Enjoying the rare privilege yesterday of standing in the Long Room at Lord's within a few feet of the (tiny) urn containing the Ashes, I was transported thousands of miles back to my childhood and endless (frankly, boring) summer Sunday afternoons in parks while my Dad played as part of a pub cricket team.

That sparked a memory of watching my Mum playing netball – the reason I took up the sport at all – and an image came to mind of her wearing driving gloves to play because she was so cold. This brought me to the memory of the netball World Cup Finals in Birmingham back in 1995 where the Australian team had kangaroos embroidered on the shorts they wore under their (very short) skirts on the basis that people stare at their bottoms when they play anyway, so why not remind them who they're looking at.

Believe it or not, these are the kind of memories 'Our Sporting Life' is hoping to capture. The project aims to build a picture of our shared sporting heritage and the Sports Heritage Network, who are behind it, are keen to discover our personal, family and community sporting memories. They're also interested in what national and well-known examples of our sporting heritage have inspired us and how – whether a sporting hero or event.

Through www.oursportinglife.co.uk they are launching a search for the sporting memories, heroes, objects, photographs and experiences that have inspired the nation. You can contribute your own by going to the website and completing the online postcard.

Our Sporting Life has been awarded the London 2012 'Inspire mark' in recognition of its outstanding quality and contribution to delivering the Games' lasting legacy across the UK. The memories, photos and objects gathered as part of this initial phase of the project will inform and be part of exhibitions across the UK over the next 4 years in partnership with the UK's major sports museums. This project is a great example of the 'wedding of sports and arts' aspired to by de Coubertin in his vision for the Modern Olympic Games, and we're delighted it's part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.