1. Any UK resident (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) aged 16 or over on 1 January 2023 is eligible to be nominated, except previous winners of the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award or BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award, BBC or BBC Group employees or any person connected to the Awards and their close relatives. Nominees aged between 16 and 17 will require parental consent to be nominated. Proof of age, identity, eligibility and consent (where applicable) may be requested.
2. The nominee must:
(i) either be an individual, two individuals together involved in the same activity, or a formally organised sports or activity group involved in the same activity;
(ii) help amateurs participate in a physical activity or sport, or be engaged in community development work through sport (and that physical activity or sport must have a recognised governing body).
(iii) offer help that does not normally form part of their job or normally take place at their place of work unless such help goes above and beyond their paid work activities in which case an explanation will be required;
(iv) help voluntarily with no financial reward;
(v) be engaged in sporting endeavour primarily; where fundraising results from that endeavour the nominees must not be linked to the charity that has benefitted;
(vi) in the opinion of the person nominating be deserving of a BBC Award;
(vii) not bring the BBC into disrepute (in the BBC’s sole discretion); and
(viii) have consented or have parental consent to be nominated.
3. Nominations can be made:
Via bbc.co.uk/unsunghero, external through the online webform. Entries can be written or video files.
Nominations will be accepted from 7.00am on Wednesday, 4 October 2023 and must be received no later than 11.59pm (UK time) on Monday, 30 October 2023. Each entry route is capped – if more than two minutes of video is submitted only the first two minutes will be assessed. For written entries only the first 800 words will be assessed.
4. All nominations must be on an official online BBC form which can be accessed via bbc.co.uk/unsunghero., external No more than two persons can be included in a nomination. Where a group of three or more is nominated, that nomination will be discarded. Persons nominating should declare any professional or personal relationship with the person or people nominated.
5. The BBC will appoint a panel who will pick a winner for each of the 15 BBC nations and regions. These regional winners will then be put forward to the final judging panel that will determine the overall winner. The shortlisting criteria will be:
(i) The impact they have had on individuals and/or their local community;
(ii) The impact they have had on communities at a regional/national level beyond their local community
(iii) The extent of the nominee’s contribution at the grassroots level of their sport or physical activity; and
(iv) The personal sacrifices or commitment made.
(v) The extent of the nominee’s contribution to people not engaged in their sport or physical activity
Actions which qualify for criteria (i) – (v) will be considered primarily on the previous twelve months. Fundraising activities will be eligible for consideration in the award but fundraising itself is not a criterion and will not gain additional credit in shortlisting the nominations or selection of the winner.
6. Persons shortlisted may be asked to disclose details of any criminal convictions and offences (including any allegations or investigations that are being carried out). The BBC will not require shortlisted finalists to provide information relating to spent convictions. If disclosure is required by the BBC, nominees will be asked to sign a consent form at the time of disclosure. Nominated persons asked for this information must keep the BBC informed of any changes to that disclosed up to the point the winner is announced. This information will be handled in the strictest confidence and, as with all personal data, in accordance with the Privacy Notice.
7. The BBC may undertake background checks of the shortlisted finalists (including searches on public websites and social media platforms). If this is required by the BBC, nominees will be asked to sign a consent form at the time. Information discovered or that may have been disclosed by the entrants themselves will inform the decision as to the selection of the finalists (which shall be at the judging panel’s sole discretion).
8. A national judging panel will then meet to select the overall winner based on the aforementioned criteria in section five and any supporting documentation about each of them. The panel will consist of representatives from the BBC, leading sports figures, representatives from the sports volunteering sector and a previous BBC Unsung Hero winner dependent on availability. The judging process will be overseen by an independent verifier.
9. The overall winner will be announced live on BBC One’s Sports Personality of the Year 2023 programme, to which the regional winners and one guest are invited to attend. The BBC shall cover reasonable travel expenses for each winner and one guest and such expenses shall be agreed with the BBC prior to booking.
10. The judges’ decision as to the winner is final. No correspondence relating to the awards will be entered into.
11. The winner will receive the national BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award 2023 trophy. There are no cash alternatives and the award cannot be sold or transferred in any circumstances. No commercial gain can be made from using or referencing the BBC brand, the award itself or any other element of this awards process.
12. All winners must agree to take part in any post-award publicity if required.
13. The BBC reserves the right to:
(i) vary the opening and closing times for making nominations and to vary the date of the announcement of the awards;
(ii) disqualify any nominee who breaches the rules or has acted fraudulently in any way; and/or
(iii) cancel or vary the awards or any of the selection processes or criteria, at any stage, if in its sole opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise outside of its control.
14. The BBC, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem which may result in any nomination not being properly registered.
15. To the extent permitted by law, the BBC will not be liable for any loss or damage (whether such damage or losses were foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise) including financial, reputational loss or disappointment.
16. Persons nominating and nominees will be deemed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them.
17. The promoter of the awards is the British Broadcasting Corporation and these rules are subject to the laws of England and Wales.
