this is going to be interesting. normally its a case of who they can find to stick in the nomination list. this year it going to be difficult to even get the list down to a final 12 (the list has been increased from 10 for this year). don't forget its not too long ago that the likes of greg rudedski, giggsy and zara philips managed to carry off the trophy in particularly fallow years

to this end, who would feature in your top 12 for this year's nominations?

my list (in no order)

1. andy murray
2. chris hoy
3. jess ennis
4. rory mcllroy
5. ellie simmonds
6. bradley wiggins
7. jade jones
8. mo farah
9. alistair brownlee
10. dave weir
11. jason kenny
12. sarah storey

just outside - ian poulter, laura trott, chris froome,

happy with my list, actually included a decent womens selection, a good variety of sports (cycling deserves its number of nominations), and even some people in the list who actually have personalities

Incredible year really.

McIlroy, Murray and Wiggins would have won it virtually any other year because of their achievements. It's hard to say whose achievement of those is the greatest. Wiggins could arguably be claimed to be the biggest because of our previous lack of wins in the TDF, but the horrible image of cycling as a sport could well make it difficult to make him take the top gong.

Then below, and I think below is the right place, are the Olympians. Again, impossible to split them, with Jessica Ennis being a big personal favourite because she's fit.

Victoria Pendleton - yummy.

Personally, its Murray over Wiggins and Farah.....Despite all the tedious debate about his supposed lack of personality (it hasn't stopped countless other winners) and his supposed anti-Englishness, the fact is that Murray has succeeded in acheiving something that no British man has done in over 75 years, and has done so in an era which could arguably be described as the toughest and most competitive in the history of Tennis - Throw in the Wimbledon final and a gold medal and its tough to view any other candidate having a better case for winning.

Wiggins will suffer inevitably for cycling's very dodgy image and also the fact that even he has openly acknowledged that but for his team-mates, he would never have won the Tour De France....Not sure you can win such an high profile individual award when its obvious you have such strong assistance from others.

its pretty hard to win the tour de france without the support of a top team. i also think you would find murray would say his team played a big part in his triumphs too. nearly all individual successes have a team behind them

But once on court, Murray is alone.....Wiggins has his team out with him on the road, alongside him.

I'm not 100% on this, but didn't I read somewhere that Chris Froome could just as easily won the Tour De France if he had received the same preferential treatment that Wiggins did from his team?

If that's true, then its blindingly obvious that, while a great acheivevment, Wiggins' victory had a huge debt to several other individuals.

Wiggins
Murray
Farah

In that order for me. People like Rory & Jess would have walked it in other years. Team of the year could be interesting as well.

Olympic cycling team for me - as dominant a performance over multiple events as you are ever likely to see.

On Wiggins... Yes he had the support of his team. However the fact he blew everyone off the road in individual time trials, including for his gold medal, proves how dominant he was. He's gone to places no Brit has ever gone to and if he doesn't win it be a travesty

fair comment on murray (who i think has done brilliant things this year and am a big fan). as for froome well we don't really know the answer to that one. once in yellow the additional pressures that come with it demand a special kind of character. froome will target the tour in 2013, we'll have a better idea then

and just to keep the debate on teams going, spoty is not always about individual events, giggs, wilkinson, botham and many others have won the award being the stand out person in a successful team

Because the depth of candidates this year could The Beeb changing the catergories alittle?.

If not, top 3 i'm guessing would be Murray, Wiggins & Farah.

Team(s) award would be the G.B Olympic & Paralympic Teams.

Overseas could be between Michael Phelps & Sebastien Vettel (should he win the F1 world title again )

I agree. The team of the year will go to Team GB. European Ryder Cup team would have won it otherwise I think.

I think the whole thing will be a smarmy Olympic love in. They'll have a huge studio with all the competitors in it no doubt.

1 Wiggins
2 Farah
3 Sophie Christiansen

Be good to see the paralympics in the top 3 and she would get my vote over Weir...just hope its Wiggins that wins and they show Denise Lewis's face as the announce it seeing as she was banging on about Ennis winning it.Team of the yr should either be the cycling or rowing teams as they have carried Team GB for yrs and coach of the yr should be Dave Brailsford.