The 2025/26 British Dodgeball Calendar Is Here – Check Out What’s New

The full calendar for the 2025/26 British Dodgeball season has officially been released — and it’s packed with exciting developments across all levels of the sport. You can view the full season calendar here below.

Alongside fixture dates and venues, this year’s changes introduce new competitions, revamped formats, and a national effort to make dodgeball more accessible, competitive, and fairer for all. Here’s a full breakdown of what’s new for 2025/26.

🏆 Introducing the National Cup

The National Cup makes its debut this season as a brand-new competition.  This tournament brings a fresh level of excitement and offers another major title for clubs to chase.

The North and South Qualifiers will be held in Rotherham and Reading respectively, with the top four teams from each gender in each region progressing to the National Cup Finals in Nottingham. It’s there that the inaugural National Cup Champions will be crowned.

Teams from Northern Ireland and Scotland are welcome to enter and compete; however, they would need to travel to England to take part in one of the regional qualifiers. If enough interest develops in future seasons, British Dodgeball will explore ways to expand the structure and introduce regional qualifiers closer to home for those nations.

Key Points:

• North Qualifier: Rotherham | South Qualifier: Reading

• Top 4 teams per gender from each region qualify for the Finals in Nottingham

• Future expansion possible for NI and Scotland teams

• All matches played in 15-minute halves

🌍 Regional Leagues Become Regional Opens

The traditional regional league format has been replaced with Regional Opens to give clubs more control over their schedules. Instead of committing to a full season, teams can now pick and choose which events they attend—without being tied to their geographic region. Whether you’re based in the South East or the North, you can enter opens in any of the six regional areas.

Each open will have men’s and women’s categories, and results will feed into a regional points table. At the end of the season, the top three teams from each region will earn medals and trophies based on their accumulated points.

Key Points:

• Flexible open-entry format—no full-season commitment

• Teams can enter events in or outside their region

• Six regions: North, Midlands, South West, South East, Northern Ireland, Scotland

• Results contribute to a regional leaderboard

• Top 3 teams in each region awarded at season’s end

🥇 National Open Series

Another exciting new top tier competition is the National Open Series, designed to reward the most consistent open performers throughout the year. Every open event will now carry a points value, with Gold, Silver, and Bronze ratings determining the amount of points on offer.

More points are up for grabs in Gold-rated events like the British Open, while Silver-rated events such as the New Season Open and London Open offer a mid-tier points return. Bronze-rated events, which include the Regional Opens, provide the fewest points but still play a vital role in the season-long race for consistency.

At the end of the season, the men’s and women’s teams with the most cumulative points will be crowned Open Series Champions—an accolade that highlights performance, consistency, and resilience across the calendar.

Key Points:

• Points awarded based on placement in open events

• Events rated:

  • Gold (e.g. British Open) – highest points

  • Silver (e.g. New Season Open, London Open) – mid-tier points

  • Bronze (e.g. Regional Opens) – lower points

• Season-long leaderboard

👦 Junior Competitions Get a New Look

Following feedback from clubs, the junior league system has been restructured into larger, one-off open competitions. This approach gives young players more variety in opponents and allows more flexibility for clubs. All official junior events will include U11, U13, U15, and U17 age categories.

British Dodgeball is also offering support to any clubs interested in running their own regional junior competitions, helping with insurance, referee recruitment, and general event resources.

Key Points:

• Junior leagues replaced with larger opens

• Four age categories: U11, U13, U15, U17

• Greater variety in matchups

• Support available for clubs to host their own events

🤾 English Super League & National League Expansion

The English Super League and National League will see their biggest structural evolution to date in the 2025/26 season with the Super Leagues and National League 1 expanding to 12 teams* – opening up opportunities for more womens teams to join the national league system.

*if more than 24 teams apply to enter the Women’s National League system we will aim to include all where possible by introducing further options to grow the pyramid system.

To allow for greater scheduling flexibility and reduce travel demands, each team will now compete in 8 of the 10 league rounds, playing either two or three matches per round. Crucially, all teams will take part in the final round, which will be pivotal in determining final standings.

The rounds are spaced more evenly throughout the season to reduce player fatigue and the risk of injury. Round 1 will kick off in October, with 1–2 rounds scheduled each month (excluding December and February), and the final round set for May.

Importantly, the allocation of which 8 rounds each team plays is being designed with travel efficiency in mind. For example, the most northern teams will be scheduled to attend all four rounds hosted at St George’s Park.

A significant development this season is the introduction of Kettering Arena as one of the league’s key venues. Six league rounds will be hosted there, and the court layout is being specifically designed to match that of St George’s Park as closely as possible. This ensures consistent playing conditions for all teams, helping to maintain fairness across the competition.

Key Points:

• League expands to 12 teams in all divisions

• Minimum of 4 new teams added to the Women’s National League

• Each team plays 8 of 10 total rounds

• Rounds spaced across the season to reduce fatigue (no rounds in December or February)

• Final round (Round 10) takes place in May

• 6 rounds hosted at Kettering Arena

• Court layout at Kettering designed to match St George’s Park for consistent playing conditions

🏟 Kettering Arena: A Key Venue for 2025/26

Kettering Arena will be a cornerstone venue this season, hosting several of British Dodgeball’s top-tier events. With its professional layout and central location, it’s set to deliver high-quality conditions and a consistent match-day experience across the board.

Events taking place at Kettering Arena this season include:

• 6 Rounds of the English National League

• British Open

• National League Playoffs

• University Championships

• Junior Cup Finals

• Mixed Finals Day

• British Championships

📅 More Details Coming Soon

Full fixture lists, detailed rules for the National Cup, the full points system for the National Open Series, and everything else you need to know ahead of the season will be released over the summer. Keep an eye on the British Dodgeball website and social channels for updates.

Whether you’re aiming for silverware or just starting your journey in the sport, the 2025/26 season is set to be one to remember.