Detail

Bizkaia is set to test the physical activity levels of its municipalities through the Kirolur Challenge: an initiative spanning multiple seasons that will encourage its citizens to rack up kilometres and exercise sessions with a view to securing top spot for their municipality in the province’s physical activity rankings. This challenge, in which participants will try to win points for their municipality via the application Wellk, is set to begin on 15 April.

The Bizkaia Provincial Council has launched the Kirolur Challenge, a sports league between municipalities across the territory of Bizkaia, designed as a tool to encourage physical activity among citizens through a participatory, collective approach supported by technology.

The challenge is based on a simple principle: each participating municipality forms a team, competing in a league based on the recording of active kilometres completed by registered participants through a mobile application compatible with different devices and physical activity tracking platforms. The ranking system also incorporates a population-based weighting, ensuring a balanced competition between municipalities of different sizes.

The activities counted are those involving active movement that can be measured by GPS, such as walking, running or cycling. Each kilometre recorded is converted into points, with a specific weighting being applied to each activity type.

A competition spanning various seasons

The Kirolur Challenge isn't tied to a single event. Rather, it will serve as a league table that will span three distinct phases: spring, summer, and autumn. This approach is intended to keep participation and engagement high throughout 2026.

The dates for the different phases are:

1. Spring: 15 April to 17 May
2. Summer: 15 June to 15 July
3. Autumn: 23 September to 23 October

Participants will be able to win points for their municipality in each of the three phases.

Physical activity for people of all profiles

Participation is open to everyone aged 14 and above. Participants don't need to appear on the census of a given municipality in order to represent it. Rather, any person with a connection or affinity to a given municipality is free to represent it.

The Kirolur Challenge is structured in such a way so that different types of physical activity count equally towards the final standings. To ensure this, a specific weighting will be applied to each activity type. This means that activities such as walking, running and swimming will all count towards the overall ranking.

How to take part

Participation is open to everyone aged 14 and above, and is completely free. Participants do not need to appear on the census of a given municipality in order to represent it. Rather, any person with a connection or affinity to any of Bizkaia's 58 participating municipalities are free to represent it.

To join, participants must download the Wellk app (available on both iOS and Android), create a profile and select the municipality that they would like to represent. To do so, they'll need to click on the Kirolur card that appears on the app's home screen. Participants can log their physical activity directly using the application's built-in GPS, or by syncing their Wellk account with other popular apps such as Strava, Garmin, Fitbit, Apple Health or Google Health Connect.

For any app-related questions or to receive technical support, participants are encouraged to send emails to kirolurerronka@wellk.eus or visit www.wellk.eus.

Prizes up for grabs

The efforts of Bizkaia's citizens will be rewarded on two levels:

1. Individual prizes: Participants who accumulate at least 150 activity points will be eligible to receive official Kirolur Challenge merchandise (while stocks assigned to each municipality last).
2. Municipality prizes: The highest ranking municipalities will receive funds which will be used to purchase sport equipment for local clubs.