Go Wild in Merton this week with Beat the Street

· by · in Children, Disabled people, Education and schools, Parks and green spaces, Public health, Sport and leisure, Young people. ·
Beat the Street
Competitors from Perseid Upper School take part in Beat the Street Merton

Participants in Beat the Street Merton are invited to Go Wild this week.

The themed week starts today with the aim of encouraging residents to explore their local waterways and green spaces, and there are double points available on all Beat Boxes in parks this weekend.

On Tuesday, 11th April, from 11am to 12pm, there is a walk and nature bingo through Kendor Gardens and Morden Hall Park where there will be double points on Beat Boxes 102, 104, 122 & 123, meeting at Merton Civic Centre at 11am.

Already, more than 21,400 people have signed up to the real-life interactive physical activity game which forms part of the Actively Merton programme, and have together walked, cycled and rolled nearly 185,000 miles.

There are leaderboards for school, communities, workplace teams and individuals with prizes for those topping the leaderboards at the end of the six-week competition.

Currently, St John Fisher Primary School is at the top of the total points leaderboard with Poplar Primary School and Wimbledon Chase Primary School in second and third.

On the average points leaderboard, Dons Local Action Group is top with Motspur Park Community FC and East Gardens in second and third.

Beat the Street Merton has been commissioned by Merton Council and NHS South West London with support from the National Lottery via Sport England. It is being delivered by Intelligent Health.

Councillor Natasha Irons, Cabinet Member for Local Environment, Green Spaces and Climate Change, said: “We are delighted to support the environmentally-friendly Beat the Street programme, and it’s great to see people out exercising and exploring new green spaces. We tend to stick to the same tried and tested routes, and it’s amazing how the game has opened up the idea of exploring the town on foot, which reveals new areas and parks you might not have known about, even if you’ve lived here for years.”

Mark Creelman, Place Executive – Merton and Wandsworth, NHS South West London said: “Beat the Street is enabling people to choose more sustainable and eco-friendly forms of transport such as walking or cycling which of course is wonderful for mental health as well as physical well-being.”

Anyone of any age is invited to take part in the free game and you can still get involved for the remaining weeks. Just pick up a card from one of the distribution points listed at www.beatthestreet.me/merton (or download the free Beat the Street app (players over 13), register, join a team and get playing!

More information is available at www.beatthestreet.me/merton and on social media at @BTSMerton

More information

The game is free and open to anyone who lives, works or studies in Merton and will take place across the borough from Wednesday 15 March to Wednesday 26 April. 

Beat the Street was created by GP Dr William Bird to encourage people to explore their local areas and to make exercise fun. It is part of the Actively Merton programme, which supports people to be more physically and socially active, delivered in a way that residents want it.

To play, children use a special tap card and paper map, distributed by participating primary schools. Adults can pick up their free card from one of Merton’s libraries or leisure centres. Players over the age of 13 can download the free Beat the Street app to play the game by tapping their phone.

How to play

To play, you can use a card or our Beat the Street App (Age 13+). 

 1.       Create your Beat the Street account on our website at beatthestreet.me/Merton or by downloading our Beat the Street App via Google Play or the App Store.

 2.       Add family members, and register a card to player profiles. Set up a team or join an existing one.

 3.       Start your journey. Find your nearest Beat Box using a paper or digital map and hover your card at the contactless Beat Box until it beeps and flashes. If playing with the app, tap the Beat Box icon on your phone and swipe to collect points.

 4.       Visit two Beat Boxes within an hour and collect 10 points for each Beat Box – this is 20 points for the journey.

 5.       Carry on your journey. Score 10 points for each extra Beat Box you visit.

By playing with the Beat the Street App, you get access to exclusive features – collect gems, choose an avatar to represent you in-game and raise the competition in your team leaderboards.