026. 24 sports categories are available including: Athletics, Cricket, Cycling, Football, Golf, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, and Rugby.

The introduction of the ‘Canon Emerging Talent’ award in the 2026 edition has shown amazing success and looks to bring along the next era of great sports photographers once again in 2027. This dedicated category will continue recognising young and upcoming talent with the age of the award dropping slightly to under the age of 25 to better capture the essence of the award.

The competition is judged by leading figures spanning sport, media, photography, branding, and the broader creative sector, the World Sports Photography Awards continues to stand as the world’s biggest celebration of sports photography.

Not only is my background in photography, but I am also an avid sport player with years of experience in many different disciplines – golf, swimming, tennis, netball, triathlon (to name a few). Knowing the ins and outs of how a sport is played can be beneficial when looking at and taking sport imagery.

The timing, technique and technical skills of sport are just as important to observe as technique and skills using a camera. Anticipating the movements of the people involved, or animals in some cases, will make the difference between a stand-out photograph and a good one.

But also, sport is a human experience. It brings people together. I’ll be looking for the photographs that not only show the photographer understands the technical skill involved with the sport, but also the emotional side. The physical and mental challenges of the sportspeople participating, the celebrations and sorrow, the supporters. All of the aspects that go beyond just the act of the sport itself.

If anyone is thinking of entering or taking photographs in the future in sport but don’t know where to start, there are aspects of other photography genres that will be highly beneficial for taking sport photography – street and portraiture for example. Anticipating moments on the street, watching and observing your surroundings, having your camera set up ready for the shot you want, watching the light, finding and using negative space are all transferable skills.

When I’m judging photographs, I’m looking for photographs that clearly show the photographer understands their subject and is willing to try something a bit different. LIGHT and COMPOSITION are two of the main technical details I’ll be looking at. But I love seeing photographers think outside the box. The photographs that are framed a bit differently, use motion and colour creatively, consider scale, angles, perspective and how an image is cropped. These are the factors that will always win me over.

See the 2026 World Sports Photography Award winners. I also spoke with the Emerging Talent winner Tom Weller about his work.

You can find out how to shoot great action and sports photos here in our complete guide. See more of our content on sport and action photography for inspiration:

Do you want to win some great prizes for your photography? Enter your photos in our International Amateur Photographer of the Year competition. Free entry for photographers aged 13-21.

Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Irys.