It’s been a bumper summer of sport this year what with the European Football Championship, Wimbledon and sandwiched as we are between two halves of the Olympics.

What I love most about the Olympics is just how all-encompassing they are in terms of sporting achievement.

I really wish we could watch synchronised swimming, archery, shooting, BMX, breakdancing and kayaking on a weekly basis, however I suppose if we could follow them all the time, the Olympics would lose its novelty.

What this tournament really does though, is open our eyes to the amazing feats of endurance and training across many disciplines and inspires both young and old to try something out for themselves.

I was really interested to hear that one of our medallists- Georgia Bell who won Bronze in the 1500m, had only returned to running after some time out, when going to her local Parkrun. It really does go to show how vital grass-roots sport is for getting people out and active and maybe even competing.

We’re very lucky in Exmouth to have relatively easy access to a whole wealth of different sports. We have a fab watersports centre right on our doorstep run by world-class kiteboarders, a sailing club, an archery club.

We have local football, rugby, cricket and netball teams, a hockey club in Exeter and the whole range of athletics running out of Exeter Arena. We have successful boxing clubs, competitive swimming and lifesaving societies, a superb tennis centre and several golf clubs, bowls and so many more.

There really is so much expertise and opportunity in our community, so take this as your sign to give something a go.

Sporting clubs are a fantastic way to make new friends and keep ourselves physically and mentally healthy.

Many of these groups and clubs will have open days, so if you’ve ever thought ‘I’d like a go at that’ have a look out for opportunities to try it out.

And if you don’t know where to start, you could definitely do worse than our ever popular Parkrun- every Saturday, opposite Ocean 9am start.

All the details about taking part are on the Parkrun website, or just turn up and have a chat with a volunteer. I can’t guarantee you any medals from your new sporting activity, but the golden glow you’ll get from trying out a new skill is almost as good.