A FUN initiative which aims to boost health and wellbeing is being rolled out across East Renfrewshire.
Beat the Street is a free challenge in which people are rewarded with points and prizes for exploring their town or village on foot or bicycle.
The game was a runaway success when it was staged in Barrhead and Newton Mearns last year as, within the first few days of its launch, residents had collectively travelled more than the distance to Australia.
Now organisers of Beat the Street are bringing the game to Neilston, Giffnock, Thornliebank, Clarkston, Busby, Eaglesham and Waterfoot in an effort to encourage people there to get out and about.
Beeping and flashing sensors called Beat Boxes will be placed on lamp-posts around these areas from Wednesday, February 19, until Wednesday, April 1.
Players can tap the Beat Boxes, spaced half a mile apart, with cards and fobs to track their journey and earn points for themselves and their team.
The more Beat Boxes people swipe during a journey, the more points they earn.
Teams will also be able to follow their progress online to see how far they have travelled and check their position on the leaderboard.
Last year, 17 schools and teams in the Barrhead and Newton Mearns areas competed against each other to see who could journey the furthest and win hundreds of pounds worth of prizes.
The game is being delivered by Intelligent Health on behalf of East Renfrewshire Council, with support from Paths for All’s Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme.
Councillor Tony Buchanan, leader of East Renfrewshire Council, said: “Beat the Street is a fun way to get active and we’re delighted to bring the game back to East Renfrewshire.
“The idea of the game is to encourage people to get more active and then to continue these new healthy lifestyle habits beyond the end of the game.
“The challenge has been set to outdo Newton Mearns and Barrhead’s impressive total from last year, so ditch the car and get out as a family to explore and beat the streets of East Renfrewshire.”
Teams from schools, workplaces and community groups are all welcome to take part in the game.
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