Thank you so much to everyone who took part in Ireland’s Fittest ICU 2025. It’s amazing to see so many people get out and active and represent your Intensive Care Units up and down the island of Ireland.

We all know how busy and stressful working in ICU can be, so thank you for taking the time to get out and exercise during the month of May. We hope you enjoyed the challenge, and hopefully it will inspire people to get out and active even now that the challenge has finished.

We would like to say a huge congratulations to Antrim Area Hospital on being crowned this year’s champions. It was an absolutely incredible effort from everyone in your ICU. Well done on taking home the crown of Ireland’s Fittest ICU 2025!

RESULTS

PLACE WEEK 1	HOSPITAL	PARTICIPANTS	AVERAGE POINTS
1	ANTRIM AREA HOSPITAL	27	70
1	BEACON HOSPITAL	3	70
3	TIPPERARY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	25	44
4	MATER MISERICORDIAE HOSPITAL	37	42
4	TALLAGHT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	30	42
4	CORK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	12	42
7	ST.VINCENT'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	44	41
8	ULSTER HOSPITAL	56	38
9	CAVAN GENERAL HOSPITAL	26	37
10	ROYAL VICTORIA CSICU	30	35
	CRAIGAVON AREA HOSPITAL	23	35
	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIMERICK	20	35
13	PORTIUNCULA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, GALWAY	25	34
14	CAUSEWAY HOSPITAL	12	33
15	BELFAST CITY HOSPITAL	35	32
16	BON SECOURS HOSPITAL IN CORK	4	30
17	ST.LUKE'S GENERAL HOSPITAL ,CARLOW, KILKENNY	21	29
	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL RICU	55	29
19	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL GALWAY	10	28
20	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL PICU	30	26
21	MULLINGAR REGIONAL HOSPITAL	20	25
22	NAAS GENERAL HOSPITAL	15	21
23	LETTERKENNY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	1	19

PLACE WEEK 2	HOSPITAL	PARTICIPANTS	AVARAGE POINTS
1	ANTRIM AREA HOSPITAL	23	72
2	BEACON HOSPITAL	4	56
3	TIPPERARY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	23	54
4	CAUSEWAY HOSPITAL	11	49
	MATER MISERIORDIAE HOSPITAL	39	49
6	TALLAGHT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	28	45
7	ULSTER HOSPITAL	54	41
8	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL RICU	45	40
9	CRAIGAVON AREA HOSPITAL	23	38
10	ST.VINCENT'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	43	36
11	ST.LUKE'S GENERAL HOSPITAL, CARLOW, KILKENNY	16	35
12	BELFAST CITY HOSPITAL	27	34
13	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIMERICK	19	33
	CAVAN GENERAL HOSPITAL	25	33
15	CORK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	12	31
	NAAS GENERAL HOSPITAL	8	31
	GALWAY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	18	31
18	PORTIUNCULA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL GALWAY	17	30
	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL CSICU	33	30
20	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL PICU	30	29
21	MULLINGAR REGIONAL HOSPITAL	8	28
22	BON SECOURS HOSPITAL	5	25

PLACE WEEK 3	HOSPITAL	NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS	AVERAGE POINTS
1	BEACON HOSPITAL	3	80
2	ANTRIM HOSPITAL	26	78
3	TIPPERARY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	22	50
4	CAUSEWAY HOSPITAL	11	47
5	BELFAST CITY HOSPITAL	31	46
	MATER MISERICORDIAE HOSPITAL	37	46
7	TALLAGHT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	25	44
8	ST.VINCENT'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	37	41
9	NAAS GENERAL HOSPITAL	11	39
	ST.LUKE'S GENERAL HOSPITAL, CARLOW	17	39
11	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL RICU	36	38
	ULSTER HOSPITAL	40	38
13	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIMERICK	18	37
14	ROYAL VICTORIA CSICU	29	34
	ROYAL VICTORIA PICU	26	34
16	CORK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	11	30
	CRAIGAVON AREA HOSPITAL	17	29
18	CAVAN GENERAL HOSPITAL	22	30
19	PORTIUNCULA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, GALWAY	20	28
	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL GALWAY	18	28
21	BON SECOURS HOSPITAL	12	24
	MULLINGAR REGIONAL HOSPITAL	10	24

PLACE WEEK 4	HOSPITAL	NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS	AVERAGE POINTS
1	ANTRIM HOSPITAL	23	87
2	BEACON HOSPITAL	3	82
3	TIPPERARY UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	18	57
4	TALLAGHT UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	18	49
5	ST.VINCENT'S UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	21	47
6	MATER MISERICORDIAE HOSPITAL	32	46
	BELFAST CITY HOSPITAL	25	46
8	ST.LUKE'S GENERAL HOSPITAL,CARLOW, KILKENNY	10	45
9	CAUSEWAY HOSPITAL	10	43
10	ULSTER HOSPITAL	39	42
11	ROYAL VICTORIA CSICU	28	39
	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL LIMERICK	17	39
13	CORK UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL	9	38
14	PORTIUNCULA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, GALWAY	13	37
15	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL RICU	39	36
	ROYAL VICTORIA HOSPITAL PICU	17	36
17	BON SECOURS HOSPITAL IN CORK	7	32
18	CRAIGAVAN AREA HOSPITAL	18	31
19	MULLINGAR REGIONAL HOSPITAL	7	27
20	CAVAN GENERAL HOSPITAL	19	26
21	NAAS GENERAL HOSPITAL	24	21
22	UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL GALWAY	16	19

OVERALL RESULTS FOR 4 WEEKS TOTAL

PLACE	HOSPITAL
1	Antrim Area Hospital	307
2	Beacon Hospital	288
3	Tipperary University Hospital	205
4	Tallaght University Hospital	183
5	St. Vincent's University Hospital	180
6	Mater Misericordiae Hospital	172
7	Belfast City Hospital	165
8	St. Luke's General Hospital, Carlow, Kilkenny	159
9	Causeway Hospital	158
10	Ulster Hospital	148
11	Royal Victoria Hospital CSICU	144
12	University Hospital Limerick	143
13	Cork University Hospital	141
14	Portiuncula University Hospital, Galway	138
15	Royal Victoria Hospital RICU	133
16	Royal Victoria Hospital PICU	129
17	Bon Secours Hospital	126
18	Craigavon Area Hospital	125
19	Mullingar Regional Hospital	115
20	Cavan General Hospital	111
21	Bon Secours Hospital Naas General Hospital	106
22	University Hospital Galway	77

Congratulations to Tipperary University Hospital for winning Ireland's Fittest ICU 2024

Welcome to Ireland's fittest ICU 2025!

We are delighted to be back for the second year, having been awarded St Vincent's University Hospital's ‘Non-Clinical Innovation of the Year’ award (2024). We are striving to have a bigger, better and more ambitious competition this year and are looking forward to what is to come in the coming weeks!

We have made some changes to how the competition is being run this year:

There are now more sports included (swimming now encompasses kayaking, canoeing, surfing)
Cycling now is worth 0.5 points per kilometre
There will be a central Strava group that everyone must register with. The link and QR code are linked above.
Each ICU will have a dedicated team leader to encourage you to get moving throughout the month.
Results will be posted each Friday, before the close of business.
This year we will be running Ireland's Fittest ICU Day, where we ask our colleagues around the country to organise a team event (hike, cycle, etc.) on the same day.

We look forward to your participation. Be sure to follow our Instagram page (linked below) for updates along the way.

Best wishes,

Ireland's Fittest ICU Team,

''Very enjoyable and a good motivation to get out and about. Different types of exercise included means that it should be accessible to everyone.''

“Every morning in our lives, we have a choice to make. You have the choice to stay in bed and say, ‘Forget it, I’m not going to work out today.’ Or you can wake up and say, ‘I’m going to work out for an hour'.That's your choice that you make every single day of your life.Make the right decision.

~David Goggins

Rules

We would love for all departments to get involved - nurses, doctors, OT's, dieticians, cleaners, etc. - everybody who makes an ICU function.
To register, please fill in the Registration form
Once registered, join the Ireland Fittest ICU 2025 Strava Club
Then have fun and Run, Walk, Cycle, Swim, as many kilometres as possible during the month of May
Clock your kilometres using Strava fitness app (Steps at work are not counted!). Please click STRAVA If you need any more information about how to use STRAVA app.
Each team member submits their own individual weekly total through the link on the website. The latest submission is Midnight each Tuesday.
Every kilometre earns points for the team
- On foot (run, walk, hike) = 1 point
- Cycling (electric bikes not included) = 0.5 points
- Swimming, kayaking, canoeing, surfing = x 3 points
- Gym session: 30 minutes of strength training = 1 point ( treadmill, exercise bike, etc. count as run/cycle)
Each team's points will be divided by the total number of members of the group. This will ensure that smaller units with fewer staff will have the opportunity to bring home the honour!
We ask for each unit to appoint a leader who will be the main person for us to contact throughout the challenge.
It is up to each individual participant to submit their weekly totals each week before the deadline.
The ICU Department with the most points at the end of May takes home the trophy and honour of being the fittest critical care professionals in Ireland
Please check our FAQ for more details
if you have any more queries please contact us

*NB* Please be aware that participation in this challenge is done so at your own risk and the organizers bare no responsibility for any injury, illness or accident that occur during the event. In partaking in this event you are acknowledging that you do so at your own risk.

So far, 691 people from 24 hospitals across Ireland have registered for the challenge.

HOSPITAL	NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS
Antrim Area Hospital	31
Beacon Hospital	8
Belfast City Hospital	41
Bon Secours Hospital Cork	10
Causeway Hospital	13
Cavan General Hospital	33
Cork Univeristy Hospital	19
Craigavon Area Hospital	37
Mater Misericordiae Hospital	60
Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise	1
Mullingar Regional Hospital	25
Naas General Hospital	12
Portiuncula University Hospital, Galway	24
Royal Victoria Hospital CSICU	35
Royal Victoria Hospital PICU	37
Royal Victoria Hospital RICU	59
Sligo University Hospital	1
St. Luke's General Hospital	25
St. Vincent's University Hospital	46
Tallaght University Hospital	47
Tipperary University Hospital	25
Ulster Hospital	49
University Hospital Galway	16
University Hospital Limerick	36

''It was a great team building experience. It generated lots of discussion within our unit. The group events, encouraging each other and connecting people of similar fitness levels were brilliant.''

''Good idea for encouraging movement on days off.''

'' Participating in a work group challenge is always motivating and fun''

"Nobody else can take you to the place you want to end up. You have to get there yourself."

Tia-Clair Toomey

"Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are the first steps to get involved?

We will contact each unit directly via phone and email.

Once your unit has been contacted we ask that a leader be chosen to set up the strava group and to create a WhatsApp group for those partaking within the unit. This will allow communication with the challenge group and can be used to organise walks, cycles, and other activities.

Every person who wants to get involved has to register on the website by clicking the JOIN iN button at the top of the page. You can join in throughout the challenge.

Then it's time for the challenge! Try to push yourself and your colleagues to achieve as many points as possible each week. Remember, 1 point may be the difference in being on the winning team.

How fit do you have to be?

You don't have to be fit at all. The purpose of the challenge is to get people up and moving.

Once you can walk 1 km you can earn 1 point for your team. And that may be the winning point!

We hope everybody embraces the challenge and strives to push themselves a little bit over the month.

Is it only for nurses?

No. It's for everybody who works in the ICU. So, if you are an HCA, Porter, Dietitian, PT, OT, housekeeper, SHO, Registrar, Consultant, administration staff, or any other member of the MDT, we would love for you to join us and take part in our challenge.

How do you submit your activity?

Each individual will enter their activities in Km at the end of each week. This will be done via the Individual Totals Form. You can see all totals on your strava profile. You will need to submit the form by Tuesday at 00.00 hrs. This will ensure timely updating of the totals each week.

How are the points calculated?

We will collect data from all the submitted forms and convert them into points. Every kilometre earns points for the team
- On foot = 1 point
- Cycling (electric bikes not included) = 0.5 points
- Swimming = x 3 points
The ICU Department with the most points at the end of April takes home the trophy.
To allow each unit to have the best chance possible we will divide the number of points each team has with the amount of participants. We believe this will be more fair on smaller units with fewer staff to be in with a chance to win!
As units vary in size and staff numbers - each team's total points will be divided by the amount of staff taking part. This will give each unit the chance to become Ireland's fittest ICU!

we will then publish the results on our website on Tuesday

How do you create Strava challange for your ICU?

You will need to download the Strava app to your phone. You can then use it to track your activities as an individual. To make it more fun and encouraging your team leader will set up the challenge on Strava for your ICU Department. We will provide an infographic to assist you in setting up a group. You can also contact us if you have any difficulty.

Please see the infographic linked to help you set up a strava group for your unit.

Infographic on how to set up Strava Group for your ICU.pdf

Once this has been completed you can share the link with your colleagues to join the challenge.

Does exercise on treadmill or exercise bike count?

Indoor cycles and runs can be uploaded as long as the distance travelled is documented on the Strava app.

Many treadmills and exercise bikes in gyms have a 3rd party app for tracking this. We suggest you ask your gym for more information about the machine they use and its compatibility with Strava.

Indoor runs or cycles without distance will not be accepted as this is the way points are calculated.

There's further information here

Indoor, Treadmill, and Bike Trainer Activities – Strava Support