Beat the Street turns Clacton and Jaywick into giant game

A COMMUNITY game in Clacton and Jaywick Sands has ended, with players racking up more than 38,000 miles travelled and the five top tappers in the country.
The six week Beat the Street game saw 3,614 players join in, tapping beat boxes situated around both areas to collect points.
The free, interactive game encouraged people of all ages to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives by taking part to win points and prizes.
Working as individuals or teams, players were able to walk, run, cycle, or roll between the beat boxes – recording 88,221 taps.
The top five tappers across the UK in Beat the Street this year have also come from the Clacton and Jaywick Sands game after they all broke the record number of points collected – ranging from 35,460 to a staggering 70,030.
Selfie competitions and lucky boxes saw players rewarded with a range of prizes, and special events were held to offer free tasters of activities as well as extra points.
Game co-ordinator Becky Dowling, physical activities capacity building officer for Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), said: “It’s been an amazing game, with so many people joining in and telling us how it has helped them.
“I’ve had players tell me they’ve made new friends, gained confidence, and improved their overall feeling of wellbeing just by taking part.
“It’s been lovely to meet people at the special events and reward them with double or even triple points.
“The selfie competitions have also been such fun, with brilliant entries – it’s just lovely to see people getting involved and enjoying the game.
“The whole aim of Beat the Street is to increase physical activity and it really has done that for so many people in Clacton and Jaywick Sands.
“Hopefully after enjoying their time getting out and about for the game, they will stay active and even join in other activities or groups in the area.”
The Beat the Street Clacton and Jaywick Sands winners have now been revealed.
Essex Pedal Power came out first in average and total points for community and workplace teams with Clacton Seafront Runners coming second.
Holland Park Primary School was the winner of the schools category in both average and total points, with Cann Hall in second place.
The Outcast Gingers were top of the small teams, and the top of the individual leaderboard was Andrew H.
The winning charity team was Inclusion Ventures.
An awards event will be held in September for the winners.
Player Andrew Hobson said: “This game has made me a lot more social.
“Usually, I do rides on my own, but I have made so many new friends whilst out tapping as you meet people at the boxes.”
Delivered by Intelligent Health and CVST, Beat the Street was funded by the Active Essex Local Delivery Pilot – a project testing ways to encourage residents to be more active and to improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on the NHS.
Sport England and Tendring District Council supported the project.
For more information about CVST, including its range of physical activity groups in Tendring, visit www.cvstendring.org.uk.

More than 1,000 players sign up in first 24 hours

The Beat the Street Clacton and Jaywick Sands game has launched with more than 1,200 participants signing up on its first day and together walking, cycling, and rolling their way to more than 800 miles.

The first selfie challenge has also been held along with a free seafront run event giving double points to those who take part.

Beat the Street is a free, interactive game encouraging people of all ages to move more and to get active.

Launched on June 15, it will run for six weeks until Wednesday, July 27.

Becky Dowling, physical activities capacity building officer for Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), is running the game.

She said: “We’ve got off to an amazing start and already had so much fun.

“Beat the Street provides an incredible opportunity to support children and their families to become active as a habit, through a fun and friendly competition.

“It’s also a great chance to see and try things out in the local community, to spend time together as a family and to enjoy walking, cycling and rolling outdoors in all the wonderful green spaces in our area.”

Beeping and flashing sensors called ‘Beat Boxes’ have been placed on lampposts around Clacton and Jaywick.

Primary school pupils have been provided with cards and a map while wider community can pick up a contactless card from one of  the distribution points.

Players walk, cycle or roll between the Beat Boxes – hovering their cards over the Beat Boxes to score points.

There are leaderboards for schools, community teams and charity teams Inclusion Ventures and Sailship, and each leaderboard is divided into total and average points to ensure that smaller teams are in with an equal chance of winning.

The first week of the game was themed Go Play for players to get to grips with the rules.

Wednesday, June 22, saw the Go Active Week begin, which will include extra points from attending special events such as swimming, cycle rides, a beginners salsa taster session, walking football and the Pier to Pier Walk.

Delivered by Intelligent Health and Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), Beat the Street is funded by the Active Essex Local Delivery Pilot – a project testing ways to encourage residents to be more active and to improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on the NHS.

Sport England and Tendring Council are also supporting the project. 

More information on free events, where to collect a free card, and how to play is available at www.beatthestreet.me/clactonjaywicksands.

Beat the Street launches in Clacton and Jaywick Sands

A COMMUNITY game turning physical activity into points – and prizes – is launching in Clacton and Jaywick.

Beat the Street will run for 6 weeks from June 15.

The fun initiative rewards residents for walking, cycling – or even skipping and jumping – between various locations.

They simply tap a special card against the Beat Boxes, located throughout Clacton and Jaywick, to collect points for themselves and their team, which they can create with friends and family or by joining a school team.

Those who top leader boards will win prizes and players also have the chance to unlock ‘lucky boxes’ too.

Becky Dowling, physical activities capacity building officer for Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), is running the game.

She said: “We are thrilled to be running Beat the Street in Clacton and Jaywick.

“This game is so much fun and really works in getting people more active while enjoying spending more time outside.

“There will be themed weeks and special events with extra points on offer to really get people’s competitive spirit going.

“Beat The Street was a roaring success in Harwich and Dovercourt with so many people of all ages taking part and we are keen to see families and friends as well as individuals from all walks of life enjoying this game.”

Delivered by Intelligent Health, Beat the Street is funded by the Active Essex Local Delivery Pilot – a project testing ways to encourage residents to be more active and to improve health outcomes and reduce pressure on the NHS.

Community Voluntary Services Tendring (CVST), Sport England and Tendring Council are also supporting the project.

Cheryl Lomas, Active Essex’s assistant relationship manager for north Essex, said: “Beat the Street is a brilliant way to get active while having fun.

“Walking to work, cycling to school, or taking the dog out could all earn points.

“Whether you’re walking to work or cycling to school, Beat the Street rewards that activity and in turn encourages everyone to move a little more.”

The game is open to anyone of any age who would like to take part and takes place in Clacton and Jaywick from Wednesday, June 15 until Wednesday, July 27.

Children use a card and map provided by participating primary schools, and adults can pick up a free card from one of the distribution points listed on the Beat the Street Jaywick and Clacton website www.beatthestreet.me/clactonjaywicksands.

Cards are available from Monday, June 6.

Players then find their nearest beat box which will appear on lampposts in the area and hover their card until it beeps and flashes to record your points.

The first visit to a beat box registers the journey – players can then walk, cycle or roll to the next beat box within an hour to score 10 points.

Beat The Street has been played by more than 1.5m people in more than 120 locations in the UK.

For more information and to keep up to date with events follow btsclactonjaywicksands on Facebook and Instagram and BTSJWCS on Twitter.