The London 2012 Olympic sailing venue hosted a volunteers evening to celebrate the hard work of all the its supporters and to encourage more supporters to get involved.

Gold medallist Paralympian Helena Lucas was guest of honour at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy (WPNSA) event, held at Osprey Quay Portland.

Around 100 people attended the volunteer recruitment evening, which aimed to celebrate the hard work from volunteers throughout the year and to inspire more of the local community to engage in the Academy’s volunteer programmes.
 
WPNSA was the first Olympic and Paralympic venue since the ’72 Games in Munich to be accessible to all countries prior to the event as well as claiming the first venue open for 2012 Games.

This combined with the extensive range of events held during the Olympic year required vast numbers of volunteers.
 
Ms Lucas, who was recently appointed to the Academy’s Board as a Director of WPNSA, gave a talk, which was followed by the schedule of forthcoming events, presented by Chris
Knight on how to get involved

Speaking afterwards, Ms Lucas said: “It was great to share my success with all the volunteers, they work so hard at any event behind the scenes and I also hope it was inspiring for those wanting to start volunteering.

“These people really are the unsung heroes.”
 
John Tweed, WPNSA chief executive said; “The event was a huge success, it was great to see so many new faces and we now have to work through the wealth of experience that came through the door to ensure they are utilised efficiently.

“2013 will be our busiest year yet in the number of events, even bigger than 2012!”
 
The schedule of 2013 events has been published and can be found online here.

If you are interested in getting involved please contact Georgina on georgina.lee@wpnsa.org.uk.