Can you Beat the Street in Sinfin’s giant game?

Fri 9 Oct 2020

Sinfin has been transformed into a giant game this month thanks to National Lottery funding from Sport England. On Wednesday 7 October the innovative, physical game that has engaged more than a million people launched in Sinfin. The Beat the Street game will remain in Sinfin until Wednesday 4 November.

Beat the Street encourages people of all ages to get outside and to get active in their local area. The activity works by turning the town into a real-life game, and residents will be able to spot the special sensors called Beat Boxes that have been installed on lampposts around the area.

Anyone who is interested can take part, with participating schools giving a game fob to the pupils and a game card to parents and teachers so that they can accompany the children. Those in the wider community who would also like to join in can pick up a free contactless card from Sinfin Community Centre. Don’t forget to pick up your game map when you get your card.

Players should register their card online at beatthestreet.me and they can then join a school team, or participate in their households, and walk, run, scoot or cycle between the 16 Beat Boxes around Sinfin. Earn points and win prizes by tapping the Beat Boxes with your fob or card as you travel around - the further you travel, the more points you score.

Beat the Street was created by Dr William Bird MBE, an expert in physical activity and the founder of Intelligent Health. He said: “The Beat the Street game has been designed to encourage communities to incorporate lasting changes into their daily lives that will greatly improve their physical and mental health. It also helps reduce congestion and air pollution, improves community cohesion and encourages families to explore the area’s green spaces.
“We are so grateful for this National Lottery funding from Sport England which is enabling us to reach more and more people through Beat the Street.”

The Beat the Street game in Sinfin is being jointly run by Active Derbyshire, Move More Derby and Active South Derbyshire in partnership with Cycle Derby.

Stuart Batchelor, Strategic Director at Active Derbyshire, said: “The outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdown has been difficult for many of us, but it has given us a unique opportunity to think about the way we do things and perhaps reset our way of life; such as ditching the car and walking and cycling more, taking more notice of nature and realising the importance of community. We can’t wait to see how far Sinfin can travel together.”

According to research, one in four people in England does less than 30 minutes of physical activity a week, and four out of five primary school children do not get the recommended amount of daily exercise of 60 minutes. The National Lottery funding from Sport England will not only help people in Sinfin to get active with Beat the Street, but also to leave a positive legacy to improve the community’s health and wellbeing.

For more information about the game, visit beatthestreet.me/sinfin or follow @SinfinBTS on social media.