The Beat the Street interactive physical activity challenge taking place in Merton has entered its Go Active themed week, encouraging participants to try out new sports and activities.
The idea is that people will discover something that they might not have tried before and continue to keep up their new active habits after the Beat the Street competition comes to an end on 26th April. This is also an opportunity to explore the sports and leisure options on offer.
Almost 22,000 people have signed up to play the Beat the Street Merton game which is part of the Actively Merton programme. Together, participants have walked, cycled, wheeled, run and scooted an incredible 204,000 miles so far in the competition.
Anyone of any age is invited to take part and you can still get involved now for the remaining two weeks by picking up a card from one of the distribution points on www.beatthestreet.me/merton or players over the age of 13 can download the free Beat the Street app.
Teams of all varieties including schools, community groups and workplaces have been battling it out for the past several weeks across the average and total points leaderboards to take home prizes of vouchers for books if they top the leaderboard. There are also prizes for individuals and ‘lucky spot’ prizes just for taking part.
St John Fisher Primary School tops the total points leaderboard and Poplar Primary School and Wimbledon Chase Primary School are in second and third. On the average points leaderboard, Motspur Park Community FC is top with Dons Local Action Group and Morden Rec in second and third.
Councillor Eleanor Stringer, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Civic Pride, said: “We are really proud to be such a great sporting borough, and we want to encourage all our residents to lead active and healthy lifestyles. By bringing Beat the Street to Merton, we are making it even easier and more fun to incorporate more physical activity in our everyday lives. The Go Active themed week is a celebration of all the ways you can get moving in and around the area, and a fabulous opportunity to try out something new without any pressure. It is never too late to enter the game!”
Ben Halschka, Head of Social Prescribing at Merton Connected said: “Beat the Street Merton is a fun way of encouraging residents of all ages to be physically active and to get outdoors, exploring green spaces – both things that have a positive impact on your health and wellbeing.”
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.
More information is available at www.beatthestreet.me/merton and on social media at @BTSMerton
Ends
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.