You are going to listen to different people talking about sport’s invisible workforce. In the UK something like 22 million adults take part in formal volunteering every year, and, of those, six million get involved in sport on a regular basis. These volunteers help to run more than 100,000 sports related clubs and organisations, and they don’t get paid a single penny for doing it. In fact interest is on the rise, not surprising given that 2005 was the Year of the Volunteer, and the year that London successfully bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
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Would you like to be a sports volunteer? If so, why? If not, why not? If you have done it before, let us know about your experience. Send us your opinions and reports.
grass roots: the most basic level of an activity or group
team building: to develop the skills needed to work in a team
physio: an abbreviation of physiotherapist, who is a person that treats injuries through massage and exercise
hothouse environment: an environment that encourages rapid progress
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Double-click on any word and see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
ELIZABETH (PRESENTER)
Hello and welcome to Trend UK, your shortcut to popular culture from the British Council. In the next few minutes we’re going to be talking about sport’s invisible workforce.
In the UK something like 22 million adults take part in formal volunteering every year, and, of those, six million get involved in sport on a regular basis. These volunteers help to run more than 100,000 sports related clubs and organisations, and they don’t get paid a single penny for doing it. In fact interest is on the rise, not surprising given that 2005 was the Year of the Volunteer, and the year that London successfully bid to host the 2012 Olympics.
So how, and why, do people get involved? Our reporter Mark went to meet the sporting volunteers.
MARK (REPORTER)
I’m at a conference being run by the Step into Sport initiative. With me is Peter Knight from the Youth Sport Trust, which helps organise these sessions. Peter, tell us about Step into Sport.
PETER KNIGHT
It’s the key link between the school, the education environment and the sports clubs, providing that link around leadership and volunteering.
MARK (REPORTER)
And what’s the range of volunteering?
PETER KNIGHT
When people would say volunteering initially they think of coaches and that’s one end of the spectrum, but we, you know, it goes right across the board. It goes right down to the people who cut the oranges up, maybe for a match, or make the tea, so it’s a very, very diverse range of opportunities. A lot of people bring a lot of different skills to it.
MARK (PRESENTER)
And why do people get involved?
PETER KNIGHT
It’s sort of personal preference shall we say. What they’re going to get from it, are they putting something back in to it back into their community? Is it for their personal development? You know, the young people here today will be looking for their personal development. It will be about raising their self-esteem, raising their confidence. I think when you look around you’ll see there are young people here who aren’t your archetypal young people, top end performers as far as sport is concerned, that really for me is the reason. It’s a diversification of people who are going to be engaged in sport and physical activity.
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MARK (PRESENTER)
Thanks Peter.
Well, let’s go find out what the attraction is for some of the volunteers here.
VOLUNTEER 1
It is fun, and you get to see your sport develop I suppose. It is the grass roots and you get to help them improve their performance and you see where your sport will go in the future.
VOLUNTEER 2
It’s important that we get across to the youth of today that volunteers are needed within sports and we hopefully pass on our skills to them to volunteer in future sporting events.
VOLUNTEER 3
Team building is important to people for the future and sport gives a fantastic opportunity for that. Obviously, you get the individual events, but team events is life skills and kids need to learn that from a young age to progress for the future.
MARK (REPORTER)
Well one thing these young people have in common is that they all seem to be enjoying devoting their time, and energy, to sport.
Away from the conference now, I’ve come to meet Olympic rower Guin Batten. Now Guin, you won a silver medal for Britain in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, would you say that volunteers helped you achieve that?
GUIN BATTEN
Really you’re taking about just the very best doctors we have in Britain, just the very best physios as far as elite sport is concerned. But how did they learn those skills on the way?
Say for example the team doctor, she would have spent many, many training camps on many, many weekends as a volunteer, working closely with our elite teams.
The support staff that are around our top teams have normal jobs and then they just come together for set events, whether those be the Commonwealth Games or the Olympic Games.
MARK (REPORTER)
What motivates volunteers?
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GUIN BATTEN
The skills that you develop in sport, it’s a very hothouse environment especially in competitive sport. You are putting yourself in quite a pressurised situation and it’s very interesting to see how you react and how you learn to develop those people skills, those life skills which, when you go back into the work place, which is a much less hothouse environment in most people’s cases, you can actually say: ‘Actually I was quite good at this!’. You know your strengths, you know your weaknesses, you have developed in that sports environment. And when you go back, you know, you just have so much more confidence in dealing with people and sort of working together and operating around those life skill areas
MARK (PRESENTER)
So would you recommend it?
GUIN BATTEN
Sport is through our entire culture here in Britain. You need to find out what skills you have as a person.
You know, whether or not you’re somebody that is very organised, or whether or not you’re somebody that’s good a inspiring or looking after people.
And then you need to also find which sport suits your make up as such, and different sports have different personalities, and so choosing the sport you want to be involved in, and then choosing the skills that you have, and then going to your local rowing club, if it’s rowing that you choose, or your local sports club or even your school if there’s a sports section in the school, and offering your services. Most sports clubs whether they’re schools, universities or club level will be crying out for volunteers.
MARK (REPORTER)
Guin Batten, thank you.
ELIZABETH (PRESENTER)
Our sporting reporter Mark there.
And that’s it for this time, please remember that the opinions expressed in Trend UK are those of the individuals concerned and not necessarily the views of the British Council.
But for now, from me and all the Trend UK team, bye bye.
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