The Beat the Street physical activity game is coming to Sheffield!

11th June 2021

The Beat the Street game is set to launch in Sheffield and will take place from Wednesday, 16th June to Wednesday, 28th July.

Beat the Street is a free, interactive challenge that encourages people of all ages to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives by turning the city into a six-week game. The game is outdoors, completely contactless and players take part in their family groups or support bubbles, so has been approved by Public Health England as COVID safe.

Participants are encouraged to walk, cycle, run, wheel or scoot as far as possible within the local area, with prizes of sports or book vouchers for the teams that clock up the highest number of miles.

Beat the Street Sheffield is brought to you by Move More and Sheffield City Council. It is delivered by Intelligent Health, with funding from the National Lottery via Sport England, and local partners.

Since it was founded, the game has been played by more than 1.2m people and has been adapted to ensure that it’s safe to play during the COVID-19 pandemic with the approval of Public Health England. Beat the Street Sheffield will be our biggest game to date and we hope that 50,000 local residents will take part.

Players use a free card or fob which they hover over special sensors called “Beat Boxes” which will appear on lampposts around Sheffield. These are placed approximately half a mile apart and you simply hover your card or fob over it. It will beep and flash and will register your points!

Players can join a school or community team or you could help raise up to 500 for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity by allocating your miles to the charity team.

As well as encouraging people to get active, Beat the Street has been shown to get communities more engaged, less car-dependent and fitter which is vital in Sheffield’s recovery from COVID-19. More than 33,000 people played the Beat the Street game safely in various UK towns in autumn 2020 with many players reporting that it had a positive impact on their mental health at an anxious time.

Greg Fell, director of Public Health in Sheffield, said: “We are incredibly excited to be bringing Beat the Street to Sheffield. We know that one of the best things people can do right now for their physical and mental health is to move more and to get out into green space where possible, and Beat the Street really helps people do just that in a safe and enjoyable way.

“Beat the Street is free and it’s open to everyone regardless of age, ability or background. It encourages you to get active from your front door so pick up a card and get playing!”

Please keep an eye on social media or sign up for a newsletter for more information. More information will shortly be available at www.beatthestreet.me/sheffield and on social media at @BTSSheffield