The aim of the text is to capture and identify the differences between volunteers and non-volunteers in the scope of the widely understood image of volunteering and the beliefs surrounding it. The data was gathered in three Polish cities and shows that there is a great disparity between young volunteers and non-volunteers. This disparity can be of substantial importance to the future of volunteering in Poland and it conclusively proves that young people are very pragmatic. Volunteers see the sense in sports volunteering via the instrumental benefits that transcend the experience, although they do not question the autotelicy of sports volunteering, especially when it comes to its value as an emotional experience.