Meet the London 2012 volunteers
As the Olympic and Paralympic Games play out this summer, successful athletes will pick up medals and most of the attention. Behind the scenes, a dedicated group of physios will also be making their mark. Meet some of them here as 72 volunteers speak of their roles, hopes and ambitions for the profession.
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Adele Brailey
Location: Guildford
Employer: North Hampshire Hospitals
Olympic role: Badminton and Paralympic sailing
Hopefully the public will get to see the physiotherapist role not as being purely one of reactive treatment, but also one of proactive prevention.
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Alexi Karlsson
Location: Gloucestershire
Employer: Student at University of Nottingham
Olympic role: British medical team - sports masseur (Olympics and Paralympics)
Physiotherapy can be the difference between a gold medal or no medal.
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Alison Nagata
Location: Stafford
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Physiotherapist - athletics
I hope that such a great event will inspire children to take part in sport, strive for success and have a healthier lifestyle.
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Angela Brand-Barker
Location: Cockermouth
Employer: Cumbria Partnership Foundation
Olympic role: Olympic torch bearer
Lesser known sports will hopefully be given plenty of air time so that people can realise that there is a sport for them even though they don't like football.
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Ann Gresswell
Location: Wytham, Oxford
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Paralympic torchbearer
The Games will result in more people with disabilities wanting to participate in physical activities.
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Anna Johnson
Location: Buckinghamshire
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Veterinary physiotherapy
We provide a vital role in managing any athlete.
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Anna Risius
Location: Berkshire
Employer: The Abbey Clinic
Olympic role: Providing veterinary physiotherapy to para dressage horses
Physiotherapy is able to work as part of the team in prevention as well as cure.
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Bhanu Ramaswamy
Location: Sheffield
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Torchbearer
Promoting active ageing across all populations.
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Brett Nagata
Location: Stafford
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Paralympics - lead therapist for the Canadian mens' wheelchair basketball team
If we go unnoticed we have done our job well.
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Carole Sampson
Location: Fiskerton, Nottinghamshire
Employer: Southwell Physiotherapy Clinic
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
It's widely acknowledged that the physios are among the busiest health professionals supporting the athletes throughout the Games.
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Claire Narborough
Location: Derbyshire
Employer: Student - Birmingham University
Olympic role: Control the flow of boats up and down the slipway, docking keelboats and communicating with the athletes
Physiotherapists are always happy to lend a hand.
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Cymbeline Gaynor
Location: Hertfordshire
Employer: University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Olympic role: Performer
I'm delighted and proud to be taking part as an NHS representative in the NHS-themed section of the opening ceremony.
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Daniella Gatt
Location: Bingham, Nottinghamshire
Employer: Nottingham CityCare Partnership
Olympic role: Physiotherapist based in the athletes village
We are a vital part of the medical team to ensure the athletes can compete at the highest standard of competition.
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Dorothy Toyn
Location: Hertford
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: "T3" driver - Paralympics
We are a profession that can assist in so many ways and in so many walks of life.
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Eithne Fitzpatrick
Location: Wexford, Ireland
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
I love treating athletes and treating Olympic athletes will be a privilege.
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Elaine Mason
Location: Essex
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Administrative support to the medical staff in the polyclinic
I hope the Games will inspire youngsters to get involved by emphasising the variety of opportunities that there are within the all embracing term 'sport'.
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Emily Lovell
Location: Torquay
Employer: South Devon Healthcare Trust
Olympic role: Physiotherapy
New facilities built for the Games will hopefully be available to the public afterwards for all to enjoy.
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Emma Cranfield
Location: Peterborough
Employer: Ramsay Fitzwilliam Hospital
Olympic role: Physiotherapist at Excel-based events
The Games will help promote what physiotherapists can do, and help the profile of physiotherapy.
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Emma Dainty
Location: Shropshire
Employer: Self employed ACPAT physio
Olympic role: Covering teams without their own physios at the equestrian camp
Physios have been chosen to treat horses over chiropractors and osteopaths.
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Femke Nauschutz
Location: Durham
Employer: North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
Olympic role: Taekwondo
People are surprised at the number of physiotherapists needed to make the Olympic Games work.
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Fran Clarkson
Location: Birmingham
Employer: Worcestershire Physiotherapy
Olympic role: Football (5 & 7-a-side)
The Games will show the integral role physios play in the health, wellbeing and fitness of athletes.
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Francesca Roberts
Location: London
Employer: Ealing Hospital NHS Trust
Olympic role: Event services team leader
For those not lucky enough to work with the elite athletes, our skills are being used in other ways to work as volunteers.
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Gemma Passmore
Location: Lerwick, Shetland
Employer: NHS Shetland
Olympic role: Carrying the Olympic torch
Anything that encourages kids into sport is great.
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Gill Cannon
Location: Leeds
Employer: Physio Action
Olympic role: Working as a physiotherapist supporting the two training and competition venues and providing assessment and treatment for any gymnasts.
This is a great platform to showcase physiotherapy.
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Hannah Barr
Location: Paignton, Devon
Employer: Physiotherapy student, University of Plymouth
Olympic role: I will be working as a sports massage therapist at the athletes village for the Olympics and Excel Centre for the Paralympics
The Games will highlight the effect of high performance on an individual's body and demonstrate the positive impact physiotherapy management can have during competition.
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Hayley Mount
Location: Anglesey, North Wales
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Athletics
I love working with sports people, and this is a fantastic opportunity to take it to the next level.
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Jackie Grant
Location: Colchester, Essex
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Chartered veterinary physiotherapist for the Paralympic Games horses
You can't have elite sporting events without support from us.
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Jane Ashbrook
Location: Frodsham, Cheshire
Employer: University Hospital of South Manchester
Olympic role: Physio for beach and indoor volleyball
People will see how hard physios work to help people achieve their potential and reach their goals.
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Jean Thistleton
Location: Wilmslow, Cheshire
Employer: Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT and Physiofit
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
No doubt athletes who have come back from injury may mention the part a physio has played in their recovery.
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Jennifer Lobb
Location: Exeter
Employer: Northern Devon Healthcare NHS
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
The opportunity to meet and work with people at the top of their game is fantastic.
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Jo Elliott
Location: Bournemouth
Employer: Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust
Olympic role: Driver
We are versatile, skilled and very positive.
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Joanne Dafforn
Location: London
Employer: Imperial College Healthcare
Olympic role: Dancing and working with very large props!
We're celebrating the NHS as a whole.
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Jonathan Rooke
Location: Stafford
Employer: MidStaffs NHS Foundation Trust
Olympic role: Event services team - Paralympic basketball
The Games will provide the physiotherapy profession with a huge platform from which to raise public awareness of our contribution.
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Juliet Gold
Location: Edinburgh
Employer: NHS Lothian
Olympic role: Athlete services - essentially hospitality
Physiotherapists are essential to a successful athlete's performance.
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Kate Carter
Location: Finchampstead, Berks
Employer: Apple Physiotherapy
Olympic role: Part of the medical team in the athletes village
Physios are always in the background and I doubt the public will be aware of us.
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Kathryn Jiggens
Location: London
Employer: North West London Hospitals NHS Trust
Olympic role: Medical team physiotherapist - Olympics and Paralympics
Stop thinking there are barriers to exercise or you can't do something - hopefully the Games will help prove that most barriers are psychological.
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Kevin Hunt
Location: Cambridge
Employer: Spinalphysio
Olympic role: Physiotherapist at the equestrian
A great opportunity for physiotherapy to distinguish itself from other manual therapists such as chiropractors and osteopaths.
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Kevin Matthews
Location: Dartmouth
Employer: TheTorbay Chiropractic Clinics
Olympic role: Physiotherapy at the Olympic sailing village
The Games will promote the inter-personal skills, depth of knowledge, hands-on skills and expertise of physiotherapy.
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Laura Leadsford
Location: North London
Employer: Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead
Olympic role: Opening ceremonies of the Olympics
The audition was 2 1/2 hours of dancing, following a professional.
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Léonie Dawson
Location: Seaford, East Sussex
Employer: CSP
Olympic role: Performing. It's all secret! I don't know what the rest of the ceremony consists of.
We're at the centre of the Games; preparation, pitch-side and rehabilitation.
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Lesley Winters
Location: Reading, Berkshire
Employer: University of Reading Medical
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
I hope the Games will inspire people who usually just spectate to get active.
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Loraine Prokopiou
Location: Buckinghamshire
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Performer
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm thrilled to be part of it.
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Louise Carson
Location: Redbourn, Hertfordshire
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Treating the equine athletes from visiting teams in the Paralympics
People that think they're not sporty because they don't like running or ball sports may see something that looks fun to try.
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Lowri Seager
Location: Newbury
Employer: Student
Olympic role: Performer
Any Olympic Games sets a high standard for health and exercise promotion.
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Margaret Andrews
Location: Ash, Surrey
Employer: Clare Park Hospital, Farnham
Olympic role: First responder - crowd first aid
I hope that the Games will encourage more people to take part in sport at whatever level they choose.
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Martin Howorth
Location: Gosport
Employer: Royal Navy
Olympic role: Physiotherapy
An opportunity to re-ignite our nation's passion for sport and exercise and to be a driver for a healthier lifesyle, combating our increasingly sedentary habits.
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Melanie Stein du Pre
Location: London
Employer: Ealing Hospital
Olympic role: Performer in the opening ceremony
This really reflects my work within the NHS.
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Natalie Fearn
Location: Surrey
Employer: Surrey NHS
Olympic role: Assisting the sports photographers
To be frontline with the amazing atmosphere!
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Natalie March (nee Stephenson)
Location: Denmead, Hampshire
Employer: Physio-logical
Olympic role: Treating the sailing teams
I will be able to apply what I learn from the Olympics to my everyday clients to enable them to get back to the activities they enjoy quickly.
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Nicola Phillips
Location: Bridgend, south Wales
Employer: Cardiff University
Olympic role: Working in the polyclinic and possibly at training venues as needed
If we do a good job it could be a fantastic advert for our profession... no pressure then.
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Pam Hollyman
Location: Chichester, West Sussex
Employer: Sussex Community NHS Trust
Olympic role: Performer in the opening ceremony, as part of the NHS contingent
I hope an increased interest in all sports will prevail long after the Olympics have finished.
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Pamela Gardiner
Location: Wirral
Employer: Willaston Physio Clinic
Olympic role: Polyclinic in the athletes village
There is a lot of responsibility and expectation about the role as I will be working with a new set of athletes.
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Pamela Parker
Location: Ashtead
Employer: Shooting Star Chase children’s hospice
Olympic role: Driver
Physios have an important role - not just with athletes.
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Raphael Rinaldi
Location: Richmond
Employer: Pure Sports Medicine
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
Physiotherapists are the most competent, all-rounded health professionals able to manage a wide spectrum of medical conditions and emergencies.
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Samuel Bourgein
Location: Oxford and Brighton
Employer: Student
Olympic role: Performer
It's a great opportunity to prove to the world how amazing physiotherapists and the NHS really are.
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Sandra Martin
Location: Keele
Employer: 3rd year student at Keele University
Olympic role: Tribune team leader, press operations
The Olympics come at a time where money is tight and spirits are low, yet thousands of people from all over the world are taking time out to volunteer to ensure that this miraculous event is unforgettable and the buzz around the country is unbelievable.
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Sarah Holden
Location: Oxford
Employer: Oxford University Hospitals
Olympic role: Venue entry team member
It's not every day you get asked to help out with the organising of the biggest Games on earth.
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Sarah Nash
Location: Cambridge
Employer: Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust
Olympic role: Crossing marshall for the road cycling and triathlon events
I wanted to be part of the Games having enjoyed watching them since I was a child.
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Sarah Sandford (nee Dalton)
Location: Brentwood
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Paralympic horses
An opportunity to be exposed to this level of competition behind the scenes and offer a service to the competitors.
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Sonya Nightingale
Location: Highworth
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Veterinary physiotherapy
We are a professional and dedicated group of professionals.
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Stephanie Smith
Location: Bicester, Oxfordshire
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
This is in my eyes the "gold medal" equivalent of my career to date.
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Steven Southwell
Location: Hove
Employer: Sussex Community NHS Trust
Olympic role: Physiotherapist
The Games will highlight the various roles physiotherapists play.
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Susan Boardman
Location: Pinner
Employer: Self-employed
Olympic role: Chaperone anti-doping team
It is the icing on the cake towards the end of my career.
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Tambu Masaya Harkema
Location: Harpenden, Hertfordshire
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Athletics
I want to be a part of this unique opportunity for a home Olympics.
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Tina Calvano
Location: Luton
Employer: Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital
Olympic role: Working in the athletes village polyclinic
The athletes village polyclinc will become an urgent care centre for the local community.
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Tripti Gyan
Location: Nottingham
Employer: Self-employed
Olympic role: Physiotherapist - first responder
I want the people coming to London from all over the world to go back with a feeling that they were treated humanely and with kindness.
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Victoria Henderson
Location: Canterbury
Employer: Self employed
Olympic role: Covering the Paralympics within the vet services team (equine physiotherapy) at Greenwich
The Games will demonstrate that physiotherapists and sport go hand-in-hand and that a physio is an essential part of the support network for athletes whether they be human or equine.
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Vini de Castro
Location: Sidcup , Kent
Employer: Orpington Hospital
Olympic role: First responder
The athletes will be in "safe hands" wherever they need our help.
