Beat the Street players in Swindon are being encouraged to ‘Go Wild’ this week and to explore the town’s parks and green spaces while playing the game.
Taking place until 6 November, the Beat the Street initiative has seen the town transformed into a giant game where residents are rewarded with points and prizes for walking, cycling or scooting around the community, tapping sensors known as ‘Beat Boxes’ along the way. The teams who have travelled the furthest at the end of the competition will win vouchers for books, sports or fitness equipment.
Once again, Swindon has really embraced the game, reflecting last year’s record-breaking performance. This time around, nearly 24,000 people have signed up and together have travelled over 150,000 miles in the competition so far.
Haydonleigh Primary School is currently at the top of the total points leaderboard while WHSmith are at the top of the average points leaderboard.
However, Beat the Street Swindon is celebrating ‘Go Wild’ Week which means there are double points on Beat Boxes in parks this coming weekend (19 and 20 October), so it’s all to play for.
There are also bonus points available at a selection of Nordic walking taster events this week. An initiative from WALX Swindon aims to provide low-cost peer led pole walking in green spaces all over Swindon, using ‘Activator’ poles which give a whole-body workout. Limited places are available at a range of taster events that are listed on Beat the Street Swindon’s Twitter and Facebook pages.
Swindon is also the first town to benefit from an improved Beat the Street website beatthestreet.me/swindon which contains enhanced features including an individual leaderboard to find the top tapper in Swindon.
Players can search for Beat Boxes, schools, outdoor gyms and card distribution points to help plan their journeys and make the most of this year’s game. The map has also been enhanced to include walking navigation from a player’s current location to the nearest Beat Box.
Councillor Brian Ford, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health: “Despite the wet weather, we’ve seen lots of people out and about playing Beat the Street. We’d really like to see more residents getting out there and tapping as much as possible in the remaining weeks of the game.
“It’s not too late to get involved, so even if you haven’t played the game before, why not pick up a card and get tapping? As well as getting active, you could also be in with a chance of winning great prizes for your school or community group.”
Visit beatthestreet.me/Swindon to keep up to date with the leaderboards and to find out more.