BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Celebrates Volunteers
500 of the UK’s volunteers from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup were invited to the 2014 BBC Sports Personality of the Year on Sunday 14th December at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow as recognition of their support.
Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard lead the celebrations, offering special acknowledgement to the people who give their spare time to make sport happen in the UK. Izzard also surprised volunteers with a phone call from a host of British sports stars.
Izzard is patron of Join In, the sports volunteer charity that won Community Programme of the Year at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2014. Join In teamed up with BBC Get Inspired to create the Big Thank You, where volunteers across the country were thanked for their commitment to sport.
Coach Jill Stidever won the 2014 BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award on the night after having spent nearly 60 years helping thousands of children with special needs learn how to swim.
As a result of the Big Thank You, the public, sports stars and volunteers took to social media to say a #BigThankYou to the volunteers who have helped them throughout their sporting careers, with the #BigThankYou trending worldwide.
Eddie Izzard said: ‘There are so many unsung heroes across the UK who are motivating others to get involved in sport. Whether it’s an enthusiastic parent driving a team to training or a dedicated coach who gives their time to help out – it’s these super-volunteers that make sport happen. Every athlete will tell you how grateful they are to the volunteers throughout their careers. With each volunteer creating capacity for eight and a half additional participants in sport, it’s vital that we keep the volunteering spirit alive and help to develop the Sports Personalities of the future.’
Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport said: ‘It is great the BBC has the chance to recognise the powerful service that volunteers provide for everyone taking part in sport across the UK. To be able to give something back to the volunteers after all their hard work is really important and we hope they will enjoy the fantastic show that is being organised for BBC Sports Personality of the Year.’
Rebecca Birkbeck, CEO of Join In added: ‘Volunteers truly are the unsung heroes of sport, it wouldn’t happen without them, and it’s fantastic to see them recognised alongside the other superstars of the sporting world.’
