Stars back local heroes

Sports Personality of the Year
Venue: Liverpool Echo Arena Date: Sunday, 14 December Time: 1900 BST Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 Live & BBC Sport website.

The search for this year's BBC Sport Unsung Hero is taking place across the different nations and regions of Britain.

Each nation or region has its own sporting ambassador promoting the award, supported by Robinsons.

Below is a list of all the ambassadors and links to where you can find out more information about Unsung Hero in your own nation or region.

Scroll down to read tributes by some of our ambassadors for the unsung heroes who have made a difference in their lives.

North East Boxer Tony Jefferies

North West Cyclist Jason Kenny

Yorkshire Taekwondo's Sarah Stevenson

E Yorks & Lincs Footballer Dean Windass

W Midlands Rower Zac Purchase

E Midlands Swimmer Becky Adlington

East Gymnast Louis Smith

West Swimmer Mark Foster

South West Diver Tom Daley

South Sailor Pippa Wilson

South East Rower Alistair McKean

London Boxer James DeGale

Scotland Cyclist Chris Hoy

Wales Rugby star Shane Williams

Olympic diver Tom Daley
Unsung hero Paul Davies
First swimming coach

Teenage sensation Tom Daley was one of the stars of the Beijing Olympics in the men's diving competition.

The 14-year-old was Britain's youngest competitor at the Games and reached the finals of the 10m synchronised and the 10m individual.

He is currently ranked a career-high fourth in the world 10m rankings.

Daley hails his first swimming coach Paul Davies for playing a significant part in his success.

"He gave me all my confidence in the water," said Daley.

"He made swimming lessons enjoyable and without fun and exciting lessons you aren't going to enjoy it, so he was a fantastic teacher. We didn't just swim up and down, we had fun and we always smiled."

Davies, a coach in Plymouth, said: "I took him and his brothers for swimming lessons, they all took to it like ducks to water but Tom stood out from the crowd.

"He was very easy to teach and even at an early stage he had an exceptional ability. He could reproduce something you showed him time after time."

Beijing gold medallist Chris Hoy
Unsung hero Ray Harris
Former cycling coach

Scotland's Chris Hoy created history at the Beijing Games when he became the first Briton to win three gold medals at a single Olympics since Henry Taylor in 1908.

The 32-year-old credits Ray Harris, 77, from Coldstream, who ran the Dunedin Cycling Club in Edinburgh.

"Ray was the first person who ever sat down with me and encouraged me to set goals for my cycling career," said Hoy, who won gold in team sprint, keirin and sprint.

"He didn't laugh at me when I was 16 and said that I wanted to become Olympic champion one day.

"At the time it would have seemed ridiculous to say such a thing, but he didn't ever want to limit his riders' ambitions.

"His scientific approach to training and fitness testing was quite unusual in the early 1990s and he was definitely one of the few people in the UK with this philosophy. Cycling was a sport ruled by tradition and yet he wasn't afraid to challenge many long-held beliefs of other coaches.

"His enthusiasm and passion for the sport was infectious and I have no doubt I wouldn't have gone on to be Olympic champion without his input back in the early days."

Harris said: "I'm flattered by Chris's comments. I always have a burst of pride whenever I see him race. Although I coached him a long time ago at the start of his career, he has never left my memory at all.

"Chris was one of those unique people who, at a young age, never stopped asking questions and was always willing to learn as much as he could about improving his performance.

"He was always a gentleman. He was one of the few competitors who could be genuinely friendly with rivals before getting into the right frame of mind for the race."

Olympic boxer Tony Jeffries
Unsung hero Bobby Bute
Former boxing coach

Olympic medallist Tony Jeffries has named his former boxing coach Bobby Bute as his own unsung hero.

Bute trained generations of youngsters at the Sunderland Amateur Boxing Club.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and passed away in 2005. His brother, Michael Bute, who is writing a book about Bobby joined Jeffries to launch the Unsung Hero award at the club.

"Bobby Bute was my coach from when I was 10 years old until 2005 when he passed away. For years, he put so much time and effort into all the boxers in the gym," said Jeffries.

"For someone to put so much time into something like this and not get paid a penny for it, has got to be a special kind of person.

"People like Bobby should get recognition for all the hard work they put in, because they put hours and hours into it. So many people who work in different sports, they deserve it."

Hull player Dean Windass
Unsung Hero Dougie Thurlow
Former school teacher

Dean Windass' goal over Bristol City in last season's Championship play-off final elevated him to 'hero status' among the eyes of many Hull fans.

But his hero is former school teacher Dougie Thurlow who he thanks for making him the success he is today.

"Dougie was always there when I needed him, supporting and encouraging me through all the difficult times you have as a child," said Windass.

"He knew I always wanted to be a footballer and used to drive me and make sure I did the schoolwork as well. We are still friends today.

"Every kid has a dream and I think its really important that you have people such as Dougie who give up their own time and volunteer to help young kids, and its equally important that they get recognised with awards such as this."