The BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award was an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. Presented from 2003 to 2024, the award was given to the sportsperson who has made a substantive yet unrecognised contribution to sport.
| BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award | |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Presented by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
| First award | 2003 |
| Final award | 2024 |
| Most recent winner | Jean Paton (2024) |
History
The inaugural winner in 2003 was 63-year-old Nobby Woodcock, for "his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales". Of the fourteen recipients to date, four were chosen for their contributions to football; the other recipients contributed towards boxing, basketball, athletics, swimming, sailing and the Special Olympics. As of 2024, six of the twenty two winners have each been put forward from the BBC East Midlands region, four from the BBC South region and two from the BBC East and BBC Scotland regions. The other winners came from the BBC London, BBC North West, BBC Northern Ireland, BBC West, BBC West Midlands and BBC Wales regions. The most recent award was presented in 2024 to Jean Paton.
Nomination procedure
Sportspeople are nominated by the public, and must be aged 16 years or over on 1 January that year. Nominees may not put themselves forward or be nominated by a member of their immediate family. A nominee must actively help others participate in a sport at any level on a voluntary basis. The work they do must not be part of their job or take part within their places of work, and they must not be a participant in the sporting group they are helping. Previous winners of the award are ineligible for nomination. One winner is selected from each of the twelve BBC English Regions, and the three national regions: BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland. A judging panel then chooses the Unsung Hero winner from the fifteen regional winners.
Winners
By year
| Year | Nationality | Winner | Location | BBC Region | Sport | Rationale | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | WAL | Nobby Woodcock | Newport, South Wales | BBC Wales | Football | for "his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales". | |
| 2004 | ENG | Abdullah Ben-Kmayal | Peckham, London | BBC London | Football | for his work with Bethwin Football Club, a club he founded and funded personally. | |
| 2005 | ENG | Trevor Collins | Isle of Wight | BBC South | Swimming | for more than 25 years work in administration and coaching at the West Wight Swimming Club. | |
| 2006 | ENG | Val Hanover | Oswestry, Shropshire | BBC West Midlands | Special Olympics | for spending nearly 30 years organising Special Olympics for thousands of people with learning difficulties in North Shropshire. | |
| 2007 | ENG | Margaret Simons | Bicester, Oxfordshire | BBC South | Football | for over 40 years of work with Bardwell FC, a community football team that she founded in 1964. | |
| 2008 | ENG | Ben Geyser | Dorchester, Dorset | BBC South | Boxing | for setting up three boxing clubs, and campaigning for a permanent home for the Dorchester Amateur Boxing Club. | |
| 2009 | ENG | Doreen Adcock | Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire | BBC East | Swimming | for teaching "over 13,000 people to swim in the town over the last 35 years". | |
| 2010 | ENG | Lance Haggith | Bedfordshire | BBC East | Basketball | for providing children of differing abilities coaching in basketball. | |
| 2011 | SCO | Janice Eaglesham & Ian Mirfin | Scotland | BBC Scotland | Athletics | for providing coaching to disabled athletes. | |
| 2012 | ENG | Sue & Jim Houghton | Leicester | BBC East Midlands | Various | for transforming a derelict Leicestershire sports ground into a popular community facility for tennis, squash, association football, bowls and dance. | |
| 2013 | ENG | Joe & Maggie Forber | Manchester | BBC North West | Basketball | recognised regionally for their hard work at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Whalley Range. | |
| 2014 | ENG | Jill Stidever | Hinckley, Leicestershire | BBC East Midlands | Swimming | for nearly 60 years' work helping children with special needs learn to swim. | |
| 2015 | NIR | Damien Lindsay | Belfast | BBC Northern Ireland | Football | founded St James' Swifts F.C. five years ago with the aim of helping to keep young people off the streets in a deprived part of his native city. | |
| 2016 | ENG | Marcellus Baz | Nottingham | BBC East Midlands | Boxing | for providing free boxing classes to hundreds of young people at his boxing school. | |
| 2017 | ENG | Denise Larrad | Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicester | BBC East Midlands | Various | for helping the elderly get involved in sport and leading running groups encouraging people of all ages to get active. | |
| 2018 | SCO | Kirsty Ewen | Inverness | BBC Scotland | Swimming | overcame mental health issues to inspire others to do the same and find a better place through swimming. | |
| 2019 | ENG | Keiren Thompson | Bulwell, Nottingham | BBC East Midlands | Various | runs the community project 'Helping Kids Achieve' in Bulwell in Nottingham, one of the most deprived areas in the city. | |
| 2020 | NZL ENG | Sgt. Matt Ratana | East Grinstead, West Sussex | BBC South East | Rugby | led a resurgence in popularity at the East Grinstead Rugby Club after becoming head coach. Awarded posthumously. | |
| 2021 | ENG | Sam Barlow | Hull | BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire | Various | founded a fitness club for those experiencing loss after losing her husband to cancer. | |
| 2022 | ENG | Mike Alden | Bristol | BBC West | Football | founded Park Knowle FC in one of Bristol's most deprived areas, open to players of all ages and ability. | |
| 2023 | ENG | Des Smith | Sheffield | BBC Yorkshire | Various | founded Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club to provide sporting opportunities for ethnic minorities and encourage community cohesion | |
| 2024 | ENG | Jean Paton | Lymington, Hampshire | BBC South | Sailing | for her decades of work as a volunteer and instructor at Salterns Sailing Club in Lymington |
By region
This table lists the total number of awards won by the BBC Region through which the recipient qualified for the award.
| Nationality | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| BBC East Midlands | 6 |
| BBC South | 4 |
| BBC East | 2 |
| BBC Scotland | 2 |
| BBC London | 1 |
| BBC North West | 1 |
| BBC Northern Ireland | 1 |
| BBC South East | 1 |
| BBC Wales | 1 |
| BBC West | 1 |
| BBC West Midlands | 1 |
| BBC Yorkshire | 1 |
| BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire | 1 |
By sport
This table lists the total number of awards won by the sport the recipient contributed towards.
| Sport of contribution | Number of wins |
|---|---|
| Football | 4 |
| Swimming | 4 |
| Basketball | 3 |
| Boxing | 2 |
| Athletics | 1 |
| Rugby | 1 |
| Sailing | 1 |
| Special Olympics | 1 |
| Various | 5 |
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