Derry schools urged to enter 'Ireland's Fittest School' competition
Registrations open for 'Ireland's Fittest School 2026' with an €8,000 prize package up for grabs
Irish Olympian sprinter David Gillick and Fyffes have launched the 2026 'Ireland’s Fittest School' competition, calling on schools in County Derry and across the country to participate.
Aimed at promoting the importance of exercise, fitness and healthy eating amongst young people, a central feature of the programme will be a series of exercise routines – recorded by Gillick, alongside Irish fitness trainer, Sharon Flanagan – which competing schools can adopt as part of their PE curriculum and against which performance will be measured and tracked online.
Building on the success of the previous four years – and running for 8 weeks from January 26th – the 2026 competition will then see the top four schools from each province compete head-to-head across four live regional qualifier events in April.
The top school from Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster will then progress to May’s grand final, hosted by patrons Gillick and Flanagan, at which the prize package will include €8,000 worth of sports equipment.
Speaking at the launch, Fyffes head of marketing, Emma Hunt-Duffy said: “Amongst schools nationwide, the level of interest in this competition continues to grow each year.
"We look forward to seeing more and more teachers and
Greenvale Leisure Centre pool reopens to the public young pupils incorporating the exercise routines into their PE classes, as a fun and easy way to stay active and keep fit.”
School registrations are now open and further details can be found online at www.fyffesfittestschool.ie.