BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award
BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award | |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Presented by | BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
First awarded | 2003 |
Most recent winner | Des Smith (2023) |
The BBC Sports Unsung Hero AwardBBC Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland. A judging panel then chooses the Unsung Hero winner from the fifteen regional winners.[2]
The inaugural winner in 2003 was 63-year-old Nobby Woodcock, for "his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales".BBC Wales regions. The most recent award was presented in 2023 to Des Smith.
Winners
By year
Year | Nationality | Winner | Location | BBC Region | Sport | Rationale | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | WAL | Nobby Woodcock | Newport, South Wales | BBC Wales[4]
|
Football | for "his unstinting work with grassroots football in Wales".[5] | [6] |
2004 | ENG | Abdullah Ben-Kmayal | Peckham, London | BBC London[7] | Football | for his work with Bethwin Football Club, a club he founded and funded personally.[8] | [9] |
2005 | ENG | Trevor Collins | Isle of Wight | BBC South[10] | Swimming | for more than 25 years work in administration and coaching at the West Wight Swimming Club.[10] | [11] |
2006 | ENG | Val Hanover | Oswestry, Shropshire | BBC West Midlands[12] | Special Olympics | for spending nearly 30 years organising Special Olympics for thousands of people with learning difficulties in North Shropshire.[13] | [14] |
2007 | ENG | Margaret Simons | Bicester, Oxfordshire | BBC South[15] | Football | for over 40 years of work with Bardwell FC, a community football team that she founded in 1964.[16] | [17] |
2008 | ENG | Ben Geyser | Dorchester, Dorset | BBC South[18] | Boxing | for setting up three boxing clubs, and campaigning for a permanent home for the Dorchester Amateur Boxing Club.[19] | [20] |
2009 | ENG | Doreen Adcock | Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire | BBC East[21] | Swimming | for teaching "over 13,000 people to swim in the town over the last 35 years".[22] | [22] |
2010 | ENG | Lance Haggith | Bedfordshire | BBC East[23] | Basketball | for providing children of differing abilities coaching in basketball.[24] | [25] |
2011 | SCO | Janice Eaglesham & Ian Mirfin | Scotland | BBC Scotland[26] | Athletics
|
for providing coaching to disabled athletes.[27] | [28] |
2012 | ENG | Sue & Jim Houghton | Leicester | BBC East Midlands[29] | Various | for transforming a derelict Leicestershire sports ground into a popular community facility for tennis, squash, association football, bowls and dance.[30] | [31] |
2013 | ENG | Joe & Maggie Forber | Manchester | BBC North West | Basketball | recognised regionally for their hard work at the Amaechi Basketball Centre in Whalley Range. | [32] |
2014 | ENG | Jill Stidever | Hinckley, Leicestershire | BBC East Midlands[33] | Swimming | for nearly 60 years' work helping children with special needs learn to swim. | [34] |
2015 | NIR | Damien Lindsay | Belfast | BBC Northern Ireland[35] | Football | [36] | |
2016 | ENG | Marcellus Baz | Nottingham | BBC East Midlands[37] | Boxing | for providing free boxing classes to hundreds of young people at his boxing school. | [38] |
2017 | ENG | Denise Larrad | Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicester | BBC East Midlands[39] | Various | for helping the elderly get involved in sport and leading running groups encouraging people of all ages to get active. | [40] |
2018 | SCO | Kirsty Ewen | Inverness | BBC Scotland[41] | Swimming | overcame mental health issues to inspire others to do the same and find a better place through swimming. | [42] |
2019 | ENG | Keiren Thompson | Bulwell, Nottingham | BBC East Midlands | Various | [43] | |
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. | [44] |
2021 | ENG | Sam Barlow | Hull | BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire | Various | founded a fitness club for those experiencing loss after losing her husband to cancer. | [45] |
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. | [46] |
2023 | ENG | Des Smith | Sheffield | BBC Yorkshire | Various | founded Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club to provide sporting opportunities for ethnic minorities and encourage community cohesion | [47] |
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 | 3 |
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 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 |
Special Olympics | 1 |
Various | 5 |
References
General
- "Sports Personality of the Year: more winners". BBC. December 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
Specific
- ^ "Nominate your BBC Sports Unsung Hero". BBC Press Office. BBC. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
- ^ "Sports Personality voting & judging: Terms & conditions". BBC Sport. 18 November 2008. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Nobby named unsung hero". BBC Sport. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Cooke wins BBC honour". BBC Sport. 8 December 2003. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "Nobby named unsung hero". BBC Sport. 14 December 2003. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ Norton, Charlie (15 December 2003). "Wilkinson and Redgrave scoop top BBC awards". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "BBC London Sports Awards – Unsung Heroes 2005". Sport England. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "BBC Sports Personality: The winners". BBC Sport. 12 December 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ White, Jim (13 January 2007). "Unsung hero restoring order to chaotic lives". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ a b "Swimming coach secures BBC prize". BBC News. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- Bristol Evening Post. AccessMyLibrary. 15 December 2005. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "Unsung hero wins". Tesco Magazine. Tesco. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "Val's a winner". BBC Shropshire. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- Independent News & Media. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Unsung Hero 2008". BBC South Today. BBC. 10 September 2008. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "Unsung sporting heroes". BBC Sport. 9 December 2007. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Bardwell football founder named unsung hero". BBC Sport. December 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ "BBC nomination is a 'fitting tribute' for Geyser". Dorset Echo. Newsquest. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ "Boxing club hero wins Unsung 2008". BBC Sport. 14 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ "Geyser's accolade can inspire next generation". Dorset Echo. Newsquest. 16 December 2008. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
- ^ "Edwards is East Sports Personality 2009". BBC East. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ^ a b "Swimming teacher Doreen Adcock wins BBC Unsung award". BBC Sport. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
- ^ "BBC East Sports Unsung Hero 2010 winner announced". BBC Sport. 14 December 2010. Archived from the original on 25 January 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- The Belfast Telegraph. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "Basketball coach wins BBC award". BBC Sport. 19 December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ "BBC Scotland Sports Unsung Hero 2011 winners announced". BBC News. 30 November 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
- ^ Holehouse, Matthew (22 December 2011). "Mark Cavendish named BBC Sports Personality of the Year". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Sports Personality of the Year 2011: Scots duo win Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Sue and Jim Houghton win East Midlands Unsung Hero Award". BBC Sport. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ^ "BBC Sports Personality of the Year in pictures". MSN. 16 December 2012. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "BBC Sport – Sports Personality of the Year 2012: Sports Personality: Sue & Jim Houghton win Unsung Hero Award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ "Basketball-loving couple earn SPOTY acclaim as Unsung Heroes". Manchester Evening News. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
- ^ "BBC Unsung Hero: Jill Stidever shocked by award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "Sports Personality: Swimming coach named Unsung Hero". BBC Sport. 14 December 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Belfast football coach Lindsay named NI Unsung Hero". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "Sports Personality: Damien Lindsay wins BBC Unsung Hero". BBC Sport. 20 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "BBC Unsung Hero 2016: Nottingham boxing coach Marcellus Baz wins East Midlands award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "Sports Personality 2016: Marcellus Baz wins BBC Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. 18 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2017: Denise Larrad wins East Midlands award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "BBC Sports Personality 2017: Denise Larrad wins BBC Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "'Volunteering allowed me to accept myself" – Meet BBC Scotland's Unsung Hero Kirsty Ewen". BBC Sport.
- ^ "Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2018: Kirsty Ewen wins award". BBC Sport. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ "Keiren Thompson wins Unsung Hero Award". BBC Sport. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Sgt Matt Ratana named Unsung Hero winner at Sports Personality of the Year 2020". BBC Sport. 20 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Sports Personality 2021: Fitness club founder Sam Barlow named Unsung Hero 2021". BBC Sport. 19 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
- ^ "Sports Personality of the Year: Mike Alden honoured with Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "Yorkshire's Des Smith wins Unsung Hero award". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2023.