The Piotr Nurowski prize honours young athletes ©Getty Images

The European Olympic Committees (EOC) has encouraged governing bodies from across the continent to nominate young champions in summer sports for an award in honour of the late Piotr Nurowski. 

Nurowski, the former President of the Polish Olympic Committee, died in 2010 in a plane crash in Russia.

The EOC created the award in his honour in the same year with a winter prize later introduced in 2016.

Candidates for the prize will be received at the Rome EOC headquarters between now and September 25.  

The awardee will be decided by the EOC General Assembly in November in Zagreb, capital of Croatia.

A ceremony will take place during an official dinner.

The late Piotr Nurowski, a former President of the Polish NOC, is the inspiration for the award ©Getty Images
The late Piotr Nurowski, a former President of the Polish NOC, is the inspiration for the award ©Getty Images

To be eligible for the prize, an athlete needs to comply with a number of requirements.

They must be a citizen of a European country and be under the age of 19 on December 31 of this year.

When choosing their candidates, governing bodies must take into consideration performance at events such as the Olympic Games, European Youth Olympic Festival or World Championships.

Behaviour and conduct, as well as a demonstration of Olympic culture and values, is also important.

The winner will receive the EOC Trophy and a training scholarship. 

Estonian freestyle skier Kelly Sildaru won the winter prize this year.

Greek pole vaulter Emmanouil Karalis is the current holder of the summer prize.