Despite being called The BBC folk awards the criteria state that
"The competition was open to soloists, duos and groups aged between 15 and 20 who perform folk, roots or acoustic music from any culture."
john

John I think you're confusing the Folk Awards with the Young Folk Musician Of The Year competition. The winner of the Young Musician gets a gig at the Folk Awards as part of their prize, but the two are separate entities (albeit both associated with the BBC and Mike Harding's programme).