Day 7 of the Australian Olympic Beach Volleyball Legacy - Amnesty International - Champions in Charity

Australian Olympic Beach Volleyball Legacy - Champions in Charity
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A champion's work is never over, and despite the After Party of the Year, whilst Tamsin and Louise took an early morning flight to Warsaw to play just one last Volleyball game, two of our Australian Olympians - 4 time Olympic Beach Volleyball Coach Steve Anderson and double Olympic Swimmer Sally Foster joined forces early in the morning at Amnesty International to show their support for Human Rights.

After London 2012, Sally Foster is now officially the 8th fastest 200m female breast stroker in the world. Swimming is in her genes. Her great aunt Evelyn Whillier [nee de Lacy] competed in swimming at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin and her mother was a national swim champion.

Sally Foster's thoughts... “Sport is genuinely universal, transcending cultures and eras. The likes of Jesse Owens, Yvonne Goolagong, Cathy Freeman and Muhammad Ali are all examples of those who have contributed to the advancement of human rights in different spheres. They have become icons of our society. As Sportspeople we believe that we have the ability to influence key people, to reach out to new audiences and to help to make real change.”

Steve Anderson has coached his teams to Olympic Gold and Bronze Medals as well as 23 International Medals including 8 at the Federation de International Volleyball (FIVB) World Championships. In addition Steve has coached over 100 Professional Athletes from 13 different countries, 16 of which have represented their country at the Olympic Games. Steve received the 2001 Australian Volleyball National Coach of the Year award and his team was awarded the 1990-2000 FIVB International Team of the Decade and 2001 Queensland Sports Team of the Year. In London 2012 he led his team, Tamsin Hinchley and Natalie Cook for Australia.

Amnesty International is an international human rights organisation with more than three million supporters worldwide. Working in over 150 countries, Amnesty International investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes people into action, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom and dignity are denied.

Amnesty is calling on all sportspeople to speak out for those who can't and to help champion fundamental human rights - the right to life, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of association, freedom from discrimination, the right to health and housing.

In tune with the IOC's Sport For All Movement, we too believe sport is a human right for all individuals. Sport for All is a movement promoting the Olympic ideal that sport is a human right for all individuals regardless of race, social class and sex. The movement encourages sports activities that can be exercised by people of all ages, both sexes and different social and economic conditions

Amnesty work on a number of valuable campaigns and we understand that our words can save lives to their valuable mission. A video is included below that shares insights on their progress over 50 years.

From Steve Anderson : "Sportspeople have the power to inspire a generation to make a difference and that's why I'm calling on athletes and Olympians from across the globe to back Amnesty International and help give a voice to the voiceless."

These Olympians offered their support to Human Rights and the Olympian movement of Sports for All.

They will personally support their own Amnesty International causes throughout the year. Sally is a passionate believer in the rights of women and Steve is a strong supporter for refugees.

I am also proud to say that Steve and I will be helping the team at Amnesty International to recruit 60 sportspeople from around the world to support us on this journey for Sports for All.

Read more on Sally Foster: http://london2012.olympics.com.au/athlete/sally-foster