Stranraer is set to be transformed by a free, fun community health initiative that will inspire people across the town to become more physically active.
Beat the Street is a hugely successful community-health initiative which has helped thousands of people across the UK become more active by transforming entire towns and cities into a giant game. The Beat the Street project in Stranraer is being commissioned by Dumfries and Galloway Council and delivered by Intelligent Health. The aim is to promote healthier lifestyles and encourage active travel.
Launching on 31 August 2016, Beat the Street is a free six-week challenge where local residents are rewarded with points and prizes depending on how far they travel. Players receive cards or fobs and can tap them on special ‘Beat Boxes’ which will be appearing on lampposts across Stranraer to track their journey and receive points.
Everyone in Stranraer is invited to play Beat the Street to see how far the whole town can travel in six weeks. Additionally, Local schools, community groups and businesses are able to form teams for Beat the Street and compete against each other to win some amazing prizes if they walk, run or cycle the furthest.
Beat the Street has already been played in Annan and Dalbeattie in 2015 where it was a huge success. More than 30% of residents walked, ran and cycled over 182,000 miles in just six weeks.
Tom McAughtrie – Chairman of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Communities Committee – said: “Beat the Street rewards people for making small, positive changes to their behaviour. The main aim of the game is to help people across Stranraer become more active while still having fun. There are health benefits to walking for just half an hour a day so we hope to see a real positive difference in the health and fitness of those playing.
“We are incredibly excited to be bringing Beat the Street to Stranraer as it will give thousands of people a completely new perspective on where they live – last year, Annan and Dalbeattie travelled over thirty times the length of The Great Wall of China, can Stranraer go further?”
Want to get involved in Beat the Street? Visit beatthestreet.me/stranraer or follow Beat the Street Stranraer on Facebook and @BTSStranraer on Twitter for more information.
