Sports Personality of the Year: Nominate your 2016 Get Inspired Unsung Hero
Do you know a local sports volunteer who deserves some much-needed recognition? It’s time to let us know.
Now in its 14th year, the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award celebrates people from around the UK who volunteer their time and efforts to help people participate in sport.
You can nominate until Sunday, 23 October and the winner will be announced at BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Football coach Damien Lindsay from Northern Ireland won the award in 2015.
He was selected from the 15 National and Regional Unsung Heroes.
Announcing this year’s awards, Sharon Fuller, project lead for Get Inspired, said: “Every week there are thousands of people from across the UK who work with little or no support but continue to play a vital role in encouraging their local community to take up sport.
“This is your chance to give that person the recognition they deserve by nominating them for the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award.”
Ask any athlete or sports personality today and they will all have their unsung heroes
Former women’s England and Saracens rugby union player Maggie Alphonsi and Adrian Trott – father of Olympic record-breaking cyclist Laura and a former sports volunteer himself – are this year’s Unsung Hero ambassadors.
“The achievements of my daughter Laura at this summer’s Olympic Games would quite simply not have been possible without the support of volunteers across the cycling community who helped her get on her bike and gave her the opportunity to unleash her potential,” says Trott.
“Ask any athlete or sports personality today and they will all have their unsung heroes,” adds Alphonsi.
“These people really do matter more than they’ll probably ever realise and I am delighted to be an ambassador for this year’s Get Inspired Unsung Hero award to help give these people the recognition they truly deserve.”
How do I nominate an Unsung Hero?
The nomination period for the 2016 awards is now open. You can download this nomination form and send it to the address provided.
Alternatively you can email us at unsunghero@bbc.co.uk to request a nomination form be sent to you in the post.
Please make sure you provide as much relevant information as possible in order to give the judges a good indication of why your nominee deserves to be considered as Unsung Hero for your region.
Please note that the BBC has no control over and is not responsible for the content on external websites. The BBC recommends that you check their privacy policy to find out how they will handle your information.
How will the winner be chosen?
Panels will meet in each of the BBC’s 12 English regions and in BBC Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, picking one winner from each area.
The overall winner will be selected from those 15 and will be announced during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme on Sunday, 18 December in Birmingham.
See the 2016 Get Inspired Unsung Hero Awards terms and conditions to find out everything you need to know. You can also view these terms and conditions in Welsh.
The closing date for applications is 23:59 BST on Sunday, 23 October.
Please note that the last day we will dispatch posted nomination forms will be Friday, 14 October.
Can I nominate someone again this year?
Even if you have nominated someone previously, you can nominate them again this year.
You can also view this page in Welsh and in Gaelic.
There is a continuing need for more unsung heroes in sport in the UK. If you have been inspired by this and want to get involved in helping grassroots sport in your community, visit the Get Inspired guide to volunteering. There is also a dedicated page for coaching.