People of all ages are invited to ditch the car and get active as Beat the Street Burnley gets underway in the town tomorrow (Wednesday).
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.
Beat the Street Burnley is brought to you by Burnley Together with the Canal and River Trust. It is delivered by Intelligent Health.
Burnley Together works in partnership with Burnley Council, The Calico Group, Lancashire County Council, Burnley Leisure, Burnley FC in the Community, BPRCVS and other partners across the public, private, and voluntary sectors to create a central community hub.
Initially established to help and support residents across the borough during the coronavirus outbreak with everyday needs, Burnley Together has become a pivotal point of contact for support enquiries across a wide range of issues.
Coun. Margaret Lishman, Burnley Council’s executive member for health and wellbeing, said: “It’s great to see our borough taking part in this exciting and imaginative project.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity, through the Burnley Together community partnership, to encourage people of all ages to get out there and enjoy the beautiful parks and open spaces, the canal, and perhaps discover other hidden areas they might not be aware of.
“Primary school children can win prizes for collecting points, including book and sport/activity equipment vouchers for their school, and other groups can do the same.
“In fact, everyone can take part and anything that gets us off the sofa and out and about, whether it’s cycling, walking or running, is a good thing and will really help lift people’s spirits, particularly as we come out of the Covid pandemic and start to enjoy a bit more freedom again. Beat the Streets is great fun and it’s the perfect way to enjoy some fresh air and bring people together.”
More than 100 beeping and flashing sensors called Beat Boxes will be placed on lampposts around the area for the duration of the six-week game. Primary school pupils will be provided with fobs while parents and teachers will receive a card from the school so they can accompany children.
The wider community can pick up a contactless card from a distribution point listed at www.beatthestreet.me/burnley
Players then travel between the Beat Boxes scoring points with their fobs or cards as they go. The further players travel, the more points they score for their community or school team. Players look on the Beat the Street map to find their nearest Beat Box; hover your card or fob over this to start your journey.
Walk, cycle or roll to the next Beat Box within an hour to score 10 points. The teams that clock up the highest number of active travel miles over the six weeks will then be in a chance of winning prizes of vouchers for sports equipment or books.
There are leaderboards for schools, community teams and charities.
Daniel Greenhalgh, regional director at Canal and River Trust said: “Our waterways, which are free to enjoy and on the doorstep for so many people living and working in the Burnley area, are great places to be outside and a soothing place to spend time and to get active.”