Funded by Hertfordshire County Council, Beat the Street is a six-week real life walking and cycling game in which residents can collect points for the number of miles they travel. It takes place from 3 June until 15 July.
Anyone can take part and a share of a £10,000 prize pot is up for grabs for the teams that travel the furthest. ‘Spot’ prizes donated by local businesses and organisations will be available to individuals throughout the competition.
Players are issued with a special card which can then be ‘tapped’ against sensors called ‘beat boxes’, which will be placed on lamp posts across the town, including one here at The Lamex Stadium. Residents can collect the cards from libraries and a number of leisure centres and GP practices.
The boxes flash and beep to recognise the card. By tapping the card against a box at the start of the journey and an-other at the end, points for the distance travelled are recorded on the card. These go towards the individual’s total, the team total and the overall ‘race to space’ challenge total and put that person in the running for great prizes. Players can monitor their progress via a secure website at www.herts.beatthestreet.me.
Cabinet Member for Public Health, Localism and Libraries, Teresa Heritage, said: “Beat the Street is a fun way to pro-mote healthier lifestyles for the whole family. It’s an exciting and fun initiative that will really foster a community spirit whilst also encouraging residents of Stevenage of all ages to get more active.”
Stevenage Mayor Sherma Batson added: “Beat the Street is a great idea to encourage people from a young age to do more exercise and to be more healthy and the fact that it is a game makes it fun and competitive.”
Louise Gallagher, Sport and Wellbeing Manager for Stevenage Borough Council, added: “It’s a good way for people to travel around Stevenage and complements the existing programme of events that are in place such as the women’s cycling tour and the annual health action day. Anything that encourages people to get out and use the parks and have fun is definitely to be encouraged!”
The ultimate aim is to clock up enough miles to get to space; if Hertfordshire’s four teams (Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Stevenage and Broxbourne) collectively travel more than 500,000 miles, a £1,000 donation will be made to a nominated charity in each area.
Community groups and residents interested in taking part in Beat the Street can email team.herts@beatthestreet.me for more information.