The Beat the Street physical activity game is returning to Burnley

More than 10,500 people of all ages participated in the six-week competition from September and October 2021 and walked, cycled and rolled 80,346 miles.

Organisers are hopeful that even more people will sign up this time and will exceed that total. The game was the talk of the town for months and activity levels among participating adults and children remain high.

It returns from Wednesday, May 10th to Wednesday, June 21st.

Paul Foster, deputy chief executive, Burnley Leisure and Culture, said: “We are very pleased to be able to bring Beat the Street back to Burnley. We are still seeing the positive benefits from the 2021 game in terms of more active children and adults across the town, less congestion and more community cohesion.

“This time around, we wanted to bring in some new, exciting elements to the game and felt that planting trees complements the ethos of Beat the Street as it helps with air quality, creates a connection to nature, and helps residents feel healthier and happier.

“We want players to be proud of their local spaces and aim to protect, develop and use them.”

This time around, there will be more than 100 Beat Boxes; some will once again be located outside participating schools, but the location of the others will change from the previous game. Also new for this game, players over the age of 13 will be invited to play via the new Beat the Street app if they wish.

Physical cards and maps will also be available from libraries and leisure centres, plus other distribution centres.

Once again, there are prizes for the teams that travel the furthest with vouchers for books and sports equipment on offer. There is also a leaderboard for individuals, as well as a total points leaderboard and an average leaderboard so opportunities for teams of all sizes to win prizes. There is also a dedicated leaderboard for running and cycling groups.

In addition to prizes of vouchers for sports equipment or books, players this year will also be able to earn the chance to plant trees.

After the success of the first Beat the Street Burnley competition; in particular the Go Wild week that invited players to get outdoors together into green spaces and parks, organisers have introduced tree-planting to encourage sustained activity and pride in the town.

In partnership with Trees for Burnley after the game, teams will then have the opportunity to plant these trees either on school or business sites where feasible, or in one of the identified areas in the town, creating community orchards and micro woodlands.

Beat the Street players will be invited along to plant their trees and place their plaques. During the game participating primary school children will also each receive a packet of wildflower seeds to plant.

Beat the Street Burnley has been brought to you through a local partnership including Together an Active Future, Burnley Borough Council, NHS Primary Care Networks, Canal and River Trust, and other partners. It is supported by the National Lottery via Sport England and is being delivered by Intelligent Health.

Vicki Birch, participation health and wellbeing project manager at Canal and River Trust, added: “We’ve worked closely with Beat the Street games across the country including the previous one in Burnley, so we’re delighted that it is set to return.

“Data and feedback from previous games show that the game helped local people discover their local waterways and green space on their doorstep and also that spending time by water had a significant positive impact on levels of physical activity, positive mental health and wellbeing.”

Players will be able to sign up from mid-April and there will be more information at www.beatthestreet.me/burnley and on social media at @BTSBurnley