People of all ages are invited to ditch the car and get active as Beat the Street Derby gets underway throughout the city from Wednesday 31st March to Wednesday 12th May.

Beat the Street is a free, interactive game that encourages people of all ages to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives.

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 on the Beat The Street website.

Players then walk, roll, scoot, cycle or run between the 261Beat Boxes scoring points with their fobs or cards as they go. The further players travel within the game area, the more points they score for their community or school team.

School teams can win prizes of up to £300 of sport or book vouchers on each leaderboard while community teams will be eligible to win up to £300 worth of sports and fitness vouchers. The game has also been adapted to reward players for their personal achievements and each week is themed with different activities to help participants get the most out of their Beat the Street experience.

Participants can also join one of three charity teams; Derby and Derbyshire Age UK, Safe and Sound and Umbrella.

There are total points and average points leaderboards for individuals and teams across schools and community groups and workplaces so teams of all sizes stand a chance of winning prizes.

With lockdown being eased after the outbreak of COVID-19, communities are understandably cautious about getting out and about for physical activity and exercise. The game has been approved by Public Health England and adjusted to ensure that it is completely safe to play and so it complies with social distancing restrictions.

The changes to the game mean that you do not need to touch a Beat Box, players can simply hover their card or fob near the sensor and it will register the swipe. Further measures such as frequent sanitisation of Beat Boxes and temporary pavement markings to help will also be put in place.

Beat the Street is being delivered by Intelligent Health and is funded by the National Lottery and Sport England on behalf of Move More Derby and Derby City Council.

Owen Swift, Physical Activity and Sport Manager at Derby City Council, said:

“We are delighted to bring this innovative and compelling game to Derby and we can’t wait to see what mileage tallies everyone is able to walk, run, cycle, wheel and scoot within the game area as part of their daily exercise during the Beat the Street challenge.

“We know that some people will feel a little uneasy about getting back outside again while we are still living with Coronavirus. However, it’s clear that now, more than ever, it is vitally important to ensure that we adopt healthy lifestyle habits around incorporating physical activity into our days and trying to travel in more active ways by walking or cycling.”

Beat the Street was devised by GP Dr William Bird MBE in 2010 to get communities active and to make physical activity accessible to everyone. 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 completely contactless and players take part in their family groups or support bubbles. Players are encouraged to explore their local area by walking, cycling, running, wheeling or scooting within the game area and there are prizes for the teams who score the most points.

More information is available on the Beat The Street website and on social media @BTSDerby