THE biggest night in grassroots sport moves a giant step closer today as the nomination process for The Northern Echo's Local Heroes Awards opens.

The awards, which are now in their 13th year, will be staged at Hardwick Hall Hotel on Thursday, December 6.

Widely recognised as the region's premier grassroots sports awards, the Local Heroes Awards celebrate achievement and dedication across a wide range of sporting activities.

They reward the region's most talented sports people, while also providing some welcome recognition to the coaches, volunteers and unsung heroes who enable grassroots sport to take place.

In recognition of the highlight of the summer, this year's Local Heroes Awards will have an Olympic and Paralympic theme.

A number of our Olympians and Paralympians, many of whom have won awards in previous years, will be present.

As ever, though, the real stars of the show will be the award winners and that is why we are calling on our readers to help highlight the people in their sport or community who deserve to be recognised.

There are senior awards for Remarkable Achievement, Sporting Excellence, Unsung Hero and Team/Club of the Year, as well as the Sir Bobby Robson Leading Light award for a lifetime of commitment to grassroots sport in the region.

There are junior awards for Remarkable Achievement, Sporting Excellence, Most Promising New Talent and Team/Club of the Year.

This year, there is also a new award for Performance of the Year, open to seniors and juniors, to recognise a one-off feat that is particularly remarkable.

The ten category winners will then be judged separately to produce the overall Local Hero for 2012, who will follow in the footsteps of last year's overall champion, basketball coach Dave Elderkin.

So do you know someone who has achieved great things in their chosen sport? Does your club have a manager, coach or secretary who has gone the extra mile to help things run smoothly? Do you want to nominate the person who cuts the grass so that everyone else can play?

If so, there are two ways to nominate your chosen Local Hero. There is a nomination form on the back of this week's Local Heroes which will be reprinted in future supplements. You can also nominate online at www.northernecho.co.uk/lha

The closing date for entries is Saturday, October 27 with judging due to take place at the start of November.

The judging panel will comprise members of The Northern Echo editorial team as well as representatives from our partners: Northumbrian Water, Darlington Building Society, Virgin Money, BMI Woodlands, Tees Active, Tees Barrage, Teesside University, County Durham Community Foundation, Recognition PR and Durham Gate.

Tickets for the Local Heroes Awards will go on sale soon, with the event expected to attract more than 1,000 guests.