Lord Coe praises Sport Makers after hitting milestone number

Sebastian Coe has praised the dedication of the thousands that have signed up as sports volunteers through Sport Makers - Sport England's Olympic and Paralympic volunteering legacy programme.

Speaking after meeting the 50,000th Sport Maker - 24-year-old Scott Preece - Lord Coe said: "It's wonderful to see how these Sport Makers are fuelling the legacy of the Games by getting out there and helping others in the community play sport.

"The Games Makers really opened our eyes to the contribution volunteers make to sports and it's inspiring to hear how Sport Makers are making a difference in the local communities week in week out."

Preece is one of 38,000 Sport Makers who have dedicated at least 10 hours of volunteering in sport. Sport Makers was launched in October 2011 with the aim of signing up 40,000 people to do at least 10 hours of volunteer work - a milestone predicted to be passed around the anniversary of the Olympic opening ceremony.

Every Sport Maker who signs up is given informal training to be able to get the skills and be shown the opportunities to get involved in sport locally.