Innovative Gibraltar Schools DNA Event Builds on Previous Year’s Success
22nd May 2026
Gibraltar Athletics, a leading advocate of European Athletics’ Dynamic New Athletics (DNA) format at grassroots level, successfully delivered the second edition of its Inter-School DNA Championship yesterday, bringing together more than 200 students aged 12 to 15.
Held over two and a half hours at the federation’s home venue, the Lathbury Sports Complex, the event once again showcased the value of DNA as a modern, team-based athletics experience designed to maximise participation, engagement and excitement among young athletes.
“The event was a massive success and, if anything, it was even better than the first time,” he said.
“The levels of enthusiasm and enjoyment among both participants and spectators were extremely high.”
To maximise participation from Gibraltar’s three high schools, organisers introduced an innovative adaptation of the DNA concept by staging four simultaneous inter-school matches for students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. Each school fielded two teams in every year group, creating a total of 24 teams competing across the event.
As with all DNA competitions, the four matches culminated in the mixed-gender, staggered-start medley relay known as the Hunt. Starting gaps were determined by the points accumulated by teams across the earlier disciplines, ensuring that the first team across the finish line would win the match.
Each of the four Hunt races drew students from all three schools to the trackside, where they enthusiastically cheered on their classmates in a dramatic conclusion to the competition.
Based on the combined performances of its teams across all four matches, Bayside School was crowned overall champion, finishing ahead of defending champions Westside School and Prior Park School.
The DNA Shield was presented to the winning school by Gibraltar’s Minister for Sport, Leslie Bruzon.
The championship received extensive promotion through local media and social media channels and was recorded by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation.
Reflecting on the response to the event, Carreras said feedback had been overwhelmingly positive.
“Officials from the federation and I have received messages of congratulations and thanks from parents, teachers and even the CEO of our national sports authority,” he said.
“Many of the teachers praised both the structure and delivery of the event, highlighting the strong engagement from students as team scores across the four matches were updated throughout the competition and, of course, the excitement generated by the four Hunt races.”
Carreras added that the Inter-School DNA Championship is now a permanent fixture on Gibraltar’s athletics calendar and that he hopes to expand the concept further in the years ahead.
“Here in Gibraltar we have the weather and we have a fantastic stadium,” he said. “I hope we can continue developing our ideas so that, in the near future, we will welcome visiting school or club teams from abroad to enjoy DNA competitions alongside us.”
