BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award The BBC Sports Personality of the Year Helen Rollason Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given "for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity", and the winner is selected by BBC Sport. The award is named after the BBC sports presenter Helen Rollason, who died in August 1999 at the age of 43 after suffering from cancer for two years. Helen Rollason was the first female presenter of "Grandstand". After being diagnosed with cancer, she
Grandstand (TV programme) host would be associated with that feature; for example, Hazel Irvine would host snooker, Clare Balding racing or rugby league, and John Inverdale rugby union. On 24 April 2006, the BBC announced that "Grandstand" would be gradually phased out after nearly half a century, due to the increasing use of interactive services and the need to meet the challenges of the digital, on-demand world. This had been hinted by the dropping of the "Grandstand" title from the BBC's coverage of the major international sporting events, like the World Cup as well as that year's Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games. It