Meet our torchbearers

When he founded Devon’s first disability cricket team, Torquay’s Perry Sprung turned around the lives of dozens of people.

Two years ago, whilst recovering from shattering his pelvis, Perry was watching cricket and realised that there wasn’t a disability team in his county.

Whereas other people might have left it at that, Perry was determined, with the help of the local cricket board and funding from a variety of sources, to set up Devon’s first disability cricket team.

In what has been a very busy two years of both coaching and administrating at the club, Perry has created from a team which has welcomed dozens of people ranging in age from 10-years-old to over 60. The club is aimed at players who are deaf, blind or have learning disabilities.

Despite only playing their first competition a year ago, the team has already been very successful, as Perry explains: “We finished fourth in our first competition and our team were named National Indoor Deaf Cricket Champions this year.”

“Three of our guys play in the national squads for their disabilities and we’ve had players represent England at the Deaf Ashes and in the first ever international disabled cricket series which took place in Dubai this year.”

As well as bringing joy to the lives of the players, Perry has made a significant impact on a number of other people’s lives. Perry says: “We have trained up four coaches and they have achieved their level two disability cricket coaching award. Some of these guys had been unemployed for a long time but off the back of the coaching qualifications they have now found paid work.”

There has been such a demand to join the team that the club are now expanding to other parts of Devon so that everyone who wants to play cricket can do so.

Watch Perry on BBC Spotlight or view our video profile of him.

An all-round athlete, Charlotte devotes her time mainly within coaching trampolining and officiating netball in a range of different settings. Having received qualifications in both sports, she regularly coaches trampolining to groups ranging from four years of age to 60 and officiates all ages.

A committed volunteer, she achieved the ‘Step into Sport’ Gold Award having accrued over 700 hours through both school and community volunteering and was awarded Active Devon’s prestigious Young Volunteer award in 2010.  In addition, Charlotte was selected to attend the England Netball Young Leaders Camp and officiated at the British Colleges Sport Regional and National Championships.  As a volunteer with the British College of Sport she has undertaken a tour of schools speaking about the positive aspects of volunteering in sports.

Charlotte’s volunteering career has not been confined to the UK as she has worked as a sports volunteer in India. Working with a large number of children she taught them tag rugby, basketball and football. 

Speaking of her dedication to sport Charlotte noted: “I enjoy the variety of my volunteering as it is never boring! It gives me great pleasure to see others develop with my guidance.”  She also spoke about the personal benefits of volunteering; as it has helped her develop her inter-personal skills and confidence.

Charlotte has described being a torchbearer as a very exciting experience adding “I am very shocked to be chosen, I am really grateful to Sport England for giving me this opportunity.”

Being a torchbearer is not Charlotte’s only volunteer job at the Olympics as she has also been selected as a games maker working as a part of the technology team at the beach volleyball event.

Find out more about the Bideford Bouncers.
Click here to find out more about the University of Bath's Trampolining Club.
Click here to find out more about the British College of Sport.
Click here to find out more about the Titans Netball Club.

View photos of Charlotte carrying the torch.

A self- confessed ‘Olympics geek’ Annelies is a committed volunteer at both her university and local trampolining clubs and regularly coaches a number of young people of varying abilities. Having participated in trampolining for the past six years Annelies credits her love of the sport to the enjoyment both she and other members experience in the gym. 

She has become a tremendous asset to her club, having completed the initial British Trampolining judging award, a necessary requirement for the club to participate in competitions.  Annelies frequently volunteers to assist with events as an official. Speaking about her volunteering she noted ‘grass roots sport would not be possible without volunteers .’
Annelies is now planning to do the next level of judging qualifications which will allow her to judge at national level. Her commitment to her club was recognised when the members voted her Tramolinist of the Year and she also became Junior Official of the Year in the 2008 Gloucestershire Sports Awards 2008.

Discussing the future of trampolining in the UK Annelies stated “I am determined to ensure that trampolining does not become pigeon holed as an elitist sport but remains accessible to all.” Her commitment to sport is clear to see, her volunteering experiences have inspired her, post university, to seek a role in the sporting sector promoting grass roots sports. 
On becoming a torch bearer Annelies stated “It is an absolutely fantastic experience and I am so excited to be taking part.”


Click here to find out more about Annelies's club - Aspire Springers.

Denise is an extremely dedicated volunteer regularly committing three evenings a week plus every weekend to coaching netball. She not only coaches netball but has taken on the role of umpire, tutor and mentor inspiring 100’s of girls /women over the last 20 years. Her commitment and professionalism have been recognised by the wider netball community and she has been made Chair of Avon netball association and sits on the regional management board for Netball Southwest as a Director.

Denise points to successes in her career - coaching the u16 Avon squads for six years and the final year finishing 12th in the National Championships are the highlights. Also being part of a group who started a new local club three years ago winning promotion each season and being a club with a great atmosphere for the players.

She attributes her love of netball to the sheer enjoyment she experiences in seeing players grow and develop and has passed down her enthusiasm of the sport to her daughter, who plays at a high level, is a promising coach and umpires. Her passion, commitment and promotion of netball is a major contributor to the fact that netball is a success and is continually thriving in her county.

Denise believes netball will always be a part of her life and misses the game when she can’t attend practice sessions due to work commitments.

Speaking of becoming a torchbearer Denise said: “I initially thought it was a joke and nearly deleted the email! I am really proud to be running and it is a tremendous honour.” She has always been an avid follower of the Olympic and will be glued to the television screen during this summer’s games.

View photos of Denise carrying the torch.

Coming from a long lineage of horse lovers, Jane is an accomplished event rider, winning Badminton Horse Trials in 1968 and 1978 and the Burghley Horse Trials in 1976.

She is no stranger to the Olympics, having competed in the 1968 summer Games in Mexico, the first British girl to compete in Eventing for Great Britain, winning gold.  Speaking of the Mexico Games, she noted, “It was a fantastic experience, which I remember to this day.  My favourite memory from the games is the opening ceremony, as it was the first moment I fully realised the magnitude of the occasion.”

Since retiring from competitive riding, Jane has devoted herself to a number of voluntary roles.  She is Chair of the Council of the British Equestrian Federation which is made up of 18 member bodies. Jane is also a British Eventing Official and FEI Technical Delegate and has previously held the role of Chairman of the British Eventing Board of Directors 2000-2007. 

A number of charities have also benefited from Jane’s dedication and knowledge of the equestrian sector, including former Chairman of Riding for the Disabled Association and President of the Fortune Centre of Riding Therapy and the Caspian Horse Society, and a Trustee of World Horse Welfare.  She is also President of the British Equestrian Trade Association and British Eventing, and Patron of the Side Saddle Association.  Jane attributes her dedication to the equestrian to the enjoyment she experienced as a competitor and being able to use her own experiences to help others.

Her commitment to the sport has been recognised at the highest levels.  She was awarded a CBE for services to equestrian sport in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2004 and she received an Honorary Degree from both the Universities of the West and East of England in recognition of her contribution to equestrian sport and to the promotion of related education and training.

Speaking about being a torchbearer, Jane said, “It is a great honour and privilege to have been selected as a torchbearer.  I am very surprised to have been chosen, but it is a wonderful opportunity that I will never forget.”  She indicated that she will be avidly watching the Games on television, adding that “it brings a lump to my throat watching people who have worked so hard and who are now achieving their ambitions.”

View photos of Jane carrying the torch.

Click here to find out more about World Horse Welfare.
Click here to find out more about the Riding for the Disabled Association.
Click here to find out more about the Side Saddle Association.
Click here to find out more about the British Eventing Governing Body.
Click here to find out more about the Caspian Horse Society.
Click here to find out more about the British Equestrian Federation.
Click here to find out more about the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA).
Click here to find out more about the Fortune Centre.
Click here to find out more about West Kingston Stud.

John has been involved with inline speed skating for over 25 years.

A previous international competitor, John became the Chairman of the Birminghamwheels Roller Skating Club, a local club designed to encourage young people from the area to come and try the sport, whether for fun or for competition.

He might be chair but that doesn’t mean he’s afraid to get his hands dirty. “I’m also the club’s senior coach, gardener, painter and rubbish collector,” he says.

John works in one of the most deprived areas in Birmingham and he says that his aim is to engage young people who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to take part in sport. As a result of his hard work and dedication, John has seen the club become one of the largest and most successful in-line skating clubs in the UK.

“I want to use sport to help local kids understand that hard work and dedication can bring reward,” John says. “My favourite part of the job is seeing the kids achieve and grow, experiencing both the highs and lows that sport brings.”

It never occurred to John that he would have the opportunity to carry the Olympic torch, “I was absolutely gobsmacked when I found out,” he says. “When I see the flame lit in the stadium I will be inspired because I will have been a part of that journey.”

John also hopes tha seeing the Olympic torch might ignite a little spark of inspiration in his young skaters as well. “Carrying the torch is an honour – but not just for me, but for my family, the club and the sport. It’s for everyone really.”


Click here to find out more about John's club - Birmingham Rollers.

Watch our video profile of John.

View pictures of John with the torch.

Val has been involved with the Special Olympic movement for over 30 years since it was started in the UK, inspired by the US version. She has worked tirelessly to set up and run the North Shropshire Special Olympics since 1978.

She is currently chairperson of the club, which consists of 96 enthusiastic members, who travel to all corners of the country to take part in competitions. They have also taken part in the World and the European Games. They play nine sports – table tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball, athletics, golf, hockey, ten-pin bowling and boccia. Val is a qualified badminton coach and during her time with the club, she has coached people in all of the sports. She now continues to do some coaching of boccia and ten-pin bowling.

Val’s work is primarily in running the club, carrying out all of the administration and organisational aspects of their activities. Members are aged from eight upwards, with the oldest being 65 years old. Her work is more or less full time as a volunteer since she retired from working with people with special needs. She started working in the Special Olympic movement because of her work in the field: “I went along to take a look at some sessions and decided to get involved. I love the Special Olympics, especially seeing the enjoyment that it brings to people. They all turn up on time and with such enthusiasm.”

Her highlights of her time working on the Special Olympics have been when members of the North Shropshire club have been selected for the World Games. They have been represented in athletics, badminton and table tennis. “It is exciting to see things grow. We started with 16 members. Funding from people like Sport England has made a huge difference to the club.”

Val is due to retire and hand the mantle on to the younger generation. She is proud of what she has achieved, and feels that she has been doing it for long enough now. “It’s time to let the younger people take on the work, and I am positive about that. They can bring in new methods and ideas to the Special Olympics in North Shropshire.”

Val says that being selected as a torchbearer will be a real pleasure and honour, and she feels proud to be there. “I was shocked to hear of my selection. I will be glued to the screen watching the Olympics and Paralympics, and I know a few people competing at the Paralympics so I will be cheering them on. I expect to see a lot of people I know when I carry the torch in Shrewsbury.” Her hometown of Oswestry is holding their own celebratory sporting event at the beginning of July, with a parade through the town and lots of events happening.

Harry initially became interested in baseball after some of his relatives moved to Canada in the 1970s and he was able to attend some games when visiting them. When living in Yokohama in Japan in the 1980s, he began to play softball and upon returning to Manchester he started looking for fellow softball enthusiasts to play with.

His desire to play the game competitively in the North West of England was realised in 1992 when the Manchester Softball League (MSL) was set up, which now consists of 30 teams and is the biggest outside of London. Harry has played and been on the committee since it began. He has been head of the MSL for three years, and before that was fixtures secretary. There are 480 players in the league, who all have access to the popular weekly magazine that Harry produces to summarise league results and activity.

As head of the league, Harry was instrumental in securing funding for the building of the first dedicated softball field outside of London two years ago. This has raised the profile of softball in the area and Harry is rightly proud of the project.

During the season, which runs from April to August, Harry will typically dedicate 10 to 15 hours a week to his activities with the league and his team – Manchester Thunder. He enjoys softball so much because it attracts and welcomes people of a wide age and ability range, allowing anyone the chance to play sport competitively. “Softball has given people like me, who were not necessarily good at sport at school, the chance to take part in and win leagues and trophies.” The teams are a 50:50 split of men and women. He likes to be involved with the organisational side of softball because he takes a great deal of satisfaction from the fact that the league is seen by everyone to be run so well. He feels that he has been at least partly responsible for this. “I have read about some of the other torchbearers, and I feel a bit embarrassed as I do not feel I have such an amazing story as some of them. Nevertheless, I do feel honoured to be chosen and I would say that it is not necessarily a personal thing. I am running as a figurehead, representing the sport and the MSL.”

A personal highlight for Harry came this year when he won his first ever medal in 25 years of playing softball – the MSL Division Three title. He hopes to continue playing for as long as possible and maybe take on other roles like umpiring. The softball pitch will hopefully be expanded and there is also talk of building a second one soon, extending the league programme to four divisions to be played over three evenings.

“Being a torchbearer is very exciting, and I thought at first that there had been some kind of mistake! 8,000 sounds like a lot of people to be chosen as torchbearers, but it isn’t when you consider how many were nominated. Everyone I have told about it has told me I deserve it, which is always nice to hear.” Harry praised the idea of the torchbearer relay being taken around the country, and he is keen to see some of the Olympic football as it will be held in Manchester.


Click here to find out more about the Manchester Softball League.
Click here to find out more about Baseball Softball UK (BSUK) - the development agency for baseball and softball.

Mark has battled adversity and significant obstacles to now stand as an example to his peers of how to turn their lives around for the better. An adoptee who grew up for some of his childhood in care, Mark joined the Parachute Regiment but left and found himself in a hostel for men at the age of 17. At first he found things difficult due to the fact that most people there were older than him. “People immediately judge you in hostels,” says Mark.

The chance to become involved with sports at the hostel soon presented itself through a homeless football competition in 2007. Encouraged by his mentor, Eric Houghton, Mark joined the team and soon relished the opportunities that sport provided him. “I was given the player achievement award in my first year and the way it changed my life was incredible.” Mark was a keen athlete when he was young but fell in with the wrong crowd. His work with homeless football leagues and the homeless games in Liverpool reignited his interest and he has also become involved with coaching, gaining his FA Level 1 Coaching Badge in 2007 with Liverpool Football Club. He sees sport as being the reason for his new life path. “I know that anyone can get so much from playing sport, and if I hadn’t started and carried on doing it then my life would not be the same.”

He sits on the Liverpool Homeless Football tournament committee as the player representative, and has become involved with other sports since 2007. “It’s like a family and I have so much to be thankful for. I love it so much that I used to walk two hours just to be able to play football!” Mark is also a participant in the Homeless Games. He won eight medals at the 2009 games and has continued to win events ever since, including a gold in athletics last year. “The Homeless Games are not just about sports like football and athletics, they also give people the chance to do things like play chess. I have seen it making people so happy, and it still seems strange to think what I have been able to achieve myself. If I can do it, anyone can.”

Mark promotes the power of sport by going all over the country to tell people in hostels and shelters about his story. “I love telling people what a difference it has made to me and what a difference it can have on their lives. Sport and being involved with the homeless tournaments (Mark is also on the Liverpool games committee) has given me clarity and focus and has been a calming influence on my life.” He is expecting his first child in May and wants to stay involved with sports work as well as keep on sharing his story. He points to his activities as being a huge factor in helping him to be able to get his English and Maths GCSEs in recent years. He hopes to work in a job that is linked with what he enjoys and makes him ‘him’.

Mark was shocked to have been named as a torchbearer and is delighted because he never thought that he would achieve anything when he was younger. “My mum is very proud of me and being a torchbearer shows others that they can do great things through sport too.”

Despite her young age, Jemma Edwards, just 18, is a committed volunteer, devoting every evening to using sport to help change the lives of people from a diverse range of backgrounds living within her community.

Jemma works as a young sports ambassador through Park High Sports College and dedicates at least 10 hours every week to sports volunteering.

She helps young people with complex social needs enjoy new sporting experiences with the Foxfield Adventurers Club; and supports a visually-impaired climber’s group in their efforts to scale new heights. 

While her work with Action Amal, a group for women and children who have been alienated by religious or cultural constraints and who find physical activity difficult to do, has helped group members to take part in sports such as sailing, scuba-diving and canoeing.

Jemma is blasé about her commitment. Others have more to say: “She is a true ambassador representing the importance of volunteers in our society,” said Councillor David Elderton, when Jemma was named Merseyside Young Volunteers of the Year.

Carrying the Olympic torch is further recognition of her outstanding contribution to sport in her community.

Watch our video profile of Jemma.

Not many people can claim to have turned around the fortunes of a rugby team when they were just aged 17 but that’s exactly what Mark Stockman did.

Ever since Mark started playing rugby aged 10, the sport has been a large part of his life. His love of rugby began when a friend brought a leaflet into school about a local rugby league team and he’s never looked back.

Mark quickly moved up the ranks and was picked to play for Gateshead Thunder and internationally for Scotland, but it wasn’t just playing that he was passionate about.

As well as being a talented player, Mark proved himself to be an excellent coach and he volunteered both at his club and within the North East Rugby League development camps which are aimed at the best players in each age group.

When he and his dad first started coaching the under-15s at his club, the Wallsend Eagles, there were barely enough players to field a team but Mark soon changed that.

“To start with we only had 13 players but we built the squad up to 20 by encouraging the players to bring friends along. I have a passion for rugby league, and all my family are all rugby league fans, and I wanted to share my love with other people.”

Despite still being at college, Mark ran training sessions twice a week and attended matches, as well as helping behind the scenes by organising kit and holding monthly meetings.

All of the hard work was worth it though as against the odds the team won the North East Cup, as Mark explains: “We were a bit nervous as we knew we had to play against some very good teams who could beat us but on the day we pulled out all the stops and won it.”

As well as achieving team success, Mark has also helped players succeed individually as one boy he coached went on to play for Scotland under-16s and 18s and got picked to play for Super League’s most successful team the Leeds Rhinos.

Mark has now moved away to Sheffield where he is studying Sports and Exercise Science and playing professionally for Sheffield Eagles but he is keen to keep coaching as he is passionate about helping others to improve.
“I definitely want to keep volunteering, it’s exciting to see the people who you coach develop and go on and do well. If I can help five youngsters go on and do well then that makes it all worthwhile.

My dad is still involved at Wallsend and whenever I’m home I always go along to help – I’ll always want to be involved in that club.”

View photos of Mark with the torch.

Click here to find out more about Mark's club - Wallsend Eagles.
The Eagles are on Twitter: @EaglesRL.
Mark is also on Twitter: @MarkStockman29.
Click here to find out more about Sheffield Eagles.

Encouraged by his family at a young age, Steve Betts became obsessed with sport, playing cricket at Whitburn CC, football for Roker Boys Club and rugby at school in Newcastle before qualifying as a PE teacher in 1970. However, over the last 40 years it’s volleyball that has gradually become the centre of Steve’s life but, if it wasn’t for his first Head of Department, he would probably never have given it a go. When he was asked to teach volleyball Steve agreed but realised he would have to learn how to play first, as he knew nothing about the sport!

“I started off doing a basic coaching award and for a long time I was just one step ahead of the kids”, he explains. “We set up a volleyball team and played with some success in the local schools league. When the pupils left school and there wasn’t a club in the area they asked me if they could start one and I agreed, with help from some parents, to set up a community club at Highfield School in Felling”. 

From there Steve’s dedication to the sport grew as he continued to expand the Gateshead club until he was coaching teams from local to national league level and, in 1981, he was named National League ‘Coach of the year’.

A career move to Walbottle Campus led to the formation of Newcastle Schools volleyball teams with help from colleagues and eventually an amalgamation of the two groups, which continued to play in the national league as Gateshead, with former players taking over coaching and administrative duties.

In his spare time Steve combined playing weekend local club cricket and rugby with regular volleyball coaching, as well as taking on various administrative roles for the regional volleyball association including his current role as northern counties chairman but it was inevitable that he should become involved in training coaches.

For over 25 years Steve has run courses across the region and has encouraged hundreds of people to pass on his love of the sport and says “It’s especially rewarding to see people that I introduced to the game going on to set up clubs and coach the next generation of players”.  In 1994 Steve Ovett presented him with a “Services to Northern Sport” award from the Sports Council

Over the years Steve has introduced thousands of young people to volleyball and it is the desire to get more young people playing sport that still motivates him.  Since retiring from teaching he has turned his attention to developing volleyball in Tynedale where he now lives, working with the schools, running taster sessions, coaching at the Hexham-based club and organising numerous school and club tournaments across the region. “Volleyball is a great game for young people, it’s fun and very social, the basic skills and tactics can be learnt quickly and adapted to suit all levels of ability, allowing it to be competitive from an early stage.”

Steve’s hard work hasn’t gone unrecognised nationally. He was named Volleyball England’s Volunteer of the Year in 2011 and reached the final ten for BBC’s Unsung Hero Award, and now he can add Olympic Torchbearer to that list – an honour he’s looking forward to greatly.

“Since visiting the Berlin Olympic Stadium in 1965 and standing beside the cauldron during a junior football exchange with Roker I’ve been a keen supporter of the Olympic movement and its values and have visited a few stadiums when holidaying around Europe. I’ve also been to Olympia and seen where the torch is lit so it’s exciting to think I’ll be carrying it through my home town and be involved in something that I’ve loved for so long.”

View photos of Steve with the torch.

Watch our video profile of Steve.

For many people a stroke would mark the end of their sporting career, but Jon Williams saw it as an opportunity to pass his love of orienteering to the next generation.

Jon had always been a keen sportsman, who represented his county at athletics whilst at school and regularly ran marathons, but for the last forty years orienteering has been his passion.

Since he took up the sport as a 24-year-old teacher, he has competed internationally and been an active member of his local orienteering club as a coach, organiser and competitor.

Unfortunately, a bad stroke in 2005 meant that Jon now uses a wheelchair and cannot be as active as he once was, but he has refused to let that stop him and has invested even more time in helping others enjoy orienteering.

“When I had my stroke it was quite debilitating but I have continued to volunteer by controlling, planning and organising orienteering events”, Jon says.

“As well as doing this, I do quite a bit of mentoring work in the local community, working with people who have difficulties or are unemployed.”

Jon is motivated to volunteer because he believes that orienteering is a sport that can offer far-reaching benefits, as he explains: “Orienteering is a social education - it offers social interaction, helps build self-confidence and introduces young people to the countryside. I’m glad I can help people enjoy orienteering and encourage them to try it.”

Jon’s background in athletics means that he is looking forward to the Olympics and is pleased to be part of the Games. He says: “It was a surprise to be picked as a torchbearer and I was delighted to be chosen. All of my children and grandchildren will be coming along to watch me carry the torch.”


Click here to find out more about Jon's club - the Cleveland Orienteering Klub.

Matt Lloyd didn’t enjoy sport when he was younger. Born with Spina Bifida and club feet, he was never encouraged to participate in sport competitively. “At school, when we would have athletics P.E. lessons, they wanted to include me somehow. This usually involved me raking the sandpit for the long jump. For me sport had a bad image and I had no interest in it.” He has come a long way since then and he is now a successful sportsman, having represented Great Britain in two sporting disciplines. He has even invented a sport himself!

Matt’s first interest in taking part in sport came when he was watching television and flicked over to see sledge ice hockey. He had thought that only seriously disabled athletes could take part in the Paralympics and so when he saw this he decided that he would start playing himself in 2004. He was soon identified as a real talent and began playing with the British Paralympic team. He went on to represent Great Britain at the 2006 Paralympic Games in Turin and when he returned he was inspired to help out people with a similar background to him. “The 2006 games were really exciting and a true highlight for me. I was lucky to go places quickly and to find a sport that engaged me. Not everyone has had these chances. I was determined to help others start playing sport.”

Matt was selected to be an athlete to transfer to a different sport upon his return from Turin, when he took up sitting volleyball. “Great Britain didn’t really play sitting volleyball as it had nearly died out in the 1980s. Once London 2012 was announced it was a goal for every sport to be represented so I was asked to start playing.” Matt has represented Great Britain and counts playing at the 2007 European Championships as a highlight as well as setting up a team in Hull. “We invited the only other two teams in the country to play and we beat them both. That was particularly satisfying!”

Matt is currently a development lead for the Ice Skating Association and is determined to get more disabled people and disadvantaged people involved in winter sports. “Only 4% of people using ice rinks are disabled and improving that is a real target for me. Planet Ice and Silver Blades, the largest ice-rink chains, are providing weekly free sessions for disabled people.”  Matt goes into schools as part of his work to give kids opportunities to play sports which were unavailable to him when he was growing up. He invented Inline Sledge Hockey which can be played in sports halls - an activity that all people can participate in, able-bodied or disabled.

Matt is very excited that the Olympics and Paralympics will be coming to London in 2012. “It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see such a large event. I didn’t even know that I was being nominated to be a torchbearer so to see the email telling me that I had been chosen was a bolt from the blue. I was shocked and it is great to know that my work is appreciated. Being selected shows that the Olympics and Paralympics can cross over and that people can be involved in both.” Matt has been invited to the opening and closing ceremonies and three people that he recruited to sledge hockey have been chosen to be a part of the Paralympic Inspiration Programme, which will see them being able to visit the athletes’ village. “I am really proud to see these people that I got involved in sport being recognised. It is why I do what I do.”

View photos of Matt with the torch.

When the torch comes to North Yorkshire on June 19, it will mark the climax of two years of Olympic campaigning for local teenager Scott Stockdale.

Since 2010, Scott has been volunteering in his secondary school and in several primary schools across Knaresborough to help students learn about the Olympic values and get more involved in sport.

Scott helped to establish an Olympic committee which is working to promote the Games in all areas of school life. As well as organising sporting activities, speaking about the Olympic movement in assemblies and organising a ‘500 days to go’ event, Scott’s become a role model for a lot of the younger students and has inspired many of them to try new sports.

Talking about why he volunteers, Scot says: “I think it is vital that the next generation appreciate what a fantastic event the Olympics in London will be. The reason I do it is simple; I just love seeing young people being actively engaged in sport, it makes me smile.”

As well as promoting the Olympic spirit in his local community, Scott has shared his enthusiasm for the Games around the country by volunteering at the last two Sainsbury’s School Games and speaking at the London 2012 head offices.

Scott also has grand plans for the day when he will be running with the torch, he explains:
“When the Olympic torch travels past my school in Knaresborough, we are planning to have a big celebratory day for all of the local primary school pupils.”

They will have the chance to take part in sporting activities like bean bag throwing and running relays. We will also have Olympic-themed stalls to raise money which will be used to buy sports equipment for the local community.”

Whilst the primary school children of Knaresborough will be having fun at Scott’s school, he will be relishing being part of London 2012 when he runs with the torch.

“When I first discovered the news I was shocked and speechless. When I got the email I shut down my computer and then rebooted it just to make sure that I hadn’t hallucinated and that I really was a torchbearer!

“Being selected to be a torchbearer means such a lot to me. I try to lead my life following the Olympic and Paralympic Values. Also, as I love simply watching the Olympics and sports in general, playing a role in one of the greatest shows on Earth will be the best possible feeling.”

Scott’s volunteering will not end after London 2012 as he intends to become part of the Sport England programme Sport Makers which aims to recruit 40,000 people to make sport happen in their local community.

In Scott’s own words, “Bring on the summer”!

Watch our video profile of Scott.

View photos of Scott with the torch.

Ellie is an enthusiastic volunteer who likes nothing better than making the children she works with smile and have fun. She has been volunteering since 2010 and she currently runs multi-skills sport sessions every Saturday as well as helping out at her local Brownies as a young leader.

She started taking multi-skill sessions one year ago. They are designed to help young children to develop the fundamentals of movement, co-ordination, agility and balance. She started to get involved in volunteering when she took part in Step Into Sport Young Volunteers and helped out with her local tennis and rugby clubs.  Ellie also began Sports Leaders at her school, and was soon taking the multi-skills classes. “I just enjoy working with children and I like to have fun, which I can do on Saturdays with the kids. They have always got some story to tell me.” There are about twenty children in each session, which she runs with two other people.

Ellie has crammed a lot of activity into her sixteen years. She has played for Keswick Hockey Club since she was eleven, has taken part in a series of dance events called Rock Challenge for five years and in 2010 she volunteered on a summer sport ‘Megacamp’where children take part in activities that are similar to her multi-skills classes.

Asked about her highlights from her experiences, Ellie is very modest: “Last summer I coached cricket at my local primary school. A lot of the kids have moved up to my secondary school and a highlight is when they say hi to me, knowing they recognise me and appreciate my help.” She hopes to continue to coach cricket this year.

In terms of the future, Ellie is studying for her AS levels and is thinking about university and beyond. “I would like to be a primary school teacher, and maybe study sports science at university. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a teacher if it wasn’t for me starting my volunteering. That has made my mind up.”

Ellie sees being a torchbearer as being a once in a lifetime opportunity. “It’s brilliant and I am very excited about being a torchbearer! I remember looking at the email telling me I was selected and couldn’t believe it. I went to Rock Challenge that evening and everyone was so happy for me. I loved sharing the news.” She is the only torchbearer in her school. Ellie will be watching the Olympics this year and is particularly looking forward to seeing Usain Bolt, “as long as he doesn’t false start!”


Click here to find out more about Multi-Skills.

Sixteen-year-old Emma’s passion for cycling began when she started riding and racing at Dowson Primary School’s Go-Ride club at the age of 11. After two years she was forced to stop racing due to illness, but she did not let that stop her being involved. Instead, she threw herself into volunteering with the local cycling community.

Emma now volunteers as a coach at the same primary school club of which she was a member and she gets a real kick out of seeing the children improve as riders. She currently coaches around 30 young people.

Emma is also a popular and respected volunteer at the Manchester velodrome, where she helps out by carrying out duties like signing in riders for their races. She also does a similar role at track leagues in the area. Emma says they usually get over 100 people racing at the league meetings, so she has to be on the ball to ensure everything runs smoothly. As part of her art diploma, Emma is studying photography and was able to get a press pass to the Revolutions race meeting. She even had a chance to interview current world champion cyclist Mark Cavendish, and she credits her confidence to approach him as partly being down to her experience of volunteering.

Her hard work and selfless dedication has been noticed in the world of cycling, and her proudest moment was being named North West Young Volunteer of the Year by British Cycling in 2011 at their awards dinner. “It was a great event and I was so proud to get the award”, said Emma.

Asked why she puts in up to 10 hours a week to help others out, Emma told us that it was all about helping people to become better cyclists. “I still want to have a link to, and involvement in, cycling despite my own setbacks. Most of all, it’s the feeling of helping the little ones out that I enjoy.”

She says that her volunteering has also helped her to develop herself. “It has given me new confidence and taught me how to engage with people of different ages, abilities and backgrounds. One minute I am telling the kids how to improve and the next I am explaining why to their parents! I could never have done that before.”

In the future, Emma aims to get her level one and two coaching qualifications, and become a qualified commissaire – similar to an umpire or referee - at race meetings. She also hopes to be able to get back to riding again.

Being a torchbearer means a lot to Emma. “It’s unbelievable, and when I tell people about it they can’t believe it either. I’m so excited to be involved and it’s a big honour. Getting this, and things like my volunteering award, make all the hard work worthwhile.”

Emma also can’t wait for the Olympics in London, and is particularly looking forward to seeing how Team GB’s track cycling team fare as she has seen them train at the velodrome.


You can keep up to date with Emma's work on Twitter: @Emma_Louise9.

Jack is a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy and has been playing table tennis for six years. He has gone from absolute beginner to Great Britain level in that period, and is not just a champion in wheelchair table tennis – he also plays at a county level in non-disabled table tennis.

Sixteen-year-old Jack began playing table tennis when he was 11, after he had heard that the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics were coming to London. “I thought to myself that I might be able to compete, so I decided to take up table tennis”. Jack went to his local community centre and started playing. He has not looked back since. “I think they were surprised that I wanted to play. I was too scared to go to the first session alone, so someone from Barnardos went along with me.”

Jack now travels the world playing wheelchair table tennis for Team GB, including tournaments in Denmark, Romania, Greece and Germany. He is one of 15 in the squad and although he just missed out on the 2012 Paralympics, he has his sights set on winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics.

Jack spends 30 hours a week training (including travelling from Widnes to Sheffield twice a week) and as well as playing at a high level, Jack coaches in his community. He spends three to four hours a week holding sessions with over-fifties who have heart problems, and also visits primary and secondary schools to coach children, demonstrate his skills and inspire others to take up the sport. Seeing people play and enjoy themselves is something that Jack particularly enjoys: “Table tennis has given me so much enjoyment and confidence. I have made lots of friends through the sport and I started coaching to give something back. Before I played table tennis, I used to just sit at home playing on my X-Box. Now, I am travelling the world winning tournaments!” Jack sees table tennis as a great way for people to connect. “Everyone seems to have played it some time in the past, and it is an easy game to pick up. I can play against able-bodied people, so it is a great way to break down barriers and encourage participation for all.”

Jack’s success as a player can be seen in his results. He won the UK school games wheelchair competition three years in a row, he is Junior National champion, won silver at the Senior Championships and won bronze at the Romanian Open. Jack was also the first wheelchair player to play at county level in able bodied table tennis. He currently ranks as number 35 in the world and has been challenged by the GB coaches to get into the top 20 by July this year.

Jack is delighted to be a torchbearer. “I took up table tennis because of the announcement of London 2012 so this is a fantastic opportunity. The Olympics will be the biggest and best thing on the planet this year. It is always good to be recognised by being selected for prestigious things like this. I didn’t expect to be chosen to be a torchbearer because of the amount of people nominated.” Jack will be completing his leg of the torchbearer relay in Lancaster, and a mini-bus full of his family and friends will travel there to cheer him on.


Click here to find out more about Jack.
Follow Jack on Twitter to keep up to date with his table tennis - @jackhunters

In 2000 June set up the Abraham Moss Warriors Football Club, coaching at the club six nights every week - and fundraising on the seventh. Her dedication to the sport that she loves is demonstrated by the amount of time she is willing to commit – an incredible 55 hours a week.

Asked what motivates her to give up so much of her time, June says: “When I see the kids enjoying themselves, I enjoy it too. I want to pass on skills to the children and see them benefit, and then in turn to see them pass on their skills to others.”

One example of her tireless work was to force the FA to change its rules because Muslim players on her teams were unable to take pitch-side drinks during Ramadan.

In addition, her club was recently hit by significant spending cuts, but this didn’t deter her from seeking funding from elsewhere and working with other organisations to rebuild it.

In 2009 she was recognised as the Manchester City Council Citizen of the Year, and also won the Pride of Manchester award for her voluntary work. She won the unsung hero award and the Be Inspired award at the Greater Manchester Sports Awards in 2010.

Upon hearing that she had been chosen as a torchbearer June said “I’m really excited, it’s a huge honour. I carried the torch 20 years ago running from one school to another and the torch kept going out. I still have the pictures so running ahead of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a great experience and hopefully it will inspire others like it inspired me”.

View our  video profile of June.

During her time at South Holderness Secondary School Aimee Lindley gave up six or seven hours a week to help out in sport at both her school and within the community.
She was committed to setting up and running a new girls’ football team at AFC Preston with roles including advertising for new players, delivering weekly sessions and entering the team in the local under-12 league. A committed volunteer, Aimee helped her fellow students by assisting with refereeing and coaching.

Aimee is now in her eighth season playing football and wants to get more girls involved in the sport.

At just 18, Aimee has put a lot of time and effort into helping her community and her ambition doesn’t stop there. Over the last two seasons Aimee has worked hard coaching the under-14 girls’ team at AFC Preston and trying to encourage more girls into the sport. She hopes to start up a younger and an older team at the club so that even more girls can benefit from the sport in the same way she has.

Aimee has previously been named by East Riding of Yorkshire Council as Junior Volunteer of the Year and has also achieved over 180 hours on the Step into Sport programme which allows young volunteers to record their hours and receive recognition for the time they have given back to their communities.

When she was told that she had been chosen to be a torchbearer Aimee was shocked. “It’s quite an honour to be nominated”, she explains.

She is excited about running with the torch but admits to being nervous. Aimee is also looking forward to the Olympics and thinks it will help to encourage young people to take up sport. She says, “It’s great that we have the Olympics in this country and that schools are getting the kids excited about it.”


Click here to find out more about Aimee's club - AFC Preston.

Despite not learning to ride until he was 12-years-old, James Unwin is now using his passion for cycling to inspire young people to take up the sport.

From the moment he first got on a bike James has loved cycling and over the last three years he has shared this love with dozens of others through his role as a voluntary coach.

The 17-year-old first started to volunteer in 2008 after joining his local cycling club, the Sheffield Stars Cycle Speedway. The club quickly noticed his coaching potential and asked him to help out with some of the younger riders.

“I mainly coach the under-10s which can be quite a challenge at times as they sometimes don’t listen, but it is great too as when they learn a new skill their faces are brilliant.”

James quickly rose through the ranks and after attending a training programme he took on more coaching work which was recognised when he was named British Cycling’s Young Volunteer of the Year and South Yorkshire Young Volunteer of the Year.

As well as being a coach, James - who is severely dyslexic - has become an excellent role model for young people. He recently taught a young boy with dyspraxia to ride a bike and inspired him to compete in a race.

James hopes that London 2012 will also act as an inspiration, saying: “The main thing I’m looking forward to about the Olympics is the legacy and the number of young people who will be able to become involved in sport. The legacy means that there’ll be more people having fun and in the future more young athletes doing well.”

Looking to the future, James hopes to start officiating as well as coaching and even moving away from the Sheffield for university won’t stop him as he’s determined to keep helping others enjoy cycling.

View our video profile of James.

After playing football from a young age, Mathew Slator decided that he wanted to make more of his passion and began volunteering as a referee. At the age of 15 he became the youngest deaf referee in the UK. He has been volunteering for over a year and currently works with between 10 and 30 disabled children.

Mathew was introduced to football through the Scunthorpe United Community Sports and Education Trust and National Deaf Children’s Society’s Deaf Friendly Football initiative, which enabled him to overcome his shyness and increased his confidence. He is now a regular face at disability football festivals in Lincolnshire, where he continues to progress as a referee.

In the future, Mathew hopes to make sport a career. His commitment to sport and his ability to overcome obstacles has led to him being described as an inspirational figure for the on-going development of disability football.

Mathew says he was shocked when he learnt he was going to be a torchbearer and is very much looking forward to it. “I am so happy and I can’t believe I am going to be a torchbearer. Wow, I can’t wait,” he said.

Despite being unable to play netball for the whole of last year due to injury, schoolgirl Sophie Bingham has dedicated herself to the sport in Leicestershire.

Sophie has volunteered across every aspect of netball in her community- helping out young and old alike. She volunteers at her local netball club, co-ordinates her own netball team, plays a lead role with her own school team, and even finds time to help encourage adults to play the sport as part of the Sport England funded Back to Netball campaign.

“I started volunteering in sport as part of the Duke of Edinburgh scheme,” Sophie says. “ To be honest it was a bit  of a tick-box exercise. However when I saw what an impact I could have on other people, I soon changed my mind.”

Having been inspired by the work that she has done in the community Sophie now wants to study sports science at university. “Working in sport has really opened my eye. You get to know people for who they are inside.”

‘I was really surprised, but also really proud when I found out I’d been nominated as a torchbearer, Sophie says. “It’s the greatest thing and it will be really good for my school to see one of us taking part in something to amazing. The Olympic values that  the athletes will exhibit during the Games will teach everyone positive lessons. It’s about being the best you can be, whatever you do.

Watch Sophie in action with our video profile of her.

Jill Stidever MBE has been involved in disability swimming in Leicestershire for more than fifty years.

She has worked tirelessly at every level – introducing new swimmers to the water and watching them grow in confidence at the same time as nurturing many Paralympic GB’s stars at the beginning of their careers.

At 74 Jill threatens to retire – but no on takes it seriously as she continues to work as hard as ever – coaching, mentoring and officiating. boast a proud history of more than half a century of coaching, mentoring and officiating. She currently spends a lot of her time in schools, both mainstream and special, helping children with disabilities take their first swim.

“I’ve always found it rewarding,” Jill says. “I really enjoy working hands-on with severely-impaired young people. It’s not just about helping them be safe in the water, it’s about giving them freedom of movement, perhaps for the first time.”
Jill says that she feels extremely humble to have been nominated as a torchbearer. “What I do is just what I do,” she says. “It never occurred to me my work would recognised in such an amazing way.” Naturally Jill is looking forward to both the Olympic and Paralympic Games – but it’s the latter she’s most excited about watching. “The chance to watch Paralympic GB’s swimmers compete in home waters, showcasing their abilities will be amazing.”

Find out more about Jill with our video profile of her.

Inspired to make a difference in disability sport by her daughter, Beryl Horton began working to raise money to build a swimming pool for a local school in 1971.

Following this, she began to volunteer for a small group in Burton-on-Trent and took over its running in 1985. Today this group is known as CREST and provides opportunities for disabled people to take part in a range of sporting activities.

“People with disabilities need encouragement to get involved in sport”, said Beryl. And that is precisely what she provides. Over the last 30 years she has organised a countless number of sports days, fun days and adventure weeks away help to engage disabled people in sport.

As well as creating opportunities like these, Beryl spends her evenings and weekends coaching Unihoc and swimming and runs a weekly youth club. She also organises a coach from ESBC to come along and coach five a side football.

Beryl has been the national swimming team leader for Royal Mencap for more than 20 years taking the national team to a tournament in Geneva every year. She is now responsible for selecting swimmers from the Gala in Sheffield and organising the annual visit to Geneva. Thanks to all her work with the organisation, she recently became an honorary life member.

At 71 years of age, and after more than 30 years of working in disability sport, Beryl shows no signs of stopping. Next on the list is a trip to the national swimming gala in Sheffield, which is the qualifying event for Geneva, followed hopefully by another trip to the championships. Beryl’s commitment to sport is unquestionable and she is excited for what the future holds. “I’m always looking for new ideas”, she said.

Her role as torchbearer has come as a big surprise, “It’s a great honour and I’m really proud to have the opportunity to carry the torch”. Beryl works with a lot of people and they are all very excited for her. Many are hoping to be there to provide support on the day. “We might have to put on a mini-bus to get them all there”, she said.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games mean a lot to Beryl who said, “It’s a very exciting time to have it in this country.”

Pritesh has been a sports volunteer for over 25 years. His sport is badminton and he has given most of his volunteering time to Bidgley Badminton Club.

When he first began at the club there were few participants. His hard work transformed the club’s fortunes. It now has 15 coaches helping over 200 people improve their skills with a shuttlecock every week.

The club is based in hugely deprived part of Birmingham and is aimed at young people between the age of 9-18. Pritesh works hard to make sure it is open and welcoming to all. It was the first disabled club in the West Midlands, with 24 disabled participants. Pritesh also dedicates a lot of time to encouraging participants from ethnic minority backgrounds to get involved, as well as running women only sessions.

Being chosen as a torchbearer is: “Absolutely immense,” Pritesh says. “It was a lifetime achievement to even be nominated. I can’t wait to see the Games and I hope they will inspire more people to take part in sport. The Games is about inspiration and excellence, about doing the best that you can. It’s about friendship, team spirit and camaraderie. It brings people together. ”

Pritesh was a Ugandan refugee and came over to the UK when he was just seven years old. When asked about why he is motivated to volunteer he said that “I want to give something back to the community that took me in. It’s rewarding to help other people.”

Jasmine Morris lives for football, and started playing at the age of seven. 10 years on, it is safe to say that she has managed to pack in more volunteering and community work than what most people twice her age have done. From being a junior leader with the Brownies to visiting South Africa in 2010 to coach football in orphanages, Jasmine is a worthy torchbearer.

As well as playing for Rugby Town Ladies Football Club, Jasmine coaches its under-12s girls’ team on Saturday mornings. She began coaching four years ago, and joined the coaching staff at Rugby Town a year later. The under-12s team currently have 15 members, and Jasmine loves working with the team. “After years of playing and being involved with things like the Brownies, I started to do coaching as I wanted to get more involved with helping young people. I wanted to give something back.”

Her work does not end there. She is also involved with local schools, visiting them to hold coaching sessions, and she also works with the Birmingham FA to coach football, disability football and futsal (a version of football focused on improving technique, played indoors using a smaller, heavier ball).

Jasmine says that she averages four to five hours a week of community work, and she is driven to carry on by the changes that she sees in the children that she works with. “Most girls are not as good as the boys and do not know much about football when they first start to play”, says Jasmine. “Seeing them improve is brilliant and I love helping people to become better players.”

Her trip to South Africa in 2010 was a particular highlight in her coaching career so far. “I went with the FA to raise the profile of football, particularly women’s football, in South Africa. Over there playing football is not very popular amongst girls.” The trip gave her the chance to meet fellow young volunteers from around England, spending five days in Johannesburg and five days in Cape Town, visiting schools and orphanages to hold coaching sessions for children. “It was an amazing experience, and at the start of the weeks more boys than girls turned up to my coaching sessions. By the end, we were getting a lot more girls coming along.” The trip made Jasmine determined to carry on with her work at Rugby Town FC and in the local area, and she hopes to go on more overseas trips in the future.

The awards that Jasmine has won are testament to her passion and hard work:

Coventry, Solihull & Warwickshire Young Sports Volunteer 2011;
Rugby Borough Young Volunteer of the Year Award 2011 and 2012;
Birmingham County FA Young Leader of the Year Winner 2011;
West Midlands Young Volunteer of the Year Awards 2011;
Rugby Town Girls Young Leader of the Year 2011.

Jasmine is thrilled to have been selected as a torchbearer, and struggled to put into words how she felt. “It’s just so exciting, and I can’t wait for the Olympics. It’s great that it’s coming to England.” Despite not being able to get any tickets, she is still looking forward to watching the Games on TV, especially the football.


Click here to find out more about Jasmine's club - Rugby Town FC.
Click here to find out more about Jasmine's achievements with RTFC.
Jasmine is also on Twitter - @jasmineMORRIS - and you can also visit her Tumblr page here.

When she was at school, Charlotte Burrows took it upon herself to help out in PE lessons and at lunchtime sports practice sessions. Encouraged by her PE teachers she has continued with her volunteer work and now coaches the under-nines team at her local cricket club.

Described as an inspiration and role model, Charlotte spends around six hours a week helping other people get involved in sport. In the last year alone she has contributed over 150 hours in both school and community sport including football, cricket and athletics. “The best thing is helping kids progress and seeing them happy doing sport”, she said.

In 2010, Charlotte was one of the Northamptonshire FA Group of Advanced Leaders where she was selected to attend the national leadership camp. She also took home the 2010 Young Leader award at the Northamptonshire Sports Awards.

Charlotte, who is currently at university, is hoping to become a PE teacher and use the skills she has built up over the years to help more children get into sport.

Being told she was to be a torchbearer came as quite a shock to Charlotte. She said, “I didn’t really believe it. I had to read the email quite a few times before I took it in. Obviously it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was great to be nominated.”

Charlotte is looking forward to the Olympics and is excited that a worldwide event is coming to London. “It’s a really big thing for everyone – it’s great that it’s coming to this country.”

Netball umpire and coach, Jill Harrison is so excited about being a torchbearer that she has been practicing running with the torch whenever she has a chance.

Since she found out she was going to be an Olympic torchbearer, she has been practising her run by running around her office and around the streets near her house with an umbrella held aloft like a torch!

Jill was nominated to carry the torch in recognition of the countless hours she has invested into netball in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire over the last 40 years.

Her involvement in netball started when she joined a work team and volunteered to lead the training sessions and umpire. Since then she has not stopped, as she explains:

“When I moved house to Cambridgeshire in 1978 I joined a new team. Eventually I ended up running the team taking them through into Cambridge Premier League. I qualified as an A Award umpire and a level two coach and was regularly part of the umpiring team for some of the county squads in the region. I also became part of the committees running the league and eventually chair of the county committee for over 5 years”

Unfortunately due to injury, Jill had to stop playing when she was 55-years-old but she has remained just as active within the netball community. As well as being the chair for both the county and league, she has set up under-14 and under-16 leagues in Cambridgeshire and regularly organises the league & tournaments to ensure that everyone can play on a regular basis.

At the peak of her volunteering Jill was taking part in netball several times a week, a level of dedication that has seen her referred to as the Godmother of Netball; but she wouldn’t have it any other way, saying:

“I’ve spent a lot of time in netball, it’s a massive part of my life and I have met so many people of all ages through it. I just love it and it seems second nature to be doing it now, it keeps me busy and it brings me a lot of happiness.”

Jill is now passing on her passion to umpires of the future by mentoring people through their umpiring qualifications and some of these girls are now involved with the Maverick’s Superleague team which is the top league in the UK.

As well as passing on her love of the netball, Jill already has plans for passing on the Olympic torch that she is running with, as she intends to leave it to her grandson who will be coming to watch her run.

Talking about the relay, Jill says: “I am so excited for the Olympics because I think in my lifetime they’ll never be in our country again. I feel really privileged to be part of it and it’s a lovely acknowledgement for all the hours I’ve put in.”

Watch our video profile of Jill.

Matt is involved in swimming and rowing in his home town of Peterborough, juggling his volunteering and busy school-work schedule. He is Assistant Junior Coordinator and Junior Representative on the rowing committee at the Peterborough Rowing Club. At the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, Matt runs swimming meets and coaches young people of a wide range of ages and abilities.

He started swimming competitively at the age of 12 and got involved in volunteering as a coach when he was 14. He has swum at a county level, and has competed at a national level in rowing. Asked why he started volunteering, Matt told us that at first he wanted to know how the clubs worked. “I enjoyed it so much that I decided I wanted to organise more things and help others out.”

He coaches swimming three times a week and works primarily with children aged eight to 15. He enjoys being involved with people with different levels of ability. In a three-month period, he clocked up 171 hours with both the rowing and the swimming clubs, working throughout the week and at weekends. Matt told us that attending events at weekends involve long days. “Sometimes you are leaving at 8am and getting home at 8pm on regatta day events.”

At the end of the day, however, he is happy to do this because he enjoys helping others to improve. “I really enjoy seeing others progress and getting their own satisfaction. It is very rewarding and motivates me to continue to help out with the clubs. The reason why I have got so involved was that the more I put in the more I wanted to do.”

Matt has been rewarded for all of his efforts, winning the BBC East Young Volunteer of the Year in 2010, the Living Sport County Volunteer of the Year and also a Peterborough Evening Telegraph sport award for. Matt is about to do his GCSEs and will start studying for A-Levels in September. He wants to keep involved with sport, and continue coaching rowing and swimming. “While I am able to and I am enjoying it, I will carry on volunteering.”

He is certainly going to enjoy himself as a torchbearer, and is ecstatic about his selection. “It’s amazing and I am very excited. It is incredible and makes everything worthwhile. I have had to be disciplined and very organised to focus on my training and my work with the clubs, and not do things like go out on a Friday night with my mates.” Matt will be running in Spalding and hopes that lots of people will turn out to cheer him on. “I am really looking forward to the Olympics in the summer, and for the country to host it is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. Being a torchbearer is a fantastic honour because I feel that I am playing a part in the Olympics.”


You can keep up to date with Matt's work on Twitter - @MattNewton1.

“I just love working with kids to help them become better archers,” says John Willson. His love for archery has been clear since he first began to get involved with the sport 25 years ago, when he was asked to look into taking kids from his Salvation Army Boys Adventurers Club to archery classes. John went along to a session and realised the fun and potential for archery. He was hooked.

John recently retired from his role as Chair of the National Junior Committee at Archery GB, where he was instrumental in leading on the archery development programme and the badge scheme for young archers to encourage them to aim for developing their talents. He wrote the GCSE syllabus six years ago that was implemented with the blessing of school examination boards and travelled the country linking clubs to sports colleges and getting coaches into schools. His efforts have seen over 1,000 children take part in archery in schools that John has worked with. “Archery is a sport for all, and I like to see people of all ages, abilities and physical conditions being able to participate and have fun.”

John is also involved with talent identification at Archery GB and coaches their junior team. He is a senior member of the thriving Rayleigh Town Archery Club, which counts nearly seventy children as members. The club works with two local schools to coach pupils and uses a player pathway system to encourage them to join Rayleigh Town. He has also organised a competition for the last 10 years for kids from 13 schools to take part in. He has also organised for the last eight years the Southern Junior Archery Competition. In 2011, 110 archers from 14 counties took part. The competition was based upon the legacy theme and Andrew Devlin (the senior boy) held a legacy banner and read out the Olympic oath. There were also fireworks to celebrate the occasion and they will be doing the same this year as this year is the real thing and the Olympics are here in Great Britain

This year, 18 new children have joined the club from schools. John is keen to recognise the need for new generations of archers and coaches and as a result of his nomination and recommendation, a 23-year-old member of Rayeigh Town has become a team leader gamesmaker volunteer at the Olympics. Five club members are also taking level-one coaching courses.

John counts the upcoming building of a new facility to cater for disabled people wanting to participate in archery as a major highlight in his service to the sport. His key role in securing the funding makes him proud. He also points to the role that he has played in encouraging others to take up the sport as something that he has relished, whilst he was honoured to have been awarded the Archery GB Hartwell Trophy for service to archery upon his retirement. Most of all his work to help children improve their archery is his greatest satisfaction, indeed three or four people that he has coached have gone on to represent the senior squad for Archery GB.

When John read the email confirming his selection as a torchbearer, he had to re-read it a few times. “My jaw just dropped open. I was amazed! To be a torchbearer is a real honour.” He thinks the Olympics will be a great event and has tickets to see the Archery at Lord’s. John says that “legacy is the main thing about these games. New generations of children need a way of coming into sport and the Olympics have given us this golden opportunity; let’s use it wisely.”


Click here to find out more about John's club - Rayleigh Town Archery Club.

Self-confessed sports nut Grahame Bowles worked as a PE teacher for 40 years and has been involved in his local sports council/ Community Sports Network for 44 years and has been Chair for the past 24 years. He is also Chair of the Hertfordshire Sports Partnership a superb team of enthusiasts promoting sport in the County.  His commitment to sport is unquestionable and he is passionate about making a difference in his community.

“I suppose you could say I’m a bit of a fanatic”, said Grahame, “I enjoy sport and want to see other people enjoying it as well. I get a real buzz out of seeing people taking part in sport – there is so much talent around.”

Grahame has many achievements under his belt but counts the opening of a community sports hall at Barnwell School to be one of the highlights of his career in sport. As project officer, Grahame helped to drive the project forward and secure almost £1m from Sport England to bring the plans to fruition. The facility is still in use today and is used by both the school and the local community.

Stevenage’s Sports Hall of Fame is another project close to Grahame’s heart. The series of pop-up banners shows sporting success stories from the Stevenage area and includes the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Ashley Young, Ian Poulter and a number of Olympians. He is currently putting together an Olympic banner to inspire people in the area to get excited about the upcoming Games.

Despite all the work he has done over the years, Grahame says he was “astonished” to have been chosen to become a torchbearer. “I didn’t know it was coming”, he said, “I feel very honoured.”

Grahame is very excited about the 2012 Games and said, “It’s amazing, I’m so pleased it’s coming to this country. With it on our doorstep I hope we do as well as last time”. He is definitely a believer in the ‘Inspire a Generation’ slogan and thinks that the Games are a great opportunity to inspire young people to get involved in sport.

Steve Walton retired as a volleyball referee last year after 32 years of involvement, including as a sitting volleyball referee since 1991 when he was invited to referee a match after hearing a talk about the sport. He was immediately hooked, and trained to be an international referee a year later, attending his first world championships in 1994.

Steve has sat on the national refereeing commission at Volleyball England and is the chair of the European refereeing commission for sitting volleyball, all in his spare time away from being an Anglican priest and Professor at the London School of Theology. He trains referees in both types of volleyball, and observes them in action to help them improve their skills. For sitting volleyball in particular, Steve highlights two goals for the European game: improving the quality and improving the quantity of referees. To do this, he ensures that those with most experienc are passing on their knowledge by working with younger referees at tournaments. This is something he hopes to replicate on a domestic level in England.

Steve got involved in refereeing after injury forced him to give up playing volleyball. He started coaching and refereeing, and realised that he would not be able to do both so chose the path of refereeing. In his career as a sitting volleyball referee, he officiated at three Paralympics, four World Championships and three European Championships. Steve explained that sitting volleyball is unique on a domestic level as non-disabled athletes can participate as well as disabled athletes, and the teams are mixed. This makes for a bigger competition and encourages an inspirational atmosphere around the game.

He sees the sport as being friendlier than standing volleyball. “I have made many friends from all over the world, and I have met a lot of wonderful people. The athletes are just as competitive as they are in standing volleyball, but the ‘edge’ is not there. Participants, coaches and officials all mix and get along, which you tend not to find in standing volleyball.” Forging these relationships is what makes him continue to be involved in the sport, and he also enjoys working on the technical aspect of rules and regulations (given his academic background).

The highlight of his refereeing career was the World Championships men’s final in Iran between the host nation and Finland in 1999, in front of 5,000 passionate fans. “The atmosphere was electric, something that I experienced again in 2004 when I refereed the Paralympic women’s semi final between the Dutch and the Americans.”

Steve says “being selected to be a torchbearer is a great honour”. He has been entered into the volleyball hall of fame, and received an award from Volleyball England last year for his contribution to refereeing. He was told that he was being nominated at the ceremony. “Just to be nominated was such a nice feeling, and of course I had no expectations that I would be selected. To get that confirmation was a huge surprise. Volleyball is not a sport with a lot of money in it, and we are amateurs in the best sense of the word.”

He is looking forward to the Paralympics, and seeing how the world powers in sitting volleyball get on. “Bosnia is the best men’s team, but they have never beaten Iran in a major final. They once lost 3-2, which is the closest they have got.” He is also excited to see Team GB’s progress. “The sport was only revived in this country six years ago, and the progress we have made is wonderful. I am eager to find out just how far we have come.”

Rarely a day passes when John Eastwell is not at North Hertfordshire Bowling Club. Whether it is marking out the green, mowing the banks or building a patio, John works tirelessly to ensure that the club is always ready to welcome visitors.

Since joining 16 years ago, John has always been at the heart of the club, carrying out various positions such as captain, chairman and committee member. So, when they lost the use of the council grounds keeper a few years ago, it was John who volunteered to take on the role of groundskeeper.

During his time as groundskeeper John has played a key role in a number of big projects, including relaying the turf and building a new patio. Constructing the patio required John and other volunteers to excavate a large amount of earth and mix 10 tonnes of concrete, which is no mean feat when you are in your 80s!

As well as these large projects John also goes to the clubhouse daily to tend to the green and ensure that everything is right for the two clubs who use it.

“It is a social bowling club where members experienced or not, have equal opportunity to play in Club games and internal competitions and some of our lady bowlers take part in a local women's league, I like seeing people playing on the green and enjoying it,” John said.

Despite him putting countless hours, into the club it does not feel like a job to John, as he explains: “It is my love of the club that motivates me, I like doing it. I get great satisfaction when people compliment me on the green – people call it my back garden because I’m there so often.”

John is surprised that his voluntary work has led to him becoming a torchbearer but he is looking forward to the experience. He said: “I was amazed when I found out I’d be a torchbearer, I never expected it would come to me. There are probably hundreds of people who deserve it more than me.”

“It’s great that the Olympics are coming to this country and it’s a pleasure to be able to be part of them.”

Watch our video profile of John

Gemma is an extremely determined individual who has faced a number of difficulties in her life including the debilitating Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, a malfunction of the nervous system which causes intense pain.

Such barriers have never hindered Gemma and she has blossomed in both her personal and sporting life. Whilst studying Law at Durham University, Gemma took up wheelchair fencing and has since been selected to represent Great Britain at the London 2012 Paralympic Games as part of the Wheelchair Fencing team in the Women’s Team Epee event.

Not only is she an accomplished athlete, Gemma is a committed sports volunteer. She has completed over 900 hours of sports volunteering (2008-2011) and was awarded the Step into Sport Double Gold Award for doing over 400 hours of sports volunteering in one year.

Gemma has also been chosen as a Platinum Youth Ambassador and as a result gives speeches about the importance of Sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Values (both their importance/relevance in sport and daily life). In addition she has also volunteered in a range of events from school festivals to the UK School Games and World Wheelchair Basketball Championships.

Speaking of her volunteering Gemma said: “I find it very rewarding to see people enjoy sport and to see people develop. I want others to appreciate sport as it teaches young people valuable characteristics such as determination and the ability to work as part of a team.”

Gemma’s love of sport is not just focused on volunteering and she has carved out a successful wheelchair basketball career, having been selected to play for the U25 Welsh Wheelchair Basketball Team.

When asked about her position as a torch bearer Gemma stated “It is a great honour to be involved in the Olympics. I am very excited but slightly nervous about carrying the torch, it will be a very surreal experience!” She added “There is something special and almost magical about the Olympics which you just don’t get at other major events such as World Championships. It is the pinnacle of an athlete’s career and I am proud that is occurring in London.”

You can follow Gemma on twitter: @GemmaCollis

Click here to find out more about Vale of Aylesbury Athletics Club.

Click here to find out more about Aylesbury Hockey Club

Roy has been a member of Thames Valley Harriers for over 50 years. Initially as a competitor he was a key member of the club’s road running teams and then as a coach of the young athletic teams, as his own son proved to be a talented runner.

Dedicating two evenings a week to coach the 30 strong youth team, Roy shows no sign of slowing down despite having a double hip replacement 10 years ago. Not content with being a coach, he fulfils a number of roles within the club, mini bus driver, team manager, mentor and chief barbecue organiser!

As a coach Roy has enjoyed enormous success, turning out numerous cross country, road and track teams. His highlights include one of his runners being named the sixth best cross country runner in the country and leading the Middlesex county U13 track and field team to victory. 

Roy’s dedication to community sport was recognised at the Hammersmith & Fulham Community Sports Awards in 2011, where he received the Outstanding Achievement Award. He attributes his dedication to the enjoyment of coaching children and seeing them succeed in the sport. He noted “All children need a hobby to not only keep them occupied but to teach them discipline and commitment.” 

Roy sees the Olympics as a tremendous opportunity to get more children interested in sport and has capitalised on the renewed interest in athletics by organising monthly children’s events to encourage more into the sport.

Speaking about being a torchbearer Roy noted “It is a wonderful opportunity to have been chosen to be a torchbearer, it was very difficult to keep it a secret! All my family are very excited and I hope to see them in the crowds when I am running.”


Click here to find out more about Roy's club - Thames Valley Harriers.

Born in South Africa, Pat Burgess immigrated to the UK in 1964 with her husband David, a renowned equine vet and their three children.  Having enjoyed a successful show jumping career in South Africa in the 1950s, Pat turned her skills to teaching jumping for eventers, and with the addition of twins, raising her family of five children. 

Show jumping has been a longstanding commitment of Pat’s and she has trained Olympic eventing medallists including Lucinda Green and Ginny Leng, plus dozens of other top eventers.  She has a strong reputation in the show jumping world and travels regularly to USA, South Africa and other countries to give jumping clinics and workshops to other eventers.

Pat’s passion is to help riders to create a perfect partnership with their horse on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level, thus enabling them to become a true horseman. 

She is also committed to developing horse riding for disabled people and has been involved with the Wilton Group RDA for 36 years as a Group Organiser and Instructor. In 2007 Pat received an honorary MBE in recognition of her services to disabled sport. Speaking about her work Pat noted “How lucky I am to do what I love and love what I do.”

Pat feels very honoured to have been nominated as a Torch Bearer by Sport England.  When first contacted she said “It is a great honour and surprise to be chosen as a torch bearer.  I initially thought they had got the wrong person, but I am glad they hadn’t!”   Pat is delighted to be chosen to carry the torch through Winterborne Whitechurch, where she hopes many of the RDA riders and helpers from over the years will be able to line the route and cheer the Olympic Flame on its way to London.

Find out more on Pat's website or visit the Wilton RDA website. 

Three years ago Rhiannon Lawrence had an awful accident which stopped her from achieving her dream of competing at the Olympic Games. She was a fencer in the Team GB junior squad, but a car accident left her struggling for life and her hopes of competing at London 2012 were lost.

Doctors gave Rhiannon just hours to live, but against all the odds she has recovered, and is now working to help others take part in fencing.

After recovering from her accident Rhiannon set up her own fencing club in Plymouth and hopes that through her work she will be able to inspire others to take part in a sport that she loves.

“I want to open up the sport to people who haven’t tried it before,” she says. “I want to make fencing more accessible for everyone, regardless of their backgrounds.”

Rhiannon regularly teaches 250 people a week aged between eight and 60. Some weeks she teaches fencing skills to up to 500 city schoolchildren.

Rhiannon says that she takes the most enjoyment from working with children and that she really believes that sport can help break down barriers.

Although disappointed that she is unable to compete at an elite level herself, Rhiannon has said that she is glad to be able to have the opportunity to really help others, that it is no longer about her, but about inspiring more people to take up her sport.

“I was stunned to learn I was going to be a torchbearer,” she says. “I can’t wait to play a role in the Games.”

Lewie works to develop volleyball in the Poole area of Dorset. Lewie took up the sport at the age of 10. When he reached 16 he felt that he wanted to give something back to the sport that had provided him with so much enjoyment, so he started to coach youngsters in the area.

A current player for Wessex Volleyball Club in the Wessex Volleyball National League, Lewie also runs an in school academy at Oakmead School, training kids in years eight to 11. His involvement is not just in indoor volleyball. Lewie also has a passion for beach volleyball and coaches Wessex in the junior section. He is involved in developing beach volleyball on a national stage with Volleyball England, coaching at different schools to share his wealth of experience.

Lewie’s involvement in volleyball in Dorset sees him spending 15 hours a week running the academy, 10 hours a week developing the sport in over 40 schools (including schools for children with disabilities), and a further 10 hours a week volunteering with his club and at the beaches in the area. “Coaching volleyball has provided me with enjoyment at the success that I have inspired in others.” He is currently studying sports coaching part time, and his own work and volunteering complements his course perfectly. He is grateful to have found something that he loves to do both as a career and a hobby.

Lewie’s work has not gone unnoticed, and Volleyball England named him as young coach of the year in 2011. The highlight of his work has actually been something that someone else achieved – “seeing two of the beach volleyball teams that I coach winning national titles at junior level was really enjoyable.”

The future is bright for Lewie, and he hopes to continue his studies with a sports psychology degree. He also enjoys taking part in live events and would like to get more experience of commentating on matches, as well as improving his own coaching skills.

Being selected as a torchbearer was a shock to Lewie, as he felt he had such a slim chance to be involved. “It’s was 10,000 to one chance of being chosen, so I couldn’t believe it and had to re-read the email again and again. The history of the Olympics is so important and inspirational, so to be a part of it is a fantastic opportunity.” Lewie has been lucky enough to get some tickets to beach and indoor volleyball. He has no idea what to expect on the day of his run, but knows that lots of his friends and family will be there to cheer him on in Poole, as well as those who he has coached over the years.

Freda has been involved in coaching volleyball since 1976, when she was a P.E. teacher at Ashcombe School in Dorking. At that point, she was an international volleyball player for England, with a career that spanned ten years until 1981, by which time she had amassed 94 caps (a record at the time).

Freda felt that too few people played her sport, so she decided to do something about it by setting up the Ashcombe Dorking Volleyball Club at her school. She started with children aged 14 and 15, but soon the popularity of volleyball grew and kids of all ages were playing. Their first team were eventually promoted to the first division in the National Volleyball League, where they remain to this day. The club now runs six teams, for male and female players.

In 2000, Freda was instrumental in securing a grant from the National Lottery to help build a £1 million dedicated volleyball centre at Ashcombe School, the first and only one in the country. This made a huge difference to the club and its capacity to coach future talent. Despite moving to Worthing in 1988, Freda continues to make the 65 mile round trip to Dorking twice a week to help with the running and coaching of the club, and she even found time to set up a new club in Worthing, which has become a feeder club for Ashcombe.

As well as her coaching work, Freda also tutors other coaches, is the Chair of the South East England Volleyball Association, the Treasurer of Sussex Volleyball and manager of the South East England junior team. She runs the successful Ashcombe outdoor summer tournament every year, which attracts over 100 teams and raises £6,000 for local volleyball. She also successfully raised enough money to get a beach volleyball court built in Worthing.

Freda told us that she dedicates so much time to volleyball because of her love of the sport. “I found it to be such an exciting sport and I got involved with coaching because I wanted to share it with others. When people play it for the first time they often say ‘wow, I had no idea it was this much fun!’” Her hard work has paid off and there are now 15 teams in Worthing alone, largely thanks to the success of the clubs she has set up. People that she has coached and trained have gone on to spread the word themselves. Freda enjoys the social side of the sport, and the joy that she sees it bringing people. “It gives people confidence and the chance to make good friends.”

She is proud that she has coached over 40 England players in both indoor and beach volleyball, and hearing that she is to be a torchbearer is a personal highlight for her. “It’s a true honour to have been nominated and selected. Being nominated by Sport England in particular is great because it is recognition for me and for the sport I love.” She said that getting a Torch Trophy (a national award for volunteers from all sectors, set up after the 1948 London Olympics) was a fantastic honour, but to be a torchbearer this year is so exciting because of her love of the Olympics. “The Olympics is the most exciting thing to happen in this country in a long time. I remember when I was a child and stayed up to watch Ann Packer win gold in the 800 metres with a world record time at the 1964 Tokyo Games. That memory will stay with me forever, so I will be glued to the screen this year.” She is set to be a volunteer coordinator at this year’s Olympic beach volleyball competition and Freda is keen to see how Team GB perform. “In the last four to five years our players have been able to play in professional leagues abroad, and that will have a huge impact on their confidence and ability.”


Click here to find out more about Freda's club - Ashcombe Volleyball Club.
Click here to visit Ashcombe VC's Facebook page.

Margaret first took up sailing in the first week of her summer holidays when she was 17 years old. She developed a taste for the sport and three years later qualified as an instructor. Since then she has focused on sharing her passion with others.

Margaret has volunteered in sailing for over 30 years, running sessions at her local sailing club, Hill Head. She spends every weekend on the water, regardless of temperature, launching boats, encouraging and inspiring those who have never been in a boat before. For the slightly more nervous young people (or parents) she is never afraid to climb in the boat and show them the ropes herself – quite literally.

Having retired three years ago she finds that volunteering takes up a lot of her spare time. One of Margaret’s aims is to try and open up the appeal of sailing. “It was previously seen as an elitist sport but over the years the membership of the club has changed and become much more family orientated,” she says. “The club has grown from 350 to 850 members with 60% of that membership taken up by families.”

It isn’t just about the club either, all three of Margaret’s children grew up sailing and even now they grown up they all come back together as a family to meet up and get out on the water. She is just starting to teach her grandchildren and plans to share her passion with them.

Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Whiting will be carrying the Olympic torch in proud memory of her grandfather Brian Wright, a dedicated cycling coach, who sadly passed away earlier this year.

Brian’s life-long commitment to cycling began when he joined his local club aged 12 and his continued passion for the sport led to him spending up to 15 hours each week coaching in the community.

As well as establishing Hillingdon Slipstreamers as one of the leading junior cycling clubs in London, he also founded Minet Ladies Cycling Club, a multi-cultural club that helped girls and women get into the sport.

Some of his biggest achievements include helping design bicycles for people with a disability and instigating the construction of the first cycling track at a local school, which was later visited by Boris Johnson.

It was this devotion to the sport that led to him being named 'Participation Coach of the Year 2010' at the UK Coaching Awards 2010 ceremony in London.

Speaking about her father’s dedication to the sport, Samantha Whiting said: “He volunteered because he enjoyed it and it gave him much satisfaction to see the joy on the children's faces when they achieved the goals he had set them.”

Samantha added: “My daughter Elizabeth is very proud to be able to carry the torch for her granddad, and we are all going to Eastbourne to cheer for her along with six of her friends, my niece and nephew, father-in-law and great aunt and uncle!”

Peter is one of the longest standing members of Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club and has coached at the club for over 20 years. He is dedicated in developing both himself and others and acts as a mentor for other coaches in the club.

Peter currently works with a number of young people with multiple disabilities teaching them the basic principle of kayaking. His work has been so successful that it has achieved further funding to extend it to cover a wider age limit allowing more young people to participate. When asked about his work he explained “I enjoy making opportunities for others and I get a real buzz in seeing them enjoy the experience as much as I do.”

Peter is the main driving force behind the development of a new clubhouse for the canoe club which when built will be fully accessible and available to schools, colleges and other local groups.

He describes one of his canoeing highlights as a solo paddle around the Isle of Wight to raise money for the fund established in memory of his late friend Martin Booth.  The money raised went towards the construction of a canoe clubhouse on the Basingstoke canal at Odiham.

Speaking about being a torchbearer Peter said “I am genuinely surprised to be chosen, it will be a thrilling experience which I will never forget. The Olympics will provide an excellent opportunity to promote non-traditional sports such as canoeing.”

Peter hopes to capitalise on such publicity in renewing interest in the sport and has organised a number of introductory sessions during the Olympics.


Click here to find out more about the Basingstoke and Deane Canoe Club (and here for information about their Kayaking for Young People with Disabilities scheme and Kayaking for Young People).
You can keep up to date with Peter's work on Twitter - @PeterMansell2.
BADCC in also on Twitter - @BADPaddlers.

When Kimberley was six years old her mum used to take her to swimming lessons, but she was so scared she wouldn’t get in the water and used to go home dry.

However, her mum felt that it was important that children should learn how to swim and continued to take Kimberley. One teacher managed to get her in the pool and gradually helped her gain the confidence to learn to swim.

“From then I wanted to become a swimming teacher to inspire young children like me to accomplish what I did," Kimberley says. As a teenager she became interested in helping people with disabilities.

“The day before my 16th birthday I learnt about Electric Eels starting and contacted them to see if I could join them as a volunteer. It’s a swimming club oriented towards children with Downs Syndrome. They teach most Saturday evenings and for the last four years I have volunteered at as many sessions as possible and always try to get to their social events. I am very proud of all the young swimmers at Electric Eels as they have achieved so much.”

Kimberley went on to qualify as a level 1 swimming teacher at the age of 16 and became a level 2 teacher at the age of 18. She has also taken a disability course so that she could learn more about all the different types of disabilities and how she could help more people.

She is now 20 years old, and although she has always struggled with dyslexia and found theoretical work very difficult she has gone on to study sport at Easthampstead School in Bracknell, achieving a distinction in this subject.

Her continued commitment earned her recognition in 2010 as the recipient of the Regional Aquaforce award for Outstanding Contribution by an 18 to 25 year old. She has been a forerunner to the clubs success and even introduced her boyfriend and mum as volunteers as well!

Running on his birthday, Jim has been involved in club and county golf in Kent for more than 30 years and has served on the Kent County Union for 25 years.  He remains a dedicated volunteer, regularly committing two days a week to the development of the sport.

Throughout his volunteering career Jim has held a number of golfing positions which has enabled him to work with others, helping them improve their golfing prowess.  He was appointed County Development Officer in 2005 and in 2006 was appointed Chair of the Kent County Golf Partnership.

Under Jim’s stewardship the partnership has brought over 3000 new people into golf through numerous development projects including hosting a series of fun events during two Olympic open weekends. He was influential in developing the County Golf Partnership Open legacy project which brought together numerous partners from across the industry including local authorities, governing bodies and local clubs to create a recruitment programme for young volunteers. The programme encourages new participants and lapsed players back into the sport. 

Jim’s hard work and dedication was recognised at the England Golf partnership volunteer awards in 2009 where he received the Services to Golf award for his outstanding achievements and contribution to golf.

He attributes his commitment to the sport to the sheer enjoyment he gets from golf and witnessing players grow and develop. He notes “Since I began volunteering, I have never looked back. I want to make golf more accessible for young people and want them to feel a part of it in a way which is fun.”

Speaking of becoming a torchbearer Jim stated: “I am very excited to be running. It is a great honour to be a torchbearer and I am pleased to be representing the sport of golf. This is a fantastic birthday present!” Jim admitted that he will be glued to the television during the games and hopes Team GB will do us proud!

Megan’s volunteering career began at the tender age of 13, when she volunteered with her PE department at Woolmer Hill School and continued while studying at Godalming 6th Form College. In addition to this, she has also clocked up over 100 hours of volunteering on the Step into Sport programme in Surrey and was selected for their National Step into Sport camp at Loughborough University.

Whilst at the camp Megan was chosen to become an ambassador for the scheme were she is now charged with promoting sport in the community amongst young people. Due to her clear commitment to sport she was invited to come back the National Step into Sports camp as a mentor, where she helped organise and deliver the volunteering camp for younger ambassadors.

Having recognised the important impact her physical education teachers Kenton Wye and Dade Spicer have had on her life, upon graduation Megan plans to become a PE teacher. She attributes such commitment to sport to sheer enjoyment and witnessing the happiness and progression of those she coaches. 

When asked what it felt like to be a torchbearer Megan indicated “I am incredibly honoured and proud to be a torchbearer, as I didn’t expect it to happen to me. I can’t even put into words how excited I am about the Olympics; it makes me proud to be British!”

Being a torchbearer is not the only job Megan will have during the Olympics as she has been selected to be a Gamesmaker working with the transport team.


Click here to find out more about Active Surrey.
You can keep up to date with Megan's work on Twitter - @megangmunro.

Decades before London won the bid to stage the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Alf Fajardo began using sport to change the lives young people in the East End – and he’s never stopped.

For the last 21 years, Alf has been running a football club called Shiners FC which provides a focus for teenagers.

The club works with all of the 17 different ethnic groups in Tower Hamlets in London to provide an alternative to the dangerous gang culture that exists in certain parts of the area.

The importance of Alf’s work was made clear nine years ago when a potential team member was killed in a gang fight, as Alf explains: “We lost a child, I don’t want that ever to happen again. It’s about making sure that children have an option to do something other than being in a gang.

“The boy was just about to join the team and had come out of the gang life - he wanted to leave it behind for good. Once you join a gang you can’t just walk away from it, it’s more complicated than that.

“We have an agreement with the gangs, they understand what we’re trying to do and respect it. On the pitch they’re just footballers, they’re not seen as from a certain gang or group,” Alf adds.

The team is open to anyone, of any ability, between the ages of 11 and 18. Alf says: “The U15 squad has five children with learning disabilities in it and they are playing in the national league. We are an inclusive team, it is sport for all.”

Alf volunteers every evening and both days at the weekend as these are the most dangerous times for the young people. As well as coaching, Alf acts as a mentor and father figure who many of the players turn to at difficult times.

“I treat them as if they’re my own kids. We follow their progress all the way through, if they don’t turn up to training we find out why, if there’s something up then we try to find out what it is – it’s about the little details. The kids can see that we’re interested in them and they react differently to that. If you treat them like a man they act like one.”

“The kids respond well to having the contact and the team gives them a motivation to succeed. Kids who do not have that light at the end of the tunnel tend to turn to crime as it’s the easy way out, the easy way to raise money.”

Since the team began, it has gone from strength-to-strength. To start with there was just nine players but it’s built up over the years and recently they won a major European tournament which helped build the team’s reputation amongst the gangs.

Shiners FC is not just about success on the field though, it also works with schools, charities and private organisations to create opportunities for the players.

Alf ensures that every player attends school and if they don’t then they’re not allowed to play in Sunday’s match. The club also has an outcomes programme which tries to get the older players into higher education or into a job with one of their partner organisations like Thames Water and London Electric because, in Alf’s words, ‘if you show the kids the road then they’ll follow it.”

The success of the team means that it will soon be expanding to other socially deprived areas of London, offering more young people a different route to take.

When it comes to building the foundations of a London 2012 legacy, Simon Hall is doing just that as he has constructed a BMX course using waste soil from the Olympic site.

The 26-year-old has been working across the five Olympic boroughs to get more people into cycling, and as part of this he has overseen the development of a BMX track in Tower Hamlets using 900 tonnes of soil from the Olympic site.

As well as helping to create better facilities, Simon has founded BMX clubs, coached other riders and organised fundraising events and competitions. Explaining how he got into it, Simon says:

“I was working in the Walthamstow area and was a cyclist myself and I loved building jumps and saw it as a good opportunity to do something that other people could enjoy. I wanted to share my passion for cycling with others and to help keep kids out of trouble, because cycling kept me out of trouble.”

Over 300 people have worked with Simon to help create the club and dozens of people will soon be able to use the track when it opens. One of the first people to try out the course, which is the closest BMX track to the Olympic site, was London Mayor Boris Johnson because the Mayors Fund was one of several investors that made the project possible.

Simon’s love of cycling is all encompassing as he has been riding all his life, competing since he was twelve years old and has turned his passion into a career by working in bike shops.

When Simon first moved to East London two years ago he was homeless but he says that this difficult time has made him appreciate everything that has happened a lot more. It has also motivated him in his work to develop the sport and encourage more young people to try it.

“BMX is a really young sport so my ideas and plans are to put some structure to it by working with schools to try and show people that sport can change things for the better.

“This is the first time I’ve been involved in the official side of a club and it’s good to be doing more than just coaching.”
Simon thinks that being named as a torchbearer marks the completion of a full circle and shows that the Olympics are creating a lasting legacy, he explains:

“When London 2012 was announced I was at a low point and now things have changed a lot. Some of the kids who use the track can see the Velodrome from their garden so it’s a great boost for them.

“We have worked with a lot of Olympic sponsors and received funding from the Games so it will be a great Olympic legacy none of this would be happening if it wasn’t for London 2012.”

Visit the ELBOCC website to find out more about Simon's club.

For most people, a full-time job coupled with looking after a toddler would be enough, but not for Jason Greenberg. Jason’s other big commitment is to baseball and he works tirelessly to increase the popularity of the sport in the UK.

Jason volunteers his time as Director of Operations for Team GB Baseball; a role that can take up 30 hours a week.  Before taking on this role he was also coaching but has recently had to cut back on this side of his role.

A huge fan of baseball, Jason is determined to increase its popularity in the UK and last year set up a new baseball team in Harlow; The Harlow Nationals.  The team won the national championships last year and although Jason has had to step back from coaching, he is hoping they will continue to be successful.

Jason says that he has been privileged to work with a lot of extremely talented athletes and coaches and wants to encourage more people to get involved. Baseball is traditionally seen as an American sport and he is working hard to help raise its profile in British sport as well.

Jason was not expecting to be nominated to carry the torch. “I was really surprised”, he said, “I didn’t know I’d been nominated – it’s a huge honour.”

Jason’s love of the sport is clear and he is very enthusiastic about the Olympics. “I think the Olympics are the pinnacle of sport. My goal is to work to a point where baseball and softball are back on the Olympic programme”, said Jason.


You can keep up to date with the GB National Baseball team on Twitter - @gb_baseball.

Tom Ulicsak plays a vital role in the running of two of the largest sports clubs in the Borough of Southwark; Southwark City Tennis Club and The Lynn Boxing Club. Over the last seven years he has helped to get more people involved in sport in the area.

As the club secretary for the tennis club, Tom has worked tirelessly to secure funding, organise programmes and recruit and train volunteers to keep the club going. He has secured a range of grants from Sport England through to community chest and charity applications; all of which have helped the club to put on affordable tennis activities to local people.

The Lynn Boxing Club is the oldest surviving amateur boxing club in Britain and is also the club that Tom’s grandfather boxed competitively for. Tom now volunteers with the club, helping to recruit and train volunteers and working to secure funding.

As well as his roles with the clubs, Tom also sits on several steering groups and often volunteers at local events. He has been described as a ‘genuine, helpful and welcoming person who always puts his local community first.’

Marlan Cox volunteers his time at several schools in Tower Hamlets in East London, working with both primary and secondary school children. His role is to supervise young people before and after school, and to encourage them to keep fit and enjoy sport.

Marlan started his role around three years ago through the Physical Education Teaching Assistance (PETA) Programme, an initiative in which young people are selected to coach other young people in sport. “The thing that I enjoy the most is seeing the kids really enjoying the sports that they take part in,” he said. “I like the idea that I have a hand in helping these kids stay healthy and that they are using their time appropriately.”

In the future, Marlan would like to be able to facilitate more activities for the children he works alongside. He would also like to see more people taking on a role similar to his to create more opportunities in the Tower Hamlets area.

Marlan is looking forward to carrying the torch and said, “Personally I see it as such an honour to be able to hold and run with such a symbolic piece of history. I have read that holding the torch is an experience like no other.”

Not only is his excitement for the torch relay evident but Marlan is also incredibly enthusiastic about the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “The Olympics recognises the hard work and training athletes have to go through regularly.”

Weightlifter Kim Pham has been described as a ‘fantastic advocate’ for weightlifting for both her school and club. Her introduction to the sport came when an introductory session was held at her school. Of her own admission, Kim went along to the next session because she was bored and discovered a talent for weightlifting.

Kim was one of British Weightlifting’s first junior technical officials and often volunteers to referee at youth and junior events across the country. She also helps to coach 13- to 16-year-old school children in her sport.

She now trains intensely three or four times a week for a couple of hours at a time and competes in national competitions. In 2011, Kim won the British Senior Championship, a great achievement as she hadn’t been lifting for long. Her next goal is to qualify for a place at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and following that the 2016 Olympic Games.

Kim is very excited about becoming a torchbearer and said, “Words can’t explain how it felt to find out I was going to be a torchbearer. I knew I’d been nominated but I didn’t think I’d get picked.”

She is also looking forward to having the Olympics on her doorstep. “It’s great,” she said. “I live 10 minutes away from it so it’ll be really exciting.”

Ollie Boylan started coaching football to children in his local community of Three Legged Cross, Wimborne. His role started as part of a community project set up by Active Dorset, the Dorset Football Association and East Dorset Housing Association, which worked in some of Dorset’s most deprived areas encouraging young people to take pride in their local communities, help them build better relationships with other and promote a healthier lifestyle.

Ollie’s passion for the game led him to become a recognised leader and he gained his level one coaching qualification, volunteering on a daily basis coaching young children.

Since the project ended due to a lack of funding, Ollie has continued his involvement in the community, running a children’s football team.

Ollie is an excellent example of someone who has provided meaningful activity for local people.