SSE's Home Nations House hosted the Duchess of Cambridge today where she met some of the UK’s future sports stars.
The Duchess’ work with aspiring athletes was praised by some of the biggest names in British sport at the charity reception held in SSE’s Games time venue.
SSE has partnered with SportsAid to support young athletes through the SSE Next Generation programme.
The Duchess is a patron of the charity and she met young sport stars on the programme during her visit to the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
SSE Next Generation and SportsAid athlete Rachael O'Donnell made a splash in the freestyle relays at Tollcross International Swimming Pool last week.
She said: "Having the Duchess's support gives me a lot of confidence and spurs me on to do well and to achieve the things I want to achieve.
"The financial support from the scheme has been a great help. Swimming costs a lot of money just to get suits and the training and travelling costs, so just to have that extra help has been a weight off my shoulders and it takes some of the stress of the sport off me and helps me focus on just the pool work.
“The more relaxed you are the faster you swim so to get the funding helped me qualify for the Games."
SSE Ambassador and Team Wales captain Aled Davies also met the Duchess after winning silver in the discus yesterday. He said her love and passion for sport is phenomenal.
He said: "It's great to have her as the Patron of SportsAid, and you can see how much she loves it.
“It all starts at the grassroots and these guys who are given a helping hand from SportsAid are on a stepping stone to becoming some of the greatest athletes around.
“If you nurture that at a young age and provide the right support, they've been given the opportunity, even if they don't make it. They are hungry for success and that's inspiring."
Another SSE Next Generation and SportsAid athlete at the reception was 15-year-old swimmer Thomas Hamer. Thomas, of Lancashire set a new British record on Saturday winning silver in the S14 200m freestyle.
He said: "I was so excited when I heard I was going to meet the Duchess today. It's really good to know that she is supporting athletes like me
“It's been an amazing experience in Glasgow I never thought even six months ago that I'd be here.
“The support from SSE has helped me a lot. It's been a really good experience and I've met a lot of new people. I've learnt a lot too."
The Duchess also met tennis star Laura Robson, who was unveiled as the charity's new ambassador for young sportswomen. Keri-anne Payne, Steve Parry, James Hickman and SSE Ambassador Sally Brown were also there to share their experiences with the young athletes.