Sussex Sport & Physical Activity Awards 2026

Nominations are now open for the Sussex Sport & Physical Activity Award 2026. Nominate your local heroes and community organisations before 1pm on Monday, October 19. Please read through the categories, criteria and guidelines below.

Click here to nominate.

Active School of the Year 

The Active School of the Year will demonstrate:

• How they use PE, sport and physical activity as a tool to improve pupil attendance, attainment and behaviour as well as parent/carer engagement. 
• How they ensure high-quality PE lessons are delivered to all pupils every week that develop positive pupil behaviours towards being active. 
• That a diverse range of extra-curricular sport/activity clubs are offered throughout the day with some dedicated to attracting less active pupils and/or demographics who have been previously identified. 
• What further opportunities are offered to all pupils to help them reach 60 minutes of physical activity each day e.g. active lessons (non-PE), active break times, active travel. 
• What active links they have with local clubs, facilities and community organisations and how they support pupils and families to be active beyond the school day. 
• How pupil and parent voice is regularly and effectively collected and acted upon to ensure all pupils can access positive physical activity experiences.

Community Engagement Award 

This award celebrates a project or program from the past 12 months that has brought physical activity into the heart of the community, designed with local people, not just for them.

It celebrates local initiatives that get people moving while also positively influencing broader social factors/community. Nominations should demonstrate how the project/initiative has:

• Been co-designed with local residents or developed alongside local partner organisations.
• Helped inactive people overcome whatever was keeping them from taking part.
• Delivered benefits beyond physical health – like improving mental wellbeing, reducing isolation, or building skills.

Environmental Sustainability Award

This award is open to a Sussex sport/physical activity club, organisation, project or space that is taking steps to reduce its environmental impact (e.g. tackling greenhouse gas emissions, promoting a circular economy, increasing biodiversity) and is advocating this crucial area of work to others. Nominations should detail:

• The extent to which clear actions have been taken to improve their environmental sustainability, and what positive environmental impact has happened as a result.
• How this work has been used to educate stakeholders such as staff, users and participants, creating a positive influence on their behaviours. 
• How this work has been used to improve their reputation and overall sustainability (e.g. through financial savings or improved participation).
• How this now fits into wider policies, plans or goals.

Health Improvement Award 

This award recognises an individual or small team who have taken action to target health inequalities. Nominations will show how they have:

• Supported individuals or communities to improve health outcomes through movement, physical activity, and sport, influenced behavioural change, and helped individuals manage their own health. 
• Shifted the culture from traditional healthcare towards a focus on prevention and/or rehabilitation.
• Supported the ongoing priorities of local statutory organisations (NHS, Public Health, Adult Social Care etc) to achieve better health outcomes for residents.

Inclusion & Diversity Award 

This award celebrates people and organisations standing up for fairness in sport and physical activity. It recognises work over the last 12 months that has championed underrepresented groups by expanding opportunities, unlocking equal access, and opening doors for all communities to move more.

This award isn’t just about ‘participation’ programmes; it could be a workforce initiative, policy change or awareness campaign that:

• Listens first: Is built by listening to and learning from the community’s real experiences.
• Breaks down barriers: Uses creative ways to make sport and activity welcoming for everyone (e.g. changing how you communicate, diversifying your team, or tackling unfairness).
• Inspires others: Shows what’s possible and encourages others to make a change.

Outstanding Contribution to Sport & Physical Activity Award

This award recognises long-service and contribution to sport/physical activity in Sussex, in a professional and/or voluntary capacity. Judges will recognise:

• Length of service, which should be detailed in the nomination.
• Their long-standing role(s) and work that can be directly attributed to them, as an individual, through direct work or in a leadership position. 
• The impact they have made on their sport/community over the course of their career, including recent contributions and impact.

Play Their Way Award – new category

The Play Their Way Award celebrates coaches, instructors and activity leaders that are putting children first and creating positive environments where children and young people feel safe, heard, valued and able to thrive.

Inspired by the Play Their Way campaign, this award recognises those who put children’s Voice, Choice and Journey at the heart of the experiences they create. Judges will be looking for evidence and examples of:

• How children and young people are listened to and how their views shape coaching, activities or the wider club or organisation.
• How children and young people are given meaningful opportunities to make choices and influence their own experiences.
• How every child’s individual needs, motivations and development are recognised and supported.
• How the nominee intentionally creates a welcoming, inclusive and psychologically safe culture built on positive relationships, trust and belonging.
• Evidence of the positive difference made to children and young people, and influence on the wider club/group or community demonstrated through feedback, stories or measurable outcomes.

Rising Star Award

This award recognises a Rising Star at the start of their professional or voluntary career in the sport/physical activity sector. Nominations will evidence:

• Why they stand out for their commitment and dedication to their role.
• How they create a positive and inclusive environment for participants.
• How they have overcome barriers and challenges, exhibiting the values of hard work, resilience and determination. 
• The positive difference they have made in the communities they serve and act as a role model for participants and their peers, motivating and inspiring people to move more.

Sports Personality of the Year 

This award recognises a high-achieving athlete who is regularly competing at the highest level in their sport. They will have:

• Achieved significant success during the past 12 months, as an individual or as part of a team.
• Shown evidence of character and ‘giving back’, for example through coaching, mentoring or as an ambassador. 
• Their story/journey will stand out from other nominees, be it through longevity, overcoming adversity, or defying the odds in their achievements.

Unsung Hero Award

This award recognises a volunteer who is the lifeblood of their club or community. Nominations should detail:

• How they have demonstrated exceptional dedication, passion, and commitment to supporting sport and physical activity development within the Sussex community. 
• Where they have gone above and beyond, making a significant impact on their club or organisation, and inspired others to move more through their selfless contribution.
• How they exemplify the spirit of volunteerism by contributing countless hours to enhance the experience of participants without reward.
• How they promote inclusivity and foster a positive environment in sport and physical activity

Ultimately, they will have enriched the lives of others by enabling people to move more, making a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of people in their community.

• Read the criteria and the guidance carefully. Judges will score each nomination against this criteria, so make sure that all key points are covered.
• Assume the judge knows nothing. Tell the full story, avoiding jargon and abbreviations.
• With the exception of the Outstanding Contribution Award, focus on achievements/impact in the last year. The judges will only take this into consideration when scoring, so keep your nomination focused.
• Use bullet points to break down complex information or key points.
• Each nomination is judged on its own merit. One well-considered nomination is better than multiple rushed nominations.

A panel of judges will assess nominations. Each nomination will be scored on how closely the nominee’s achievements over the past year, as specified, meet or exceed the criteria for each award. Therefore, provide as much detail as possible in your nomination.

Nominations must include a supporting statement of up to 2,500 characters, with key reasons for the nomination detailed in line with the criteria. No additional supporting evidence will be accepted that is not contained on the nomination form.

Entries received after 1pm on Monday, October 19 will not be entered for judging, and it will not be possible to shortlist the nominee. Entries should be made online but can be emailed. Active Sussex will send an acknowledgement of receipt.

With the exception of the Sports Personality of the Year award, nominees must be a resident or actively involved in sports/physical activity development within the boundaries of East or West Sussex County Councils or Brighton & Hove City Council.

For the Sports Personality of the Year, nominees must be a resident, have been born/lived in, or actively involved in sport within the boundaries of East or West Sussex County Councils or Brighton & Hove City Council, or have another strong connection to Sussex deemed appropriate at the discretion of the judges. We reserve the right to withdraw nominees should the judges deem their link to Sussex to be inappropriate or tenuous.

Nominations have to relate to physical activity. Nominations for e-sports may not be eligible.

With the exception of the Outstanding Contribution to Sport and Physical Activity Award, previous winners can be nominated, but all nominees’ activities should relate to the past year (October 2025 – October 2026).

Those making nominations must be 16 years or over on Monday, October 19.

Projects and organisations can nominate themselves in the following categories: Active School of the Year, Community Engagement Award, Environmental Sustainability Award, Inclusion & Diversity Award, and Play Their Way Award. Nominations in other categories must come from a third party.

The following categories are for individual people: Rising Star Award, Sports Personality of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Sport & Physical Activity Award, Unsung Hero Award, Play Their Way Award.

The following categories are for organisations: Active School of the Year, Environmental Sustainability Award, Community Engagement Award, Inclusion & Diversity Award

No joint nominations for individual categories will be accepted. The Health Improvement Award is open to individuals or a small team, but is a personal accolade rather than an organisational award.

There is no limit to the number of nominations from an individual, club or organisation, and individuals can be nominated in more than one category (unless stated otherwise). However, where there are multiple nominations for the same individual, club or organisation, the highest score will be counted.

Nominations are actively encouraged from disability sports for all categories.

The three highest-scoring nominations will be shortlisted as finalists in each category and invited to attend the Sussex Sport & Physical Activity Awards on Thursday, November 26.

The judging panel will be appointed by Active Sussex, and will use a scoring system to assess applications. The panel’s decision is final.

We appreciate that you may wish to use AI to help write your nomination. AI can be a useful tool to help you write your nomination quicker, align with the judging criteria, to sharpen focus and meet the word count requirement.

However, you should always:

• Review the final output yourself
• Check the accuracy of all facts, figures and claims in the nomination. Remember that AI can be prone to exaggeration, so you may need to edit and/or remove sections.
• Ensure that impact is properly evidenced, and the detail is accurate.
• Confirm that any sensitive or protected information has been handled appropriately

The nominator is responsible for the final submission, and it is critical that humans remain in charge when using AI. AI can be a great tool, and a useful assistant – but should never be the sole author.