Debrecen4U February 5, 2026

Move, Debrecen! Amateur Dodgeball Championship Continues in 2026

The Move, Debrecen! Amateur Dodgeball Championship—an event that has enjoyed great popularity in recent years—is being held again this school year.

The competition day for 5th–6th graders took place on 3 February 2026 in the sports hall of the Debrecen Kazinczy Ferenc Primary School and Elementary Art School, with 19 teams and more than 200 students participating.

The dodgeball championship, held across four age groups, is open to students who do not regularly engage in organized sports activities. A total of 74 teams from 43 educational institutions and dormitories in Debrecen are taking part—more than 770 students altogether. In each age group, the six best-performing teams qualify for the finals on 11 February 2026, which will be hosted at the Főnix Arena.

Speaking about the competition day for 5th–6th graders, Deputy Mayor Diána Széles emphasized that within the “Move, Debrecen!” initiative, the aim is always to organize school programs that children themselves request. Dodgeball has proven to be one of the most popular forms of physical activity. This inspired the creation of a unique nationwide dodgeball championship for children participating in the “Move, Debrecen!” school program who are not registered athletes.

The Deputy Mayor expressed her deep gratitude to the school coordinators, the institution maintainers, the schools, and the school leaders, noting that the large number of participating children makes it a demanding task to form age groups and organize the series of competition days. She also thanked the teachers who make it possible for their coordinator colleagues to accompany the children to these events and to the finals. The Move, Debrecen! Amateur Dodgeball Championship is therefore the result of broad collaboration, giving children the opportunity to compete joyfully for the success of their school.

From the 5th–6th grade competition day, teams from the Debrecen Kazinczy Ferenc Primary School and Elementary Art School, the Kölcsey Ferenc Reformed Practice Primary School, the Debrecen Kinizsi Pál Primary School, the Debrecen Bolyai János Primary School and Elementary Art School, the Debrecen Hunyadi János Primary School, and the Lilla Téri Primary School qualified for the finals.

As with every competition day of the championship, this event was also supported by an apple donation from the HAVITA‑TÉSZ Agricultural Cooperative of Derecske.

Source and photo credit: debrecen.hu