We are constantly developing our selection of Irish Sport Hillwalking initiatives. These range from single-day mountain challenges right through to the official 8-month-long All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships. We aim to deliver a consistent programme of initiatives every year on a recurring basis rather than a series of standalone one-off campaigns. This means Sport Hillwalkers always know what's coming up and have ample time to prepare and plan ahead. But why should you take part? Keep reading to find out more...
Earn awards
Each of our annual All-Ireland High Point list challenges runs from 1st January until 31st December. Our single-day mountain challenges and 700s challenges can be undertaken on any day that suits the challenge hillwalker. For each challenge completed within the specified time period, we will issue a Certificate of Completion. Please note that challenge completers must submit an online Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form to claim a certificate.
The 8-month-long Sport Hillwalking competition season starts on 1st March and ends on 31st October each year. The following competitions take place during the season:
The All-Ireland individuals / clubs / counties / provinces champions and Specialist Award winners are all announced in November. In the individual categories, the top-3 placed men and top-3 placed women will each receive an award. In the mixed team categories, the five highest scorers in each top-3 placed team will each receive an award.
We also run the following two flexible list challenges during the 8-month-long Sport Hillwalking season:
Registered challengers who complete either or both of these "25" challenges during a single competition season can claim a Certificate of Completion for each by submitting a Hillwalking Challenge Completion Form. These two challenges also form the basis of our Specialist Award competitions.
Save your money
Our challenges and competitions offer participants maximum flexibility in terms of the whats, the whens and the wheres. In fact, many of Ireland's recreational walkers can easily get involved without making any adjustments at all to their normal walking routines or upcoming plans. This flexibility takes away the need for us to plan and host dedicated events on specific dates at specific locations. In addition, we do not force branded memorabilia upon our participants. In these days of environmental awareness, we'd rather not add to the demands on our planet's resources or clutter people's homes by issuing unnecessary items like medals, trophies, hats, buffs, etc. Instead, we offer PDF certificates and digital badges. This flexible and eco-friendly approach allows us to keep the running costs of our initiatives close to zero, thereby sparing participants from hefty registration fees. That's your first few 10s of euros / pounds saved right there.
Walkers are not required to travel the length or breadth of Ireland to compete in the official All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships. Participants can make a name for themselves without having to leave their home province. The three Specialist Awards are likely to require travel to other provinces, but these competitions are aimed primarily at those already involved in the challenge hillwalking scene or planning to undertake an All-Ireland list challenge like the County High Points. In general, we recommend a combination of mostly local walks (say within a 100km radius from home) plus an occasional walking itinerary further afield. This could be, for example, a dedicated walk-focused long weekend away or part of a broader-scope full-length holiday. This will help to minimise your walk-specific travel costs.
Although this section focuses on the ways you can save money, we do encourage you to support businesses in the areas you visit. Show your appreciation for the host community by spending some money while you're there (e.g. make use of local accommodation, eat out, stock up on supplies, refuel your vehicle, etc).
Set your own schedule
Our flexible challenges and competition formats give walkers the freedom to choose when and where to take part. Each of our annual All-Ireland High Point list challenges runs from 1st January until 3st December. Our single-day mountain challenges and 700s challenges can be undertaken on any day that suits the challenge hillwalker. The eight-month-long Sport Hillwalking season starts on 1st March and ends on 31st October each year. The following competitions take place during the competition season:
Our challenges and competitions are so flexible that there is no need for participants to deviate from their normal hillwalking activities or alter their upcoming plans. If you walk in your local uplands on a regular basis, you can count this towards your competitions scores. Plus, your hill walks could also give your club / county / province teams a valuable boost.
The All-Ireland individuals / clubs / counties / provinces champions and Specialist Award winners are all announced in November. Winners of Community Hillwalking Competitions which are hosted by third-party organisations will be announced by those hosting organisations.
- All-Ireland Hillwalking Championships
- Specialist Award Competitions
- Community Hillwalking Competitions
Our challenges and competitions are so flexible that there is no need for participants to deviate from their normal hillwalking activities or alter their upcoming plans. If you walk in your local uplands on a regular basis, you can count this towards your competitions scores. Plus, your hill walks could also give your club / county / province teams a valuable boost.
The All-Ireland individuals / clubs / counties / provinces champions and Specialist Award winners are all announced in November. Winners of Community Hillwalking Competitions which are hosted by third-party organisations will be announced by those hosting organisations.
Protect the environment
In these days of heightened environmental awareness, we have been keen to develop meaningful walking initiatives which are in keeping with the world around us. For this reason, we do not host our own set-date geographically-focused events which could attract large numbers of people into environmentally-sensitive areas. This approach allows us to avoid all of the negative issues which could potentially arise from a mass start event or gathering. The flexible nature of our initiatives dilutes participant footfall across the whole of Ireland rather than concentrating it within specific locations. This takes away the need for dozens, or even hundreds, of walkers travelling separately from all over Ireland to congregate at a single gathering point, thereby reducing the overall carbon footprint of our sport. In addition, we only acknowledge achievements in our initiatives by way of PDF certificates and digital badges. This takes away any need to put on an awards presentation ceremony to which 50+ individuals might otherwise travel separately. Materials wastage is another big concern these days. We avoid this completely by not issuing medals, trophies, t-shirts, buffs or any other marketing "memorabilia". This reduces the demands on our planet's resources and saves our homes from unnecessary clutter. It also takes away the need for us to charge participation fees.
Support good causes
Walkers have been using our initiatives as charity fundraisers since 2016. During that time, tens of thousands of pounds / euros have been raised for good causes. Charities are very welcome to promote our initiatives as ready-made, flexible, eco-friendly fundraising ideas for their own followers to get involved in. These can be listed on their websites as 'any-time' challenges alongside their own set-date ones. We don't charge any registration fees for our initiatives, so all money raised by participants goes directly to the charities. No money passes through us. The flexible and recurring nature of our initiatives makes them the ideal choice for charities wishing to maximise their income with minimum effort on their part. This also makes them the perfect solution for charity walkers who cannot commit to set-date events. Walkers are free to support any charity they choose. A growing list of charities can be found on The Ireland Walking Guide website.
Increase the fun factor
Hillwalking is a very enjoyable activity and we all get a lot of satisfaction from doing it. Not only is it one of the most accessible ways to develop and maintain a healthy body and mind, it also brings us into stunning upland scenery. From the summits, the longest and widest views of the surrounding countryside extend for miles and miles in every direction. At walking speed, a few strides can reveal a new photo opportunity. A few hours on the hills allows us to catch up with all the latest goings-ons in our walking buddies' lives, or can be a much-needed chance to clear the head in silence when walking solo.
For the vast majority of hillwalkers, these are all the reasons they need to go into the hills. But there are many out there who also want to challenge themselves, while some want to raise the bar even further and bring things to the next level. This is where High Point Ireland comes in. Our competitions may not be everybody's idea of fun. They do require first-time participants to go in with an open mind and an open heart. The feedback we've received from those brave enough to participate in our competitions has been very positive. One of the things we are very pleased to have noticed in social media posts and comments is the additional fun that a competitive element brings to Sport Hillwalking.
If you want fun, go hillwalking. If you want extra fun, go Sport Hillwalking.
