Brent Eastwood: Daylight saving extends activity opportunities

Twilight football, one of many social sport codes that start up their twilight competitions once daylight saving arrives.

SPORT THOUGHT

What a great time of year this is – daylight saving has well and truly kicked in and, from my point of view, the temperature is the most pleasant of all the seasons.

It's the perfect time to get out there and get active – there really are no excuses at this time of year.

Daylight saving delivers us a heap of time to get out and enjoy the fresh air in whatever activity we like to undertake. And although October and November can sometimes get a bit hairy weather-wise, the cold has largely left us and the mornings and evenings are usually quite mild.

So it's a fantastic time to dust off the bike that has been in the garage all winter, or the walking/running shoes that might only be used in spring and summer. It really is a great time for evening activity – we tend to see a whole lot more walkers and joggers out there on the footpaths and trails across the region at this time of year; and if social sport is your thing there are many sports codes that start up their twilight competitions once daylight saving arrives (and Covid permits).

From hockey to golf to football to touch (and many more), there really is a social sports competition to meet most people's needs. This is a great opportunity to get a work team (or a group of friends) together and get out there and have some fun, enjoy each other's company while doing something healthy.

For those that are not too keen on the organised sport side of things and are not sure how or where to start an exercise programme, just ask your GP or practice nurse for a Green Prescription next time you see them.

Green Prescription is a support service, funded by the Northland District Health Board and operated by Sport Northland, that helps you to improve your health. Over 2000 Northlanders benefit from the initiative every year.

Once you have that discussion with your GP or practice nurse, they will refer you to Sport Northland which will give you the opportunity to talk to one of Sport Northland's healthy lifestyle support team.

The healthy lifestyle team is based right throughout Northland and its members are on hand to support individuals with suitable physical activity and healthy eating options.

Follow-ups then occur through regular contacts from the support team members, who track your progress and provide support and motivation along the way.

So you really have no excuses now – the daylight hours are there, the weather is coming right and if you don't know how to start to get physically active, then your GP and Sport Northland may be the right option for you to take to get started.

Happy exercising!

• Brent Eastwood is Sport Northland's chief executive.