A popular charity dodgeball competition is returning next year.

Early-bird entries are now open for Isle Listen’s popular Isle of Man Dodgeball Championship, which is set to take place next May.

Following the success of the inaugural championship earlier this year, the mental health charity has announced that the event will return to the courts of the NSC on the evening of Friday, May 22, with registrations now open.

Teams, of six to nine players, that act quickly and register before Friday, January 2 can benefit from an early-bird registration fee of £265.

Following this date, the fee will increase to £299 per team.

Brand new for 2026, teams have the option to fundraise their entry fee, with the chance to raise this amount over a number of months.

The organisers hope this will make the tournament more accessible and encourage more community teams to take part.

This year’s event saw 23 team compete, including law firms, electricians, e-gaming businesses and banks.

At the time, Isle Listen’s fundraising lead Steven Downward said: ‘We’re delighted with how our inaugural Isle of Man Dodgeball Championship panned out.

‘It was great to see so many teams coming together with real passion and enthusiasm to support the event and throw balls at each other!’

Speaking about next year’s event, Isle Listen’s events and community fundraising manager Jess Kneen said: ‘Our dodgeball championship is back with a bang for 2026 and we couldn’t be more excited.

‘We are hoping to build on the success of last year’s event, and have made some improvements to the event, with a new fundraising entry option, and different tournament structure to suit competitive and non-competitive teams.’

Jess continued: ‘We are so pleased to have Flutter International back as sponsor of the event for the second year running.

‘Also returning for 2026 are the team from Active Souls, the Manx dodgeball experts who will ensure smooth running of the event. We can’t do it without them.’

The exciting community event takes place just after Mental Health Awareness Week, a key time for the Castletown-based charity.

Holding fundraising events such as the dodgeball championship and Tough Mucka enables Isle Listen to continue supporting the mental health of the island’s young people through its lifelong mental health education programme.

Speaking of the programme that she delivers in primary schools, Holly Ramsay, wellbeing facilitator at Isle Listen said: ‘The sessions we deliver help young people build self-esteem, encourage positive relationships and equip them with practical coping strategies that they can draw upon when managing strong and challenging emotions.’

Holly continued: ‘Through our presence in schools, we see first-hand how students’ understanding of mental health is growing year on year, and how eager they are to learn how to look after their own wellbeing.’

If you would like to enter a team for the dodgeball championship, go online to https://www.islelisten.im/dodgeball/

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