Festival dates, venues, available categories and registration information will be published on the Olympic Handball Ireland website and registration pages.

Schools should select their preferred Festival and complete the relevant online registration.

As places are limited, we recommend registering as early as possible to secure your teams’ places.

The biggest change is how the first stage is organised.

Schools will no longer be responsible for organising their own group stages, arranging fixtures or coordinating results. Instead, schools register for an organised Festival and Olympic Handball Ireland manages the event.

This means less organisational work for teachers and a more consistent experience for participating schools.

Yes. Although participation and enjoyment are at the heart of the Festival, there is still a competitive element.

Teams earn points from their matches, a final classification is produced and the highest-ranked eligible teams qualify for the next stage.

The difference is that competition is part of the Festival experience rather than the sole focus of the day.

The schedule will depend on the number of teams and categories registered at each Festival.

The format is designed to provide teams with multiple matches and as much meaningful playing time as possible, regardless of their results.

The Festival uses the following points system:

Win — 3 points
Draw — 2 points
Loss — 1 point

The points accumulated during the Festival determine the final classification.

The highest-ranked eligible teams from each Festival will progress to the next stage.

The pathway is:

Local / County Festival → Provincial Finals → All-Ireland Finals

The exact number of qualifying places may vary depending on the Festival and will be communicated to participating schools.

Olympic Handball Ireland.

OHI will prepare the Festival structure and match schedules, coordinate fixtures and results, oversee officiating requirements and manage the overall running of the event.

Teachers are not expected to organise the Festival, create match schedules or coordinate results.

Olympic Handball Ireland will coordinate the officiating requirements for each Festival and may use qualified referees, trained officials, coaches, volunteers and other appropriately trained personnel.

Yes, each school can enter a maximum of 2 teams per category. There might be exceptions based on festival capacity. 

However, each Festival has a maximum capacity, so registering early is strongly recommended, particularly if your school wishes to enter several teams.

Once maximum capacity has been reached, we may not be able to accept additional teams. Schools are therefore strongly encouraged to register early rather than waiting until the registration deadline.

Where available, OHI may operate a waiting list.

Teams must be registered in the appropriate age and gender category for the 2026/27 season.

Minis - 3rd & 4th class

Infants - 5th & 6th class

Full eligibility and playing requirements are available in the Olympic Handball Schools Festival Regulations 2026/27.

Each team can have a minimum of 5 and maximum of 12 players.

If you can’t find the information you need in the Festival Regulations, event registration page or these FAQs, please contact Olympic Handball Ireland and we’ll be happy to help.

Email schools@olympichandball.org.