UISP – Bologna – Sport for All: It’s a reality in Norway and a medal holder

Sports for all: it’s a reality in Norway and it brings medals

Norway’s first place in the Olympic medal table stands out in Beijing, as happened in Pyeongchang 4 years ago: where did these successes come from?

With the conclusion of the Beijing Winter Olympics and the formalization of the medal table, it is striking Norway ranked first with 37 medals, Confirmation after 39 in Pyeongchang. Sure, the Scandinavian country has some advantages related to geography, which you prefer in winter sports, but how can other countries of the peninsula not achieve the same results? Moreover, it is about A country with a population of 5 million people, numbers equal to half the population of Lombards, and thus a potential pool of unmatched talent for the United States, Canada, Russia but also Japan or China. Finally, despite being one of the richest countries in the world, between the Summer and Winter Olympics It allocates a budget of 15 million euros to the Olympic Committee, one-tenth of the UK’s summer budget (150 million euros). So the question remains: How do Norwegians excel in winter sports with a relatively small population and a non-Pharaonic Olympic budget?

The answer is in words Tom Tfdet, President of the Norwegian Olympic CommitteeAnd the In an interview with the Guardian newspaper: The more children play sports, the more statistically it is to find those talents who will later become international athletes. 93% of Norwegian boys and girls play at least one sport, and 40% in Italy. So it can be said that sport in Norway is basically a way of life, facilitated by the facilities available, which the state can afford, but are chosen with conviction by children and adults, even in unregulated and free forms. To this should be added that The dropout rate from sports among adolescents is among the lowest in the world: in the United States 35% of the United States, Italy 43%, France 17%, Norway 22%.

In the past 20 years, there have been many studies that have attempted to identify the causes of sports withdrawal and the common point in all research is early specialization, This is technical training specific for early acquisition of skills with the aim of achieving the best possible performance. While that In Norway, up to the age of 13 boys and girls, boys and girls, play sports without any form of arrangementplatform or award. The goal is to ensure that sport is part of their psychosocial development, that it is a form of fun and socialization and that it makes them grow up as adults, not as the strongest 10-year-old in the world. Moreover, even teenage boys and girls continue to play sports in their small local club, even though they are talented and live in a remote village.

“Our vision is sport for all – says Teedt – before the age of 12 you should enjoy sports. So we don’t focus on who’s the winner before then. Instead, we focus heavily on putting kids in 11,000 local gyms. And we have 93% of children and young adults playing sports regularly in these organizations.” As Tvedt explains, this benefits everyone because The more people loved sports when they were children, the more talent the elite teams would have. “All of our medals came from athletes who started at local clubs. If the athlete is good, we will then take him to Olympiatoppen, our sports center of excellence, where he plays the flag of the best sports.”

Therefore, from a comprehensive, social and fun approach to sport we come to the champions of the field, who have grown up in clubs connected with the region and with the societies to which they belong: but in this way even those who have not become the champion maintains an association with the activity of movement and sport, and continues to practice for pleasure and pursuit To achieve the psychological and physical well-being of the individual.

Source: National UISP

Published on: February 23, 2022 | seen 17 times