Sports Personality of the Year 2016 voting & judging: Terms & conditions

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be announced during a live show at the Genting Arena in Birmingham on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

The nominations processes, criteria and voting details (where applicable) for each award are outlined below.

MAIN AWARD - NOMINATION PROCESS & CRITERIA

This award goes to the sportsperson whose actions have most captured the UK public's imagination during 2016.

An expert panel (hereafter 'the Panel') will be convened in November 2016 to decide the shortlist of sportspeople for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year production team will provide the Panel with an extensive list of the top sportspeople from 2016, 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) & Carl Doran (Executive Editor, BBC Sports Personality of the Year)

  • Former nominees of an award: Ryan Giggs, Victoria Pendleton & Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson

  • Representative from BBC Radio 5 live: Amy Lawrence

  • Pan-sports broadcaster: Ore Oduba

  • Representatives from sports journalism: David James (Sunday Mirror/Sunday People), Adam Sills (Daily/Sunday Telegraph) & Alison Kervin (Mail on Sunday)

  • Representative from UK sports industry: Liz Nicholl (Chief Executive, UK Sport)

The Panel will select a short list of sportspeople for the main award 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' of the person's sporting achievement beyond the sport in question.

Sportspeople are eligible to win the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award if they are UK citizens or all of the following criteria apply:

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

  • 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); and

  • They are residents in the UK.

Non-playing coaches or management are not eligible.

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 contenders will be announced during 'The One Show' on Monday, 28 November 2016 (BBC One, 19:00 GMT) and will also appear on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year website.

The Panel will also:

  • Determine the winner for the Team of the Year award.

  • Determine the winner for the Coach of the Year award.

  • Determine the winner of the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award.

  • Undertake a back-up vote for the main award (in the unlikely event of problems with the public vote).

The Panel reserves the right to amend elements of the awards such as the criteria or numbers shortlisted, should a consensus view be reached - provided such changes remain within the spirit of the award.

MAIN AWARD - PUBLIC VOTE

The public will decide the winner from the shortlist of 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 the 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 the 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 the 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.

MAIN AWARD VOTING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. Voting for the main award will be from a shortlist of 16 contenders presented during the live show on Sunday, 18 December 2016. 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 short (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, as the short (7-digit) numbers are not available in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for reasons outside of the BBC's control.

Calls to the long (11-digit) number from landlines and mobiles cost 15p plus your network's access charge. To vote from your mobile in the UK, please call the short (7-digit) number announced for your chosen contender(s). Calls from mobiles to the short (7-digit) number cost 15p per vote and should cost less than calling the long (11-digit) number from your mobile so please, if you can, dial the short (7-digit) number from your mobile. You cannot text and you cannot dial the short (7-digit) number from a landline. Please do not attempt to vote by calling a 7-digit short number from a landline.

Online Vote: You can also vote online. Viewers who wish to vote online will need to sign in to a BBC account at https://www.bbc.com/signin. If you do not have a BBC account, you can register for one for free at https://www.bbc.com/register. If you have any trouble registering or signing in, you can visit the help pages at https://www.bbc.com/signin/help. Please check your broadband or mobile contract to check the cost of using data services.

Online votes will be limited to one vote per BBC account. It may appear as if you are able to vote more than once, however only your first vote will have been counted.

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 2016 on BBC iPlayer, following through a website or any other time shift or catch-up or on demand 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 are 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(s) for which 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 the shortlisting panel (see above for details).

12. For purpose of verifying any claim for refunds (where offered for telephone votes) or investigating possible online voting irregularities the BBC may use cookies, log IP addresses or analyse the information from your BBC account.

Users who vote online are subject to the BBC's standard Privacy Policy (http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/privacy-policy), Cookies Policy (http:www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/cookies/cookies-policy) and Terms of Use (http://bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms/terms-of-use).

The BBC will not publish this information or provide it to any third party without permission, except where required for enforcement of these terms. Please see the BBC's Privacy and Cookies Policy for more information at http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/privacy-policy

The BBC will use your personal data in accordance with our Privacy and Cookies Policy, which you can read on http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/privacy/privacy-policy, and our Terms of Use (which you can read about on http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/terms/).

For example, we may use your personal data for the purpose of running the vote (including processing refunds or investigating possible voting irregularities) and for the purpose of personalising our services where you have shown interest in a particular programme, including voting online (http://www.bbc.co.uk/usingthebbc/account/how-is-the-bbc-personalised-to-me/).

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.

15. These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales.

OVERSEAS SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award goes to the overseas sportsperson whose actions have most captured the UK public's imagination during 2016.

The expert panel responsible for choosing the shortlist for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will decide the winner for the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached, 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 on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award goes to the coach who has made the biggest impact on sport in the UK during 2016.

For the purpose of this award, the term 'coach' includes roles such as managers, coaches, trainers and performance directors.

The expert panel responsible for choosing the shortlist for the main BBC Sports Personality of the Year award will decide the winner for the Coach of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached, 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 on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

TEAM OF THE YEAR AWARD

This award goes to the team in a sporting discipline, individual sport or sporting event that has achieved the most notable performance during 2016.

The team must 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 winner for the Team of the Year award based on reaching a consensus view. If a consensus view cannot be reached, 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 on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

YOUNG SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR

This award goes to the outstanding young sportsperson aged 17 or under on 1 January 2016, selected from nominations made to the BBC and by sports governing bodies via the Youth Sport Trust. Nominations closed on 11 November 2016.

Young sportspeople are eligible to win the award if they are citizens of the UK or all three of the following criteria apply:

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

  • 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); and

  • They are residents in the UK.

Judging panel

The Young Sports Personality of the Year award will be determined by the following panel:

  • John Inverdale (chair)

  • Radzi Chinyanganya (Blue Peter presenter)

  • Young Blue Peter sports badge winner

  • Tina Daheley (Radio 1)

  • Alison Oliver (CEO, Youth Sport Trust)

  • Will Roberts (Assistant Director of Development, Youth Sport Trust)

  • Lee Murphy (Head of PR/Comms, Youth Sport Trust)

  • Jody Cundy (Paralympic Gold medallist)

  • Lutalo Muhammad (Olympic silver medallist)

  • Dina Asher-Smith (Sprinter, Olympian and European Champion)

  • Carl Doran (Executive Editor, BBC Sports Personality of the Year)

The panel meet to shortlist the 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 Genting Arena in Birmingham. The other shortlisted contenders will be notified out of courtesy that they have not made the final three.

The winner of the award will be presented with their award ahead of BBC Sport Personality of the Year taking place on Sunday, 18 December.

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 2016 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 2016?" 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 of the panel that decides who wins Young Sports Personality of the Year 2016 is a responsible role, the young judge will need to be confident working with adults and making informed decisions.

HELEN ROLLASON AWARD

This is a special BBC award recognising outstanding achievement in the face of adversity. It is decided by senior management in BBC Sport.

The award will be presented on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

This award honours someone who has made a major impact on the world of sport during their lifetime. It is decided by senior management in BBC Sport.

The award will be presented on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme on Sunday, 18 December 2016.

BBC GET INSPIRED UNSUNG HERO AWARD

1. Any UK resident (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) aged 18 or over on 1 January 2016 is eligible to be nominated, except previous winners of the BBC Get Inspired 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 person nominating 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. The nomination form can be found at bbc.co.uk/unsunghero and can be submitted via email to unsunghero@bbc.co.uk or sent by post to:

BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Awards 2016BBC BirminghamLevel 10The MailboxBirmingham B1 1AY

Nominations will be accepted from Wednesday, 24 August 2016 and must be received no later than 23.59 BST on Sunday, 23 October 2016.

4. Only one nomination is permitted per person and it should be on an official BBC form. Persons nominating 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:

  • The extent of the nominee's contribution at the grassroots level of their sport

  • The range and number of people helped

  • The impact on their local community

  • 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 2016 Award.

7. Persons nominated 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. Persons nominated 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 information, in accordance with the BBC Privacy Policy.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. The overall winner will be announced live on BBC One's Sports Personality of the Year 2016 programme, to be held in Birmingham on Sunday, 18 December and to which all regional winners and their guest 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 2016 trophy and the national winner will receive the national BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award 2016 trophy. There are no cash alternatives and the award cannot be sold or transferred in any circumstances.

13. All winners 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 (including but not limited to use of a third party email platform) or any other problem which may result in any interception or loss of emailed data or any nomination not being properly registered.

16. The BBC will be collecting the following personal data; name, address, postcode, contact number and email address of the applicant and nominee for the purposes of administering the Unsung Hero Award. The BBC will only use the personal data for the purposes of administering the award, and will not publish or provide the personal data to any third party not connected with the award without your prior permission. The BBC will retain the personal data for the period necessary to fulfil the administrating of the award unless a longer retention period is necessary as required by Law. If you would like to amend any of the personal data you have submitted or withdraw your personal data please email unsunghero@bbc.co.uk. For more information please visit the BBC's Privacy & Cookies policy at bbc.co.uk/privacy. Please be aware that sending personal data by email may not be secure as email messages can be intercepted.

17. Persons nominating and nominees will be deemed to have accepted these rules and agree to be bound by them.

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