The Action Woman Awards return this year as BT Sport, in association with The Telegraph, pays tribute to the country's most inspirational female athletes after an unforgettable year for British sport.

The 2021 Action Woman of the Year and Rising Star Award will be voted for by the public, while the Team of the Year and Lifetime Achievements awards will be decided by a stellar panel of judges including Clare Balding OBE, Kate Richardson Walsh OBE and Dame Katherine Grainger.

Equestrian icon Pippa Funnell was named Action Woman of the Year for 2019 to top off an incredible year for the 51-year-old, while Mel Marshall and 11-year-old skateboarding sensation Sky Brown also picked up awards.

The Solheim Cup golf team walked away with the Team of the Year award after captain Catriona Matthew lead her team to victory against the Americans in September.

Action Woman 2021 Terms and conditions

Equestrian icon Pippa Funnell was named BT Sport Action Woman of the Year for 2019 to top off an incredible year for the 51-year-old
Equestrian icon Pippa Funnell was named BT Sport Action Woman of the Year for 2019 to top off an incredible year for the 51-year-old

1. Six nominees, who represent women who deserve recognition for their sporting achievements in the past year (2021), have been selected by BT Sport and a panel of judges for the Action Woman Award. 

Three nominees yet to realise their full potential, under the age of 21, who represent women who deserve recognition for their sporting achievements in the past year (2021), have been selected by BT Sport and a panel of judges for the Rising Star award.

This could be an actual sporting achievement or it could be for their contribution to sport. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. All nominees or their agents have been informed of their nomination.

2. The prize is the BT Sport Action Woman of the Year Award 2021 and the Rising Star Award 2021.

3. The winner of the competition will be the nominee who receives the highest number of votes in their respective category between 11am on 12/11/21 and 11.59pm on 01/12/21 when the vote closes.

4. The voting will take place on btsport.com between the time periods listed above. No automatic, programmed, robotic or similar means of voting are permitted.

Participants who do not comply with these Terms and Conditions, or who attempt to interfere with the voting process or the operation of the Site in any way will be disqualified and their votes will not be counted.

BT reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend voting should any virus, bug, non-authorised human intervention, fraud or other causes beyond its reasonable control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness or proper conduct of the voting process.

All decisions regarding the voting process shall be final and shall not be subject to challenge or appeal.

5. During the voting stage, users of btsport.com may vote for the nominee(s) from the shortlist of 6 that they wish to win the Action Woman Award and the shortlist of 3 that they wish to win the Rising Star Award.

The nominees who receive the most votes during the voting stage will win the Award.

6. In order to submit your vote via btsport.com, visit btsport.com/actionwoman and cast your vote by selecting the designated poll selection that corresponds to your chosen nominee.

7. If you fail to register your vote, you will not receive the ‘successful, thank you for voting’ message on screen.

8. You are allowed to vote once per category per device.

9. There is no charge for submitting your vote via btsport.com although internet service providers' fees may apply when accessing the internet. Please ask permission of the internet account holder.

10. In the event of the Action Woman vote failing to yield a clear winner for any reason, be that technical (e.g. the voting mechanic fails) or in the event of a tie, the BT judging panel will select a winner/winners for this year’s Action Woman Awards. If for any reason any of the BT judging panel are not available a suitable alternative will be found.  The process for selecting a winner is as follows:


(a) In the event of a voting mechanic failure, or similar event affecting all nominees, a three-person panel comprised of Simon Green (Head of BT Sport), Clare Balding and Anna Kessell (Women’s Sport Editor of The Telegraph) will convene on or before 03/12/21.

The panel will then discuss and decide a winner. In the event that the three members are unable to agree, the casting vote will go to Clare Balding. The criteria for selecting a winner will be as follows:

  • Biggest social impact in 2021.
  • Historical significance of their achievement 
  • Sporting prowess 
  • Mental toughness 
  • Ability to inspire

(b) In the event of a tie, the panel will decide whether to select a winner from the tied nominees, or whether the prize should be shared. The casting vote will go to Clare Balding based on the criteria set out in Clause 10a above.

(c) The panel meeting will take place at the BT Sport studios and will be minuted for record. A representative from BT Compliance will attend the meeting.

11. The winners will be announced at the BT Sport Action Woman of the Year Awards ceremony at BT Sport studios on 06/12/21. The awards will be presented to the winner on 06/12/21 by Clare Balding.

12. This promotion is governed by the laws of England and Wales. The Promoter is British Telecommunications plc, 81 Newgate Street London EC1A