Beat the Street gets underway in Shrewsbury

People of all ages are invited to ditch the car and get active as Beat the Street Shrewsbury gets underway in the town from Wednesday 29 June to Wednesday 10 August.  These dates coincide with the Commonwealth Games period, and are part of the celebration of the Games coming to the West Midlands.

Beat the Street is a free, interactive game that encourages people of all ages to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives by rewarding teams with points and prizes the further they walk, cycle and roll.

The game received an official launch on Monday with short speeches from Cllr Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Chris Child, Chief Executive of Energize Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and the Beat the Street founder Dr William Bird MBE. Organisers also led a walk around the town centre to demonstrate how the game works.

There are prizes for the teams that travel the furthest with vouchers for books and sports equipment. There is a total points leaderboard and an average leaderboard so opportunities for teams of all sizes to win. Players can join a school, workplace or community team or alternatively one of the chosen charity teams: Harlescott Grange Community Hub, Shropshire Cycle Hub or Shropshire Supports Refugees.

Primary school pupils will be provided with a player pack containing a map and a card for the child and an accompanying adult. The wider community can pick up a contactless card from a distribution point listed at www.beatthestreet.me/shrewsbury

Players then travel between the 60 Beat Boxes scoring points with their cards as they go. The further players travel, the more points they score for their community or school team. Each week is themed with different activities to help participants get the most out of their Beat the Street experience.

Beat the Street Shrewsbury has been commissioned by Shropshire Council with support from the National Lottery via Sport England and Shrewsbury Big Town Plan. It is being delivered by Intelligent Health.

Simon Jones, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said: “We are delighted to bring this innovative and compelling game to Shrewsbury and we can’t wait to see how far everyone is able to walk, run, cycle and scoot during the game.

“It’s clear that now, more than ever, it is vitally important to ensure that we adopt healthy lifestyle habits around incorporating physical activity into our days and trying to travel in more active ways by walking or cycling. It’s free to take part, so pick up a card, join a team and get scoring points! Even people who are already active report that the game helps them go even further and also is a great tool for exploring the area – even if you’ve lived here for years.”