Move over Games Makers it's time for the Sport Makers - Metro (blog)

AppId is over the quota

This week I signed up to become a Sport Maker and went to my local launch to find out more about the role.

The programme was developed as part of the London 2012 legacy strategy and is funded by Sport England and The Lottery. The aim is to recruit 40,000 Sports Makers across England to take forward the Olympic and Paralympic legacies.

In my opinion this is an excellent initiative and is a way of recognising the volunteering that people are already doing as well as recruiting new volunteers who may be enthused after the Olympics and will be incentivised by being part of a national scheme that rewards hours.

Sport Makers are charged with making sport happen at their local level. This can simply be encouraging a group of friends to take part in a local sporting event to getting involved in volunteering for a local sports club.

My local launch was organised by Hereford and Worcester Sports Partnership who will support the local group of Sport Makers in their efforts to grow grassroots sports. There were a range of people present from sixth form students who want to organise football games with their friends to members of the local bowls club who want to offer bowls classes to young disabled people. We learnt in a light hearted manner how we could contribute to the legacy and given the initial target of volunteering for 10 hours. In return there are a number of rewards depending on the hours we give.

In my opinion this is an excellent initiative and is a way of recognising the volunteering that people are already doing as well as recruiting new volunteers who may be enthused after the Olympics and will be incentivised by being part of a national scheme that rewards hours.

As a sports person I have received lots of support and encouragement from my local community – from local businesses sponsoring me, to people stopping me in the supermarket to give me words of encouragement. In return I feel that it is my responsibility to motivate people to take part in sport and improve access to sport for those people who face barriers to participation.

To that end I have already signed up to marshal and present the prizes at a local multi-terrain running race this weekend and will continue to use my profile in my community to make sport happen locally.

Anyone over the age of 16 can become a Sport Maker so if you were inspired by London 2012 why not become part of the legacy.

Metro Blogs is a place for opinions. These opinions belong to the author and are not necessarily shared by Metro.

London 2012: GB rhythmic gymnastics team set to disband - BBC Sport

AppId is over the quota
Great Britain's Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team are set to disband because of a lack of funding.

The six-strong squad, who were set up at Team Bath in 2009, self-financed their entry to London 2012.

They were initially denied a place at the Games after falling short of the qualifying mark, but the decision was ratified on appeal.

However, they failed to make an impact in the group event and did not progress to the final.

Team-member Jade Faulkner told BBC Wiltshire: "We've had to split up.

Tearful gymnasts' Olympic dream appears to end at January test event

"Unfortunately the funding isn't sufficient so the group can't carry on anymore, and we all had to take a year out of education.

"We will still be training as a group but not as intensely.

"I'll be concentrating on individuals for the Commonwealth Games in two years."

It is not yet known whether British Gymnastics intend to enter a rhythmic team comprising of new gymnasts for Rio 2016.

Faulkner, along with team-mates Rachel Smith, Frankie Fox, Georgina Cassar, Louisa Pouli and Lynne Hutchinson, were the first ever rhythmic gymnastics team to represent Great Britain at the Olympics.

Their entry was surrounded by controversy after they fell 0.273 marks short of the 45.223 qualifying target set by their governing body.

But they appealed the decision, arguing the criteria had not been made clear to them, and an independent arbitrator ruled in their favour.

At the event, they failed to make the final, having finished 12th out of 12 teams in qualifying on Thursday, 9 and Friday, 10 August.