Nomination Guidelines  

Who can nominate/who to nominate?   To nominate,  please click here

·         This process begins oow and ends no later than 11.59pm on Sunday 4th October 2020.

·         For Lifetime Achievement Award only, the process ends no later than 11.59pm on Monday 13rd September 2020.

·         Nomination is restricted to the UK residents.

·        Overseas residents can be nominated for Overseas Sports of the Year and/or Overseas Visual Sports Media of the Year only.

·         Nominees cannot nominate themselves per individual category award.

·        Anyone associated with their team-mate, team, club, voluntary organisation or work company, can submit a nomination online.

·        You can submit as many nominations as you like across the different categories.

·        By the term of "Deaf athletes", this is regardless of their specific hearing loss as long as it meets the regulations of their specific sport body they are involved   with.

·        Athletes are nominated from any age and from any Deaf/Mainstream sports in the UK that is affiliated to the Deaf/Mainstream Sports.

·        Citizen and resident athletes who participate in Deaf/Mainstream Sports for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or Great Britain.

·        Each nomination will require a brief summary (at least 300 words) on the athlete's achievement and merit.

·        Any Deaf athlete or Trustee who have a Code of Conduct or similar on their terms, will be allowed to be nominated by the external community.

·        DSPY will collate the nomination forms and pass them onto six Judges.

·        DSPY will announce the names of shortlisted nominees in alphabetical order and not in any order of preference on Wednesday 28th October 2020.

·         By attending the awards ceremony, shortlisted nominees agree to have their images to be used in press and publicity features.

 

Award Categories         To nominate, please click here

If you know someone who deserves to be recognised for their sporting achievements or contribution to sport, please nominate them for the Awards in the following:-

For Deaf Sports Personality of the Year - Voted for a person, this prestigious award will be given to the participating sportsman or woman whose actions have most captured our imaginations during 2019/2020.

Gain a vote ie Working hard, making a commitment, a good personality, individual achievement and greatest impression.

·         The judges will decide the six most deserving athletes to be shortlisted.

·         The six shortlisted athletes and their profiles will be shown on the social media resources one month before the DSPY Awards.

·         There will be a short montage clip on each shortlisted athlete at the DSPY Awards Night. The vote will open along with their voting number using interactive    electronic keypad voting system after showing the  6th shortlisted athlete's montage clip at the DSPY Award Night.

·         The winner, runner up and third placed DSPY will be based on judges vote and public vote on the night of DSPY Awards. This will be overseen by an independent adjudicator.

·         DSPY 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.

 

For Lifetime Achievement - This is a special award honouring someone who has made a major impact on the world of sport in his or her lifetime.

·         The nomination forms will be collated and the judges will decide on the most deserving athlete to win this precious Award with the winner announcing on the  night of DSPY Awards.

 

For Coach of the Year - This will be awarded to the Deaf or Hearing coach who has made the biggest impact in Deaf sports during 2019/2020.

 

Sports Club of the Year - This award is presented to a sports club that has made a significant impact on or contribution to the development of sport within the Community and Regional during 2019/2020.

Team of the Year - This award is for the UK Home Nations or Great Britain team which has achieved the most notable performance in Deaf/Mainstream sports during 2019/20.

Unsung Hero - This award recognizes those who selflessly devote their voluntarily time with no financial reward and efforts to enabling others to play and enjoy sport during 2019/2020.

and Visual Sports Media of the Year - This award recognises media work to engage sport fans that has a positive impact on individuals or society, to increase awareness, compassion, and conversation around the topic by leveraging the power of deaf/mainstream in sports during 2019/2020. This can include online, social media or TV, to transform the way around audience engagement levels using Sign Language, Subtitles

or other access in the UK

·         The judges will decide the three most deserving athletes to be shortlisted for each award.

·         The three shortlisted athletes and their profiles will be shown on the social media resources one month before the DSPY Awards.

·         There will be a short montage clip on each shortlisted athlete at the DSPY Awards Night. The vote will open along with their voting number using interactive    electronic keypad voting system after showing the 3rd shortlisted athlete's montage clip at the DSPY Award Night.

·         The winners will be decided by the judges vote and public voting on the night of DSPY Awards. This will be overseen by an independent adjudicator.

·         DSPY 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.

 

For Young Deaf Sports Personality of the Year - This will be awarded to the outstanding young sportsperson aged 18 or under during 31st Dec 2019 & 2020.

     ·         Same procedure as Coach of the Year etc above except for a sportsperson aged 18 or under during 31^st Dec per biennial awards.

 

For Overseas Sports of the Year - This award will be given to the foreign sportsman, woman or a team who has made the greatest impression in the world of sport during 2019/2020.

 

and Overseas Visual Sports Media of the Year - This award recognises media work to engage sport fans that has a positive impact on individuals or society, to increase awareness, compassion, and conversation around the topic by leveraging the power of deaf/mainstream in sports during 2019/2020. This can include online, social media or TV, to transform the way around audience engagement levels using Sign Language, Subtitles or other access in the Worldwide.

 

·         Same procedure as Coach of the Year etc above except Overseas athletes are those that represent their country overseas including Republic of Ireland athletes   representing Ireland.

 

The Judging Process

·         DSPY will select three women and three men as six neutral judges from Northern Ireland, North of England, Midlands, South of England, Scotland and Wales  for every Awards ceremony.

·         DSPY will not announce who the judges are during the nomination process.

·         All nominations will be collated from the public, leading up to the deadline and must be kept in confidential between six neutral judges. DSPY do not want any leaks to the public that could affect judge's  decision-making.

·         Each nomination will require a brief summary (at least 300 words) on the athlete's achievement and merit. This will enable the six judges to make a reasonable   and fair judgement in selecting the most  deserving athletes for a specific award.

·         If the judge(s) are themselves in the shortlist or nominated athletes or become Trustee(s) in the sports organisation, DSPY will request the judge(s) to step  down to avoid any conflict of interest.

·         DSPY will announce the names (or identity) of judges at DSPY Awards after they complete their verdicts for all awards. If any judge(s) wish to stay anonymous,  DSPY will respect their wishes.