Award categories

This award has been designed to recognise any organisation (or individual) that has demonstrated commitment to the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion. This could be a programme, project, initiative, individual or team that embodies the very best of equality, inclusion and diversity by focusing on engaging or supporting those who are underrepresented in the sector.
Nominations are open to entries that excel in their commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and can demonstrate how they welcome, celebrate and support their customers/colleagues, and/or promotes and sustains physical activity in children and young people.

Key Criteria:
Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2025 and end of January 2026. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

What the judges will be looking for:

• What difference/impact you have had on your target group?
• How have you supported staff or customers and adjusted or proactive efforts to engage and welcome them?
•  Have you been innovative to progress the sector in this area?
• How do you keep participants engaged in a changing society?
• Has your programme, project or initiative evolved or adapted since launching?

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

This category is open to any organisation leading/delivering a physical activity/wellbeing focused programme, product or initiative that is targeted at the wider community to encourage increased activity and participation and has been operating for a minimum of 12 months by 31st December 2025.

It doesn’t matter how big or small your effort may be, what we are looking for is tangible and measurable outcomes, and widespread backing from your beneficiaries and/or local stakeholders.

Key Criteria:
Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2025 and end of January 2026. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.
This award celebrates initiatives that inspire the wider community to make physical activity and wellbeing part of everyday life. ​
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What The Judges Are Looking For:​
Judges are looking for entries that show meaningful community engagement, clear responsiveness to local needs, and how you’ve shaped your initiative to deliver significant results. They want to see how you have:​​

• Tailored your approach to community needs
• Encouraged sustainable behaviour change​
• Shown creativity or innovation​
• Collaborated effectively with partners or stakeholders ​
• Delivered clear outcomes backed by evidence

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

This category is open to any organisation that has delivered a current concept, campaign, programme, project, or initiative — or has been running one within the last 12 months that demonstrates innovation in how physical activity is enabled, delivered, or promoted.

The innovation may include new or improved ways of delivering services, partnerships, programmes, campaigns, or the effective use of insight, data, technology, or digital tools to enhance impact, inclusion, participation, or experience.

Initiatives should show how they have inspired and encouraged people to be more active in any setting, including:

• At home
• In the workplace
• In leisure or fitness settings
• In the community or outdoors

Organisations at any stage of their innovation or transformation journey are encouraged to enter, provided clear impact to date and learning can be demonstrated as part of the submission.

Key Criteria
Judges are looking for clear evidence that the initiative has positively influenced engagement, participation, and physical activity.
Please provide concise, relevant evidence of success, including statistics, insights, anecdotes, or facts, that stands up to scrutiny.

Judges will reward recent success and therefore expect evidence relating to achievements between January 2025 and January 2026. While the initiative does not need to be new, the outcomes presented must fall within this timeframe.

What the judges are looking for
Judges will assess whether your initiative has moved beyond conventional approaches to deliver meaningful innovation and encourage more people to be physically active.

They will consider how effectively your organisation:

• Inspired and engaged people to be more active
• Used insight, learning, or innovation to enhance engagement or participation
• Implemented the initiative effectively, including stakeholder engagement and communication
• Demonstrated measurable impact and outcomes
• Showcased what makes the initiative genuinely innovative

Where digital tools or platforms have been used, judges will consider how they enabled or strengthened innovation, rather than digital delivery alone.

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

This category is open to any organisation that has delivered an advertising or wider marketing campaign over the last 12 months which has been creative, innovative, impactful and helped raise the profile or change the perception of physical activity and its importance, whilst meeting the wider campaign objectives to your business.

Key Criteria:
Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.

Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2025 and end of January 2026. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

What the judges will be looking for:
The judges will be looking to see if you have successfully delivered an innovative marketing campaign to highlight the role of physical activity, which in turn has helped deliver your business objective sand what the campaign set out to highlight.

Key areas they will be looking at are:

• That there is a key and clear link to physical activity and a specific outcome.
• What reach your marketing campaign had, its overall aim and the channels you chose to engage with your audience.
• What impact the marketing campaign has had on your business and audience?
• What are you doing to evolve your marketing campaign in the future and why was the campaign innovative?

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

This category is open to any organisation that has delivered an internal workforce initiative designed to support, engage, or improve the wellbeing, activity levels, or engagement of its employees.

Entries should focus on initiatives delivered for employees, demonstrating how organisations have invested in their workforce to create healthier, more active, more engaged, and more resilient teams.

Initiatives may be organisation-wide or team-based and may focus on wellbeing, engagement, inclusion, culture, and/or ways of working.

Please note: This category is not intended to recognise culture measurement or employee engagement surveys alone. Entries must demonstrate a clearly defined initiative that has been actively implemented and delivered.

Key Criteria

Judges are looking for clear evidence that a defined initiative has been successfully implemented and has positively impacted employees, contributing to a healthier, more engaged, and/or more active workforce.

Initiatives must have been introduced and actively running for at least 12 months.

What the Judges Are Looking For
Judges will assess how effectively internal workforce initiatives have been designed, delivered, and embedded to support employee wellbeing, engagement, and physical activity.

They will consider how well the initiative:

• Clearly defined its objectives and intended outcomes
• Engaged employees across roles, locations (if relevant), and demographics
• Responded to workforce needs through thoughtful design and delivery
• Demonstrably improved wellbeing, activity levels, engagement, or workplace culture
• Measured impact and applied learning to inform continuous improvement
• Demonstrated commitment, creativity, or leadership in supporting employees

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House

This award aims to shine a light on an organisation/programme that provides excellent inclusive delivery, demonstrates the development of innovative resources and assessments enabling learners or employees to display high quality skills.
The award looks to recognise and reflect all-encompassing training and resources. Entrants into this award can include individual bespoke initiatives that have seen success by the clients/customer, this could also include apprenticeships and on-programme delivery.

Key Criteria:
Please provide tangible evidence of success in statistics, anecdotes, and facts and figures where necessary and if applicable. Evidence should be concise and stand up to scrutiny.
Judges will be looking to reward recent success and will therefore expect to see evidence relating to achievements between January 2025 and end of January 2026. While the programme/project/initiative does not necessarily need to be ‘new’ or ‘recent’, make sure the successes outlined within your submission fall within these dates.

What the judges will be looking for:
The judges want to hear how learners or employees have successfully gained high quality skills that are recognised and valued by employers or clients. This includes demonstrating that your programme has: ​

• Equipped individuals with relevant, up-to-date skills that align with industry needs​
• Received positive feedback or testimonials from clients, learners, or employers evidencing the value and effectiveness of the training.

Process:
Step 1: Written Submission
Step 2: Judges’ House