A new game which encourages people living and working in Sudbury and Great Cornard to ditch their car and walk, run and cycle as far as possible is set to kick off next month. Running for six weeks from 21 September to 2 November, Beat the Street is a free, fun game where local residents are rewarded with points and prizes for (…)exploring their town on foot or bicycle.
More than 40 special sensors called ‘Beat Boxes’ will be placed on lampposts across Sudbury and Great Cornard. Players collect points by tapping cards and fobs against as many Beat Boxes as they can while travelling across their area.
Local children are able to earn points for their school and adult players are able to create their own teams or support an existing team or school. Schools, community groups and businesses will all be competing with each other to see who can travel the furthest and win up to £500 worth of sports equipment supplied by Decathlon for their team.
Anyone who wants to get involved with Beat the Street will soon be able to pick up a card at their local GP surgery, leisure centre or library. Players are able to register their card online, join a team and start tapping.
Beat the Street Sudbury and Great Cornard is an initiative run by Intelligent Health in partnership with Suffolk County Council. Taking place during Suffolk’s Year of Walking, Beat the Street is designed to inspire whole communities to get moving. The game is coming to Sudbury and Great Cornard for the first time following the success of Beat the Street in towns and cities across the UK including London, Liverpool, Nottingham, Reading and Lowestoft.
Cllr Tony Goldson, Cabinet Member for Health at Suffolk County Council, said: “Beat the Street rewards people for making small, positive changes to their behaviour – by swapping your car for a bike or walking an extra bit each weekday you could help your school, business or community group win some great prizes.
“We are incredibly excited to be bringing Beat the Street to Sudbury and Great Cornard as it will give thousands of people a completely new perspective on their area – how far will everyone travel?”
Megan Felton from OneLife Suffolk added “Anyone can get involved and it’s a really great way to encourage people to get outdoors and to get moving. It’s a great chance to get families and friends taking part together to work as a team whilst improving their health at the same time.’
To find out more visit beatthestreet.me/SGC or follow Beat the Street on Twitter (@BTSSGC) or like Beat the Street SGC on Facebook. You can play as an individual but anyone can make up a team, it can be with work colleagues, friends or neighbours, contact Jane Hatton on 01787 468634 or email jane@intelligenthealth.co.uk to register your team.