BBC Sports Personality of the Year says a Big Thank You to volunteers
08 December 2014
BBC Sports Personality of the Year will be saying a big thank you to the UK’s volunteers, with 500 invited to attend the star-studded event in Glasgow on 14 December at the SSE Hydro. Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard will lead the celebrations, offering an extra special acknowledgement to the incredible people who give their time to make sport happen.
It will also be a magical moment for some of the remarkable volunteers watching at home as Eddie will be live on the red carpet with a phone box where he will be surprising them with a phone call from a host of British sports stars. Eddie, who is patron of Join In, a sports volunteer charity, along with the sports stars, will be saying thank you to the volunteers for the time and commitment they put into sport.
Join In, with BBC Get Inspired, are supporting the Big Thank You and viewers will be able to watch Eddie on the BBC Red Button and BBC News channel before the main event on Sunday 14 December, broadcast live on BBC One and BBC One HD at 8pm. Eddie will also be presenting the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero Award on the night. Information on the big thank you can be found at bbc.co.uk/getinspired. Join In is a London 2012 legacy charity that puts more volunteers into community sport. For further information visit joininuk.org
In addition to activity on the night, Join In’s Director of Sport David Moorcroft was also invited to sit on the final BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero judging panel. The panel, which includes representatives from the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, BBC Get Inspired, 2013 Unsung Hero Award winners (Joe and Maggie Forber) and athlete Jo Pavey, will together select the final winner of the award presented by Eddie Izzard on the night. World record holder, Hall of Fame inductee and Commonwealth Champion David Moorcroft said; "It's been great being part of the panel, there have been some remarkable nominees this year. I work with incredible volunteers every day who help make sport happen, it's great that the BBC continue to recognise the true heroes of sport."
Follow @joininuk on Twitter and tell us which sport volunteer deserves your #BigThankYou. You can join in by tweeting #BigThankYou. For example Dave Moorcraft tweeted, "A #BigThankYou from me to John Anderson, my coach from 16 until I retired – simply amazing in so many ways." and "A #BigThankYou to Mick Crossfield, my first proper coach at Coventry Godiva Harriers who made running such fun." 800m athlete Rowena Cole gives a Big Thank You to "My coach Norma Pugh" and Claire Tarplee "A #BigThankYou to my first coach and my club @solihullshac for helping an 8 year old fall in love with athletics". Horley Harriers say "A #BigThankYou to all the @parkrunUK and local race officials who volunteer so much time to make events possible."
Eddie said: “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 8.5 additional participants in sport, it’s vital that we keep the volunteering spirit alive.”
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.”
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