Voting & judging: Terms & conditions

BBC SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2014, SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Sunday 14 December.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be named during a live awards show on Sunday, 14 December 2014 (BBC One & BBC One HD).

Voting details and criteria are below.

MAIN AWARD - NOMINATION PROCESS FOR TOP 10 CONTENDERS

An expert panel (hereafter 'the Panel') will be convened in November 2014 in London to decide the shortlist for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The BBC Sports Personality of the Year production team will provide the Panel with a list of the top 50 or more sportspeople from 2014, including information on their achievements. The Panel will be free to consider other potential candidates.

The Panel will comprise 12 members this year:

•Representatives from BBC Sport: Barbara Slater (Director, BBC Sport), Philip Bernie (Head of TV Sport) and Carl Doran (Executive Editor, BBC Sports Personality of the Year).

•Former nominees: Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Rebecca Adlington and Denise Lewis

•Representative from BBC Radio 5 live: Jason Roberts

•Pan-sports broadcaster/journalist: Alison Mitchell

•Representatives from newspaper sports editors: Mike Dunn (Independent, the i and Evening Standard) and Howard Wheatcroft (Express Newspapers Head of Sport) and Alex Butler (Sunday Times).

•Representative from UK sports industry: Louise Martin (Chair - sportscotland)

The panel will:

•Determine the shortlist of 10 for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

•Undertake a back-up vote for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places for the main award (in the unlikely event of voting difficulties on the night of the show).

•Decide the top 3 positions for Team of the Year.

•Decide the top 3 positions for Coach of the Year.

•Decide the top position for Overseas Sports Personality of the Year.

The Panel will select a short list of 10 sportspeople on the basis of the following criteria:

• Reflects UK sporting achievements on the national and/or international stage;

• Represents the breadth and depth of UK sports, and;

• Takes into account 'impact' over and beyond the sport or sporting achievement in question.

The Panel will endeavour to produce a shortlist based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached on all or some of the candidates, then the Panel will be asked to vote for the remaining candidates. In the event of a tied vote, the chairperson's decision (Director, BBC Sport) will be binding.

The shortlist of 10 contenders will be announced during 'The One Show' on Monday, 24 November (BBC One, 19:00 GMT) and will also appear on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year website.

Vote on the night

The public only will decide the winner from the shortlist of 10 contenders during the live show with a vote. This will be overseen by an independent adjudicator.

In the unlikely event of:

• A tie in the public vote amongst the two contenders obtaining the highest number of votes, the award will be shared amongst those two. There will be no award in second place category and the third place category award will go to the contender scoring highest after the two in the tie.

• A tie in the public vote amongst the three contenders obtaining the highest number of votes, the award will be shared amongst the three and there will be no awards in second and third place categories.

• A tie in the public vote amongst two contenders obtaining the second highest number of votes, the second place award will be shared amongst those two and there will be no award in third place category.

• A tie in the public vote amongst two contenders obtaining the third highest number of votes, the third place award will be shared amongst those two.

• A full list of the number of votes polled by each contender will be available on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year website after the show.

Voting Terms and Conditions

1. Voting for the main award will be from a shortlist of 10 contenders presented during the live show on BBC One & BBC One HD on Sunday, 14 December 2014. Voting will be available by phone or via the BBC website. The number to call for each contender will be revealed during the programme. There is no voting via email, Red Button or by text. The telephone numbers will be available through Red Button and via the BBC website.

2. Telephone Vote: Voters in the UK can choose either to call from their landline using the long (11-digit) number for the contender(s) of their choice or from their mobile phones using the shortcode (7-digit) number for the contender(s) of their choice. Please note that callers from the Channel Islands and Isle of Man should call from their landlines using the long (11-digit) number to avoid higher mobile charges.

Calls to the long (11-digit) number cost 15p from BT landlines, other networks may vary. Calls to the long (11-digit) number will cost considerably more if made from a mobile device. Therefore, only call the long (11-digit) number, when dialling from a landline. To vote from your mobile in the UK, call the short (7-digit) number announced for your chosen contender(s). You cannot text and you cannot dial the short (7-digit) number from a landline.

Online Vote: You can also vote online. In order to vote you will need to be registered with the BBC sign in system, BBC iD. You can register at any time. If you are already registered with a BBC iD, you do not need to do anything but will have to sign in in order to vote on the night.

(Online votes will be limited to one vote per BBC iD account).

The online vote will be open during the same period as the telephone lines. The results of the telephone vote and the online vote will be aggregated prior to any announcements.

3. If you are watching BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014 on iPlayer, following through a website or any other time shift or catch up service you should not vote since the lines will have closed.

4. Voting is only open to individuals as consumers from the UK, and not to any agencies, businesses and/or companies. Please note that BBC employees who are in any way connected to the vote, their close relatives or anyone directly connected in any way with the production of the programme or the provision of telephony services to the programme is not eligible to vote.

5. You must obtain the phone bill payer's permission before voting.

6. Opening and closing times will be specified on the programme.

7. Please be sure you carefully dial only the number of the contender you wish to vote for.

8. Please do NOT call before the lines open, or after the lines have closed, as your vote will not be counted, but you may still be charged. The winner will be announced live on the programme.

9. The BBC reserves the right to disqualify votes if it has reasonable grounds to suspect that fraudulent, excessive or suspicious patterns of voting have occurred or if it considers there has been any attempt to rig the voting.

10. All voting will be overseen by an independent verification service.

11. The BBC reserves the right to cancel or suspend voting at any time. In the event of any such cancellation or suspension, a technical failure or any other malfunction with the vote, the BBC reserves the right to arrange for the winner to be decided by a contingency arrangement from the votes cast by a pre-agreed contingency panel. This panel will be the same as one which devised the shortlist - see above for details.

12. For purpose of verifying any claim for refunds (where offered) or investigating possible voting irregularities, the BBC may need to request the network operator to disclose the telephone number that you are voting from. Please note that this will still be required where you have originally opted not to disclose your telephone number (caller's line identification barring). If you do not agree to this, you should not vote. For the purpose of investigating possible voting irregularities when voting on bbc.co.uk, the BBC may use cookies (to log IP addresses, or analyse the information from your BBC iD account).

Where such investigations are required, the BBC will only ever use your personal information for the purposes of running the vote (including processing refunds or investigating possible voting irregularities) and in accordance with the BBC's Privacy and Cookies Policy. The BBC will not publish or provide your personal information to anyone without permission, except where required for enforcement of these terms. You can read more about the BBC Privacy and Cookies Policy here.

13. The BBC, its sub-contractors, subsidiaries and/or agencies cannot accept any responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any telephone network or line, system, server, provider or otherwise which may result in any vote being lost or not properly registered or recorded.

14. The voting in this programme accords with the BBC's Code of Conduct for Competitions and Voting, details of which can be found here.

Definition of who is eligible

Voted for by the public live during the TV show, this prestigious award will be given to the sportsman or woman whose actions have most captured the public's imagination in 2014. Non-playing coaches or management are not eligible.

People are eligible to win BBC Sports Personality of the Year if they are citizens of Great Britain or Northern Ireland or all of the following criteria apply:

- They play a significant amount of their sport in the UK;

- Their core achievements that year were achieved in the UK, and not with a non-UK based team (in which case they would more likely qualify for the Overseas award);

- They are residents in the UK.

OVERSEAS SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

To the foreign sportsman or woman who has made the greatest impression in the world of sport this year.

(Includes all non-UK sportsmen and women who do not qualify for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award under its criteria.)

The expert panel responsible for choosing the shortlist for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will decide an overall winner for the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached on the winner, then the Panel will be asked to vote. In the event of a tied vote, the chairperson's decision will be binding.

The winner will be announced during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme, with full details on the BBC website.

COACH OF THE YEAR

To the coach who has made the biggest impact in UK sport.

The expert panel responsible for choosing the shortlist for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will decide the top three candidates and the overall winner for the Coach of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached on the top three, then the Panel will be asked to vote. In the event of a tied vote, the chairperson's decision will be binding.

The winner will be announced during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme, with full details on the BBC website.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

For the team in an individual sport or sporting discipline that has achieved the most notable performance in the calendar year to date. The team should have significant UK interest or involvement.

The expert panel responsible for choosing the shortlist for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will decide the top three candidates and an overall winner for the Team of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached on the top three, then the Panel will be asked to vote. In the event of a tied vote, the chairperson's decision will be binding.

The winner will be announced during the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme, with details on the BBC website.

YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

This will be awarded to the outstanding young sportsperson aged 17 or under on 1 January 2014, selected from nominations made to the BBC and by sports governing bodies via the Youth Sport Trust. Nominations close on 3 November 2014.

People are eligible to win the award if they are the right age and they are citizens of Britain or Northern Ireland or all three of the following criteria:

- They play a significant amount of their sport in the UK;

- Their core achievements that year were achieved in the UK, and not with a national team (in which case they would more likely qualify for the Overseas Sports Personality award);

- They are residents in the UK.

Judging panel

BBC Sport's John Inverdale chairs a panel which includes three representatives of Youth Sport Trust, former winner of the award Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, 2013 main award nominee Hannah Cockroft, Blue Peter presenter Lindsey Russell, a Blue Peter competition winner, Radio 1's Tina Daheley and the executive editor of BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

The panel meet to decide the top 10 contenders from the list of nominations collected by the Youth Sport Trust and the BBC. They will select the winner by secret ballot and the final vote will be independently verified.

The top three will be announced on Blue Peter and invited to the live event at The Hydro in Glasgow. The other top seven contenders will be notified out of courtesy that they have not made the final shortlist.

The winner will be announced live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme and the BBC Sport website on Sunday, 14 December 2014.

By way of explanation the young judge selected by Blue Peter will be done so using the following criteria:

•The applicant will have been successful in their application for a Blue Peter Sport Badge 2014 and the quality of the Sport Badge application may also be taken into consideration.

•The quality of the answer to the question, "Why would you be a great judge for Young Sports Personality of the Year 2014?" will be assessed. The answer must demonstrate a passion for sport, show why they are good at making decisions and be all their own work. If there is any reasonable doubt about this the application will not be considered.

•In a phone interview the candidates will be assessed on their suitability for the role, confidence in a judging situation and ability to deal with the task and appearing on camera.

•Being part the panel that decides who wins Young Sports Personality of the Year 2014 is a responsible role, the young judge will need to be confident working with adults and making informed decisions.

HELEN ROLLASON AWARD

A special BBC award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

There is no vote. It is in the gift of the BBC to choose the winner, who is decided by the board of BBC Sport.

The award will be presented live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme on Sunday, 14 December 2014.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Lifetime Achievement award honours someone who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime.

There is no vote. It is in the gift of the BBC to choose the winner, who is decided by the board of BBC Sport.

The award will be presented live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme on Sunday, 14 December 2014.

GET INSPIRED UNSUNG HERO AWARD

1. Any UK resident (incl. Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) aged 18 or over on 1 January 2014 is eligible to be nominated, except previous winners of the BBC Sport Unsung Hero Awards, BBC employees OR any person connected to the Awards and their close relatives. Proof of age, identity and eligibility may be requested.

2. The nominee must:

(i) either be an individual or no more than two people who are both involved in the same sporting activity

(ii) help amateurs participate in a sports activity

(iii) offer help that does not form part of their job or take place at their place of work

(iv) help voluntarily with no financial reward

(v) in the opinion of the nominator be deserving of a BBC Award

(vi) not bring the BBC into disrepute (in the BBC's sole discretion)

(vii) have consented to be nominated.

3. Nominations can be made via bbc.co.uk/unsunghero from Monday 8 September 2014, and must be received no later than Monday 20 October 2014.

4. Only one nomination is permitted per person and it should be on the official BBC form. Nominators should declare any professional or personal relationship with the person or people nominated.

5. The BBC will appoint a representative in each of its 12 English Regions plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who will each shortlist no more than 10 nominees for their regional voting panel. The shortlisting criteria will be

(i) The extent of the nominees' contribution at the grassroots level of their sport

(ii) the range and number of people helped

(iii) the impact on their local community

(iv) the personal sacrifices or commitment made.

6. Regional judging panels consisting of BBC staff and non-BBC members will meet to select a BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award for their respective area from those shortlisted and based on the criteria above. The 15 regional winners become eligible for the overall BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero 2014 Award.

7. A national judging panel will then meet to select the overall winner from the 15 regional winners based on the aforementioned criteria, any supporting documentation and a short BBC film about each of them. It is intended that the panel will consist of representatives from the BBC, leading sports figures and a previous BBC Unsung Hero winner dependent on availability. The judging process will be overseen by an independent verifier.

8. Nominees may be asked to disclose details of any and all criminal and civil actions pending against them, or served against them plus any unspent convictions. Entrants 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 as will all personal information, accordance with the BBC Privacy Policy.

9. Following standard industry practice, the BBC may undertake background checks of the shortlisted finalists. Information discovered or that may have been disclosed by the entrants themselves will inform the decision as to the selection of the regional winners and overall winner.

10. The overall winner will be announced live on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014 programme, to be held in Glasgow on Sunday 14 December and to which all regional winners are invited to attend.

11. The judges' decision as to the winner is final. No correspondence relating to the awards will be entered into.

12. The regional winners will each receive a regional BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award 2014 trophy and the national winner will receive the national BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award 2014 trophy. There are no cash alternatives and the award cannot be sold or transferred in any circumstances.

13. Nominees must agree to take part in any post-award publicity if required.

14. 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

(iii) cancel or vary the awards or any of the selection processes or criteria, at any stage, if in its opinion it is deemed necessary or if circumstances arise outside its control.

15. 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.

16. The BBC will only use personal details for the purposes of administering this award and will not publish or provide them to anyone without permission. You can read more about the BBC's Privacy Policy at bbc.co.uk/privacy

17. Nominators and nominees (on accepting their nomination) will be deemed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them.