BT Ambassadors
We've brought together a team of top sporting personalities to lead and inspire our 100,000 employees and millions of BT customers to become volunteers, coaches and mentors for young British athletes aiming to compete in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Our sporting ambassadors include past, present and future Olympians, all collaborating with BT to help us make a difference. Headed by Dame Kelly Holmes, these present and future sporting greats will be promoting our partnership with the Olympics.
Two of our Paralympian Ambassadors are Ade Adepitan and Richard Fox.
Ade Adepitan MBE, Paralympian
Equally at home on the basketball court and the small screen, Ade is one of our most recognisable Paralympians. Having survived polio at an early age, Ade walked using callipers for much of his childhood. As a teenager, he became interested in wheelchair basketball and after triumphing at the Stoke Mandeville Junior Games, he never looked back. Known for his swift manoeuvres and fast, accurate throwing on court, Ade helped propel Great Britain's basketball team to Bronze at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens and to Gold at the 2005 Paralympic World Cup in Manchester. Ade's extensive knowledge of the game is evident when he appears as a regular studio guest and live reporter on Five's NBA basketball coverage.
An instantly recognisable face, Ade appeared as the lead dancer in BBC1's Hip Hop ident. His TV work includes appearing in extraordinary documentary Beyond Boundaries for BBC2 and presenting XChange for CBBC, Sportsround and Holiday for BBC1. He recently took on his first principal acting role in CBBC drama, Desperados, about the highs and lows of a wheelchair basketball team.
Ade's services to disabled sport were recognised with a highly deserved MBE in 2005. He was also presented with an Honorary Doctorate of the University from Loughborough University. Ade is patron of disabled sport charity, WheelPower, The Association of Wheelchair Children and Scope. He is also an ambassador for the NSPCC, The Prince's Trust and for the Lloyds TSB London 2012 partnership.
Richard Fox, Footballer
BT employee Richard Fox - a midfielder for the Paralympics GB cerebral palsy seven-a-side football team - scored one of the six goals that put his team on the road to Beijing in a qualifying match against Ireland during the world championships in Brazil.
He said: "I never ever thought of being a Paralympic athlete. It's beyond my wildest dreams. I'm so excited about the future and what I can achieve in my lifetime."
One of our Advanced Apprentices, Richard, who is based at Leavesden in Hertfordshire, has been in the England team for the past four years. He said: "It's quite competitive and we play at a very high standard. I train around four or five times a week and I never go a week without playing Sunday morning football."
Richard's condition means he has limited movement in mainly the right side of his body, with little function in his right arm and hand. He said the biggest problem for the England team is co-ordinating training. "Players are from all over the country so it's difficult to get together more than once a month," he said.
Find out more about the other BT Ambassadors
