– The delivery of Beat the Street is being supported by the National Charity Partnership — a collaboration between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco –
Players from the Welsh Rugby National Squad kicked off an exciting new walking, cycling and running competition called Beat the Street which is coming to Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT).
Beat the Street is being supported by the National Charity Partnership — a collaboration between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco. It encourages anyone who lives or works in the area to ditch the car and walk where possible, tapping special cards onto Beat Boxes as they travel around.
The six-week challenge starts on 13th April until 25th May and it’s free to take part.
Players Rhys Priestland, Bradley Davies, with Beat the Street engagement co-ordinator Hywel Stoddart, Gareth Davies, Taulupe Faletau and Jonathan Davies took a break from their Six Nations endeavours to launch the game this week.
Rhys Priestland said: “Beat the Street is an exciting game for people to play, and will benefit their overall Health and wellbeing. Many children aspire to become rugby players and participating in Beat the Street will definitely help them achieve this. It is important to have a good fitness level to be able to run up and down a rugby pitch for 80 minutes, and walking or cycling your way around Rhondda Cynon Taff will contribute to people becoming more active. Plus, there are lots of great prizes for schools and communities to win along the way.”
Beat the Street Rhondda is being funded by the National Charity Partnership and forms part of its aim to support and transform the lives of 40,000 families in the UK.
Jenna Hall, Programme Director for the National Charity Partnership, said: “We’ve approached schools directly, and the take-up has been fantastic. However, there’s still time to join in whatever your age. Whether you’re an individual, a business, a voluntary organisation or a team, there are great prizes to be won and the incentive of getting more active.”
Dr William Bird, founder of Intelligent Health, the company that runs the project on behalf of the National Charity Partnership, added: “Beat the Street is designed to inspire people to be physically active, with the intention that they will continue these lifestyle choices beyond the eight weeks of the competition. Pick up a card from one of the distribution points listed on the Beat the Street RCT website and see how far you can walk!”
The partnership between Diabetes UK, BHF and Tesco was launched in 2015. Its aim is to help save lives, by helping millions of people to eat better and get active, reducing their risk of serious ill-health in the future. This will help reduce people’s risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, both of which are largely preventable through healthy lifestyle choices. Through the money raised by Tesco colleagues, the partnership will deliver a variety or preventative and informative initiatives.
For more information about Beat the Street, please contact Maria.Edwards@intelligenthealth.co.uk or visit www.rct.beatthestreet.me. Alternatively visit @BTSRCT on Twitter and Beat the Street RCT on Facebook.
To find out more about the National Charity Partnership visit www.tescocharitypartnership.org.uk
