BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award facts for kids

The BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award is a special prize given out every December. It's part of the big BBC Sports Personality of the Year show. This award celebrates people who do amazing things for sports behind the scenes. They help others play sports but don't always get the recognition they deserve.

To be nominated, a person must be at least 16 years old. They can't nominate themselves or be nominated by their close family. The person must volunteer their time to help others in sports. This work should not be part of their paid job. Also, they shouldn't be a player in the sports group they are helping. If someone has won before, they can't win again.

First, a winner is chosen from each of the 12 BBC regions in England. Then, one winner is also picked from BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, and BBC Northern Ireland. Finally, a group of judges picks the main "Unsung Hero" winner from these 15 regional champions.

The very first winner in 2003 was Nobby Woodcock, who was 63. He won for his great work with local football teams in Wales. So far, many winners have helped different sports. These include football, boxing, basketball, athletics, and swimming. Some have even helped with the Special Olympics. The most recent winner in 2023 was Des Smith.

Who are the Unsung Heroes?

Winners by Year

Here's a list of the amazing people who have won the BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award over the years:

BBC Sports Unsung Hero Award winners

Year	Nationality	Winner	Location	BBC Region	Sport	What they did
2003	WAL	Nobby Woodcock	Newport, South Wales	BBC Wales	Football	Helped local football in Wales.
2004	ENG	Abdullah Ben-Kmayal	Peckham, London	BBC London	Football	Started and paid for Bethwin Football Club.
2005	ENG	Trevor Collins	Isle of Wight	BBC South	Swimming	Worked for over 25 years at West Wight Swimming Club.
2006	ENG	Val Hanover	Oswestry, Shropshire	BBC West Midlands	Special Olympics	Organised Special Olympics for people with learning difficulties.
2007	ENG	Margaret Simons	Bicester, Oxfordshire	BBC South	Football	Worked for over 40 years with Bardwell FC, a community football team she founded.
2008	ENG	Ben Geyser	Dorchester, Dorset	BBC South	Boxing	Set up three boxing clubs and campaigned for a permanent home for Dorchester Amateur Boxing Club.
2009	ENG	Doreen Adcock	Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire	BBC East	Swimming	Taught over 13,000 people to swim in 35 years.
2010	ENG	Lance Haggith	Bedfordshire	BBC East	Basketball	Provided basketball coaching for children of all abilities.
2011	SCO	Janice Eaglesham & Ian Mirfin	Scotland	BBC Scotland	Athletics	Coached disabled athletes.
2012	ENG	Sue & Jim Houghton	Leicester	BBC East Midlands	Various	Transformed a run-down sports ground into a community facility.
2013	ENG	Joe & Maggie Forber	Manchester	BBC North West	Basketball	Worked hard at the Amaechi Basketball Centre.
2014	ENG	Jill Stidever	Hinckley, Leicestershire	BBC East Midlands	Swimming	Helped children with special needs learn to swim for nearly 60 years.
2015	NIR	Damien Lindsay	Belfast	BBC Northern Ireland	Football
2016	ENG	Marcellus Baz	Nottingham	BBC East Midlands	Boxing	Provided free boxing classes to young people.
2017	ENG	Denise Larrad	Hinckley and Bosworth, Leicester	BBC East Midlands	Various	Helped older people get into sport and led running groups.
2018	SCO	Kirsty Ewen	Inverness	BBC Scotland	Swimming	Used her own experience to inspire others through swimming.
2019	ENG	Keiren Thompson	Bulwell, Nottingham	BBC East Midlands	Various
2020	NZL  ENG	Sgt. Matt Ratana	East Grinstead, West Sussex	BBC South East	Rugby	Led a big increase in popularity at East Grinstead Rugby Club.
2021	ENG	Sam Barlow	Hull	BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire	Various	Founded a fitness club for those dealing with loss.
2022	ENG	Mike Alden	Bristol	BBC West	Football	Founded Park Knowle FC for all ages and abilities in a less wealthy area.
2023	ENG	Des Smith	Sheffield	BBC Yorkshire	Various	Founded Sheffield Caribbean Sports Club for minorities and community unity.

Winners by Region

This table shows how many awards each BBC region has had:

Winners by Sport

This table shows which sports the winners helped with the most: