• Shortlists have been announced 
• Public voting now open for three prestigious Awards: Vitality Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year Award, Young Inspiration Award and Influencer Award

The shortlist of finalists has been confirmed for the 2020 Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards in association with Vitality. There are five leading contenders for the prestigious Sportswoman of the Year accolade.

The Awards, now in their 33rd year, have led the way in recognising and celebrating the outstanding contribution to sport made by elite performers, coaches, administrators, community volunteers and inspirational women.

And this is the public’s opportunity to vote for their grassroots heroes over the past 10 months.

The top-five shortlist for the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Award includes the following outstanding women: Hollie Doyle (Jockey), Lizzie Deignan (Cyclist), Jessica Learmonth (Triathlete), Fallon Sherrock (Darts), Georgia Taylor-Brown (Triathlete).

Previous winners of the main award include Jessica Ennis-Hill, Elise Christie, Sally Gunnell, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Denise Lewis, Dame Kelly Holmes, Zara Tindall, Victoria Pendleton, Christine Ohuruogu and Laura Trott. Dina Asher-Smith was crowned the 2018 and 2019 Sportswoman of the Year.

The winners will be revealed at an online ceremony on the evening of Wednesday November 25th.

The Sportswomen of the Year Awards are among the most prestigious and influential in the British sporting calendar and are supported by the Sport and Recreation Alliance, UK Sport, Sport England and Women in Sport.

Emma Tucker, Editor of The Sunday Times said: “For more than 30 years The Sunday Times has supported and championed women's sport.  This year has seen sportswomen overcoming adversity in order to continue their plight to be the very best.  We salute them. ”

Neville Koopowitz, CEO of Vitality said:   “At Vitality we firmly believe in the power of sport and our title sponsorship of The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards in association with Vitality, represents our on-going commitment to increasing the visibility of women’s sport and inspiring women and girls everywhere to get active and participate in sport, which has arguably never been more important than it is today.  

“These awards showcase the dedication and tenacity of many talented female athletes, from grassroots right through to elite level. Congratulations to all those that have been shortlisted.”

This year’s judging panel includes household names Ellie Simmonds, Rebecca Adlington OBE, Chemmy Alcott, Ama Agbeze MBE, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Helen Glover MBE, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Natalie Sawyer, Kelly Holmes, Chrissie Wellington OBE and Gabby Logan.

Follow the latest news and get involved by following #SWOTY in the lead up to the Awards.

The shortlist of finalists for 2020:

THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

The ultimate accolade for your favourite Sportswoman of 2020

Hollie Doyle (Horse racing)

Lizzie Deignan (Cycling)

Jessica Learmonth (Triathlon)

Fallon Sherrock (Darts)

Georgia Taylor-Brown (Triathlon)

DISABILITY SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

The outstanding performer in a disability sport

Hannah Cockroft (Athletics)

Tully Kearney (Swimming)

Maria Lyle (Athletics)

Nathalie McGloin (Motor Racing)

Dame Sarah Storey (Cycling)

Visit www.sportswomenoftheyear.co.uk to vote for your Vitality Grassroots Sportswoman of the Year Award, Young Inspiration Award, and your favourite Influencer of 2020.

Voting closes at 12pm on Monday November 16th, 2020.  

VITALITY GRASSROOTS SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

For individuals who have actively engaged with different groups of people within their community through sport

Zainab Alema, Rugby

Zainab Alema is a rugby player for Barnes RFC and a trailblazer, working to encourage more black and Muslim women to follow her lead and take up rugby. She started playing the sport as a teenager and joined Barnes in 2017.

Alema, who is a neonatal nurse for the NHS and mother of three, has been integral in Barnes’ response to the Black Lives Matter movement and recently started the Muslimah Rugby online community to try to connect Muslim women who play rugby, so that no one has to feel as isolated as she says she felt when she first started playing. 

Last year, Alema founded Studs in the Mud, a project supporting grassroots rugby. Her fundraising efforts ensured new boots could be shipped over for dozens of players in Ghana and, more recently, Morocco, where she joined in a training session with a team of Muslim women and supplied 25 new pairs of boots.

Elaine Brown, Volleyball

Elaine Brown is taking volleyball to new heights across West Yorkshire. The coach, who lives in Leeds, has taught students from the age of eight to 18 across all schools in the GORSE Academies Trust, all six Leeds junior teams, and on the Yorkshire volleyball programme. She was appointed the director of youth volleyball development across the GORSE Academies Trust last year and, in October, won national volleyball coach of the year. 

Brown has launched after-school volleyball in four primary schools, with each academy in the trust now offering the sport as part of PE and running weekly extra-curricular clubs with up to 60 students at a session. The under-15s girls’ team has reached the finals of the national championships. She also organised a Leeds Gorse Volleyball Club LGBT+ Open Play Day in conjunction with the Leeds LGBT+ Fringe Festival and is passionate about diversifying sport. 

Katee Hui, Football

Katee Hui started Hackney Laces in 2011 after realising there were not enough opportunities for girls and women to play football in her local area. Hui, who is a qualified football coach working towards her UEFA B licence, began the club in 2011 with just a few girls, offering free training and fitness sessions. There are now more than 350 women and girls of all ages attending sessions across the capital between Hackney Laces and its two sister clubs, Limehouse Laces and South London Laces. 

Hui also started Extra Time sessions off the pitch which offering a range of extra-curricular mentoring for the women and girls who play football. Sessions have included helping teenagers with their CVs, talks from inspirational speakers, and first aid for knife crime victims. Hui, whose work for Hackney Laces is entirely voluntary, won a Points of Light award from then-prime minister David Cameron in 2015. During lockdown, she organised online sessions and kit deliveries to keep the Laces community active.

Kate Nicholls, Rugby

Kate Nicholls is the head coach of Witney Wolves, a special educational needs (SEN) rugby team. The team offers touch and tag rugby to SEN players of a range of ages. One mother, whose son has been playing with the Wolves for several years, said: “He is severely disabled but plays rugby with all his heart and soul… He wakes up with a smile on his face because he will be playing rugby with his friends.”

Conscious that lockdown would be a particularly hard time for her players, Nicholls ran virtual sessions in her garden with her three sons, who all also play rugby. Last year, she was selected to coach a session in front of England head coach Eddie Jones, as a recognition of her volunteering efforts. 

YOUNG INSPIRATION AWARD

Nominees must have been 21 or younger on January 1, 2020

Layla Banaras (Football)

Lilly Holmes (Hockey)

Emily Linscott (Motor Racing)

Roya Mehdizadeh-Valoujerdy (Football)

INFLUENCER AWARD

Celebrating the influencers who have used their voice to inspire the nation during the lockdown period

Shaunagh Brown (Rugby)

Imogen Callaway (Cycling)

Alice Liveing (Fitness)

Ebony Rainford-Brent (Cricket)

Visit www.sportswomenoftheyear.co.uk to vote for your favourite Grassroots heroes. Voting closes at 12pm on Monday November 16th, 2020.