From the coaches and officials out on the field to the administrators, committee members and fundraisers - Scottish sport relies on the continued willingness of volunteers to invest both their time and expertise.
The best current estimate is that there are around 150,000 regular sports volunteers in Scotland, and Sport 21 2003-2007 has set a target of maintaining this level. The Sport 21 target was set with the knowledge that the regulatory requirements for volunteers are increasing (for example liability and insurance, data protection, drugs and ethics) and therefore it will take extra work to maintain the current standards while attracting new ones.
The Government has produced Volunteering Strategy which aims to embed a robust culture of volunteering in Scotland.
sportscotland have also produced information on volunteering in the sport sector, and this can be found on their volunteer WebPages ( www.sportscotland.org.uk).