WIREDGOV

Community activity game to spread with 59 new games across East Midlands and south west.

Towns and cities will be turned into giant playgrounds as we invest £3.3 million into the Beat the Street programme aimed at getting people active.

Already a hit in 72 towns and cities across the UK and Europe, Intelligent Health’s initiative will now be rolled out with a further 59 games across south west England and the East Midlands thanks to the National Lottery funding.

The game sees individuals, or teams – often schools and families – use a card to tap into ‘Beat Boxes’ located on lampposts all across town and this expansion will support more than 655,000 people to get active.

When users tap into a new location they score points for the distance they have walked, cycled or scooted to get there – with a central website keeping a running total and allowing people to play in teams, competing against others in the same town.

Prizes are on offer for the best performing groups in specific categories and Dr William Bird, the brains behind Beat the Street, believes his game helps get a whole town active.

“Walking isn’t just a physical activity, it’s a social interaction where people can connect with the outdoors and rediscover their roots,” he said.

“As doctors our role is based on reaction, we recommend activity and prescribe medicine, but Beat the Street focuses on preventing illnesses in the first place.

“Moving upstream from the NHS, we are changing behaviours in whole towns and whole cities. It’s amazing to see people taking ownership and mass participation with some schemes having more than 40,000 people playing in just a week or two.”

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