At Sydney2000, i was blown away by the volunteers and vowed if the Olympics ever came to the UK, I would sign up. They have and I did. I'm so excited and hope very much to be accepted as a Games Maker.

Last week I had the usual negative London cab driver, who started to have a go about London2012. Once I got going, he shut up!

Rita in Scarborough

I live outside of London. I would be willing to give up 13 days of my time in the cause of volunteering to help assure a successful 2012. So why does LOCOG discriminate against those willing to volunteer from outside London, by not only leaving it to them to arrange their travel and accommodation, but by leaving them to pay for it too!

It is bad enough that as usual, London gets everything in this country, as though the remainder of the country is of no relevance, and Birmingham, the so-called second city, which is geographically central and therefore more accessible to all, is over-looked once again. If you are truly interested in providing inclusive opportunities to those willing to give up their time for 2012, the least you can do is at least cover the costs those living outside London will face. Or are you only looking for wealthy volunteers?

Hi there willingandable,

First, thank you for your interest in volunteering at London 2012 - the Games couldn't happen without passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated Games Makers.

Unfortunately, while we’d love to put everyone up and pay for all their travel costs, with up to 70,000 volunteers, this simply isn’t possible.

We will, however, provide volunteers with an official Games Maker uniform, free meals during their shifts and free travel on public transport to and from their shifts. For volunteers staying in London this will include travel within London zones 1–6 and between London and Eton Dorney, Lee Valley White Water Centre and Hadleigh Farm, Essex.

We’ll also provide free transport to volunteers with roles in other Games-time locations: Weymouth and Portland, Manchester, Coventry, Cardiff, Newcastle and Glasgow.

If you really would like to become a Games Maker but cannot cover the costs of staying in London during the Games, perhaps you might consider volunteering in Coventry, one of the co-Host Cities for the Football competition.