For the first time in the history of Badminton Europe, the best European Players of the year will be crowned at an official Awards Gala (20 April 2013 in Bratislava, Slovakia). Four players or pairs are nominated in three different categories.

Please click here to see all nominees and to vote for your favourite players in the three categories.

The nominees are:

Best European Male Player Of The Year '12:
Mathias Boe/Carsten Mogensen (Denmark)
Marc Zwiebler (Germany)
Joachim Fischer (Denmark)
Henri Hurskainen (Sweden)

Best European Female Player Of The Year '12:
Tine Baun (Denmark)
Juliane Schenk (Germany)
Valeria Sorokina/Nina Vislova (Russia)
Christinna Pedersen (Denmark)

Best European Young Player Of The Year '12:
Viktor Axelsen (Denmark)
Carolina Marin (Spain)
Neslihan Yigit (Turkey)
Stefani Stoeva (Bulgaria)

The BEC Player Awards recognize the achievements and the contribution to European badminton by players engaged in all categories of our sport. The BEC Best European Male Player, the BEC Best European Female Player and the BEC Best Young Player award recognizes the best players playing for a nation within the territory of a BEC Member Association during the previous year. The award should honor the achievement of a European male and female player at international stage. For the inaugural award, players were judged by their performances during the previous year.

Simultaneously we will also offering this vote on our official Facebook page (The Facebook voting will start Saturday, 2 February) to all badminton fans worldwide. Furthermore every National Coach of all BEC Member Associations will also have a vote. After receiving all votes, a BEC Voting panel determines the winner from the shortlist of two candidates in all categories. The winners of the three Awards will be invited and distinguished at the 1st BEC Awards Gala on 20 April 2013 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Your name and email address are held in strict confidence. We do not sell or share your information with anyone else.

Deadline for submitting your votes is 18 February 2013, 12.00 CET.