Liverpool to host world-first DEKA YOUTH event for 1,000 pupils

Liverpool is set to host a major new youth sporting event next May, when more than 1,000 schoolchildren will take over Liverpool Exhibition Centre for the world’s first DEKA YOUTH event on this scale.

Taking place as part of the DEKA EMEA Regional Championship weekend, May 28–30 2027, the dedicated DEKA YOUTH Day will bring schools from across the Liverpool City Region together for a mass participation fitness competition for children aged 10 to 18.

DEKA is a global fitness racing brand created by the team behind Spartan, combining standardised physical challenges with running to test strength, endurance and functional fitness. Its youth format gives pupils the chance to compete in pairs across ten fitness zones, with running intervals between challenges including rowing, SkiErg, weighted lunges, farmer’s carries, sled push and pull, dead-ball wall overs and weighted burpees.

But unlike traditional school sports competitions, DEKA YOUTH isn’t about selecting the pupils who are already the fastest, strongest or most accomplished athletes.

Partners work together throughout the event, dividing the challenges according to their individual strengths. The result is a competition where communication, strategy and determination can matter just as much as physical ability. For some pupils, the event will be about competition; for others, it could be the first time they have stood on the start line of a major sporting event.

That is at the heart of what DEKA YOUTH is designed to achieve: giving young people a different way to experience sport, regardless of whether they see themselves as traditional athletes.

Libbie Joyce, 18-year-old DEKA YOUTH Race Director and athlete, said: “DEKA YOUTH gives young people the chance to see themselves as part of sport in a different way. It’s not just about whether you are already good at a particular sport – it’s about getting involved, working with someone else and seeing what you can achieve.”

Giving more young people the chance to get active

The Liverpool event has been designed to bring together pupils with very different sporting backgrounds, including those who may not usually be drawn to traditional school sports.

Rather than defining success by a single sporting skill, DEKA YOUTH gives every pair a shared challenge to work towards, allowing pupils to play to their individual strengths while encouraging and supporting each other.

The event comes at a time when children’s activity levels remain under pressure. According to the Youth Sport Trust’s PE and School Sport Annual Report, physical activity has stalled for a fifth consecutive year. In England, 2.2 million children do fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity each day, while fewer than half meet the Chief Medical Officers’ recommendation of at least 60 minutes of daily activity.

The report also highlights wider challenges facing school sport: nearly one in five pupils have experienced cancelled PE lessons during the academic year, and one in ten young people report low wellbeing. According to the NHS, around one in four adults and one in five children aged 10–11 in the UK are living with obesity. Yet the appetite to be active remains strong, with 71% of pupils saying they want to do more physical activity during the school day.

For Emily Le Roux, Vice President of DEKA International, the figures underline the importance of making sport more accessible and giving young people more opportunities to find an activity they enjoy:

“As a mum of two boys, I see first-hand how sport and teamwork build much more than physical strength. It creates joy, confidence and a sense of achievement that can stay with young people as they grow.

We want every young person to have the chance to experience that for themselves. Talent shouldn’t be determined by a school’s budget, or by whether a child happens to excel at a traditional team sport.

That’s why we’re asking businesses across Liverpool and the wider Merseyside region to help us get more young people on the start line and make this a truly city-wide event.”

Businesses challenged to help put pupils on the start line

More than 1,000 places are being made available for schools, and DEKA is now inviting local businesses to become DEKA YOUTH Partners and help ensure the cost of taking part doesn’t prevent pupils from attending.

Businesses can fund places for:

• 25 pupils – £2,500 + VAT

• 50 pupils – £5,000 + VAT

• 100 pupils – £10,000 + VAT

DEKA is working with the Merseyside Sports Partnership organisations (MSP) to identify and engage schools where funded places could make the greatest difference. 

Support extends beyond event day, with participating pupils receiving a school preparation session, teacher resources and a training programme to help them get ready for the challenge.

Additionally, DEKA extends their partnership with EXCLSR who via their app provide  a structured functional fitness racing programme for young people aged 12–18, designed to be delivered inside schools as part of the PE curriculum or as a co-curricular activity. 

At Liverpool Exhibition Centre, every participant will receive a DEKA YOUTH race entry, finisher medal and T-shirt, with their result recorded on the DEKA global leaderboard.

For businesses, becoming a DEKA YOUTH Partner offers the opportunity to help more young people take part, while also giving employees the chance to volunteer and get involved in a major new youth sporting event for the region.

The model has already been used by schools taking part in DEKA YOUTH events elsewhere in the UK, with teachers reporting the impact of giving pupils a different kind of sporting challenge.

A PE teacher at one of eight schools invited to take part in the first DEKA YOUTH takeover event said: “When I arrived today, I didn’t think my students would be able to achieve what they have achieved. Give them the opportunity, give them the chance to shine. They’ll really surprise you.”

For Liverpool, the ambition is to take that idea to a much larger scale.

More than 1,000 young people will have the chance to compete inside a major international fitness event, alongside the DEKA EMEA Regional Championship, giving them an experience that goes beyond a conventional school sports day.

It is also intended to create a lasting connection between schools and the wider fitness community, with the preparation, training and teamwork involved providing a starting point for young people to continue being active beyond race day.

The event will take place at Liverpool Exhibition Centre on Friday 28th May 2027 preceding the DEKA EMEA Regional Championship weekend. It will be the first time DEKA YOUTH has brought more than 1,000 schoolchildren together for a dedicated day of competition – putting Liverpool at the centre of a new approach to youth fitness and school sport.

DEKA is now looking to hear from Liverpool and wider Merseyside businesses interested in becoming founding DEKA YOUTH Partners and helping schools take part. Businesses interested in supporting DEKA YOUTH Liverpool can contact [email protected].