We had the pleasure of working with James Theodos who gave us their time to inform us on the successes and achievements made by the Norway Mixed Division to date.
The Norway Mixed Team strives to finish in the top 12 of their division having an acute focus since the selection process on developing younger players in the community. Equipped with what they feel is their strongest team to date, Norway travel to the land of green and gold showcasing their physical athleticism and challenging the best teams from across Europe.
As a community with less than 200 registered players competing in tournaments, their wish is to foster the growth and development of highly driven young players, empowering them to feel confident in these power positions to benefit the growth of the Ultimate community as a whole.
With fjords, mountains and valleys splitting cities and towns across Norway, the development of the Norwegian Ultimate community falls victim to bringing players together in an effortless manner. Additionally to this, the chilling temperatures one can experience in Norway are a deterrent for some that see playing outdoors as unimaginable, opting for Indoor Tournaments instead. To overcome this hurdle, a number of years ago some of the community leaders created a development group called “NKVO” (Nå Koser Vi Oss). The goal of this group was to create a space for players to come together frequently, give experienced players the chance to lead, develop newer players and create opportunities for those with a desire to travel abroad and compete in various tournaments across Europe.
The creation of this “development” group has been and continues to be a resounding success with the recruitment of many new players which has benefitted nearly all the Norwegian Clubs. With quarterly practice weekends that are open to the entire community, it has resulted in a heightened competitive spirit across the nation as players are improving their skills and honing in on mastering any identified weaknesses. Although competitive on the pitch, all players are connecting off the pitch with friendships forming and social gatherings organised that would not have been possible had it not been for the efforts of NKVO.
In 2022, Norway participated in four international tournaments and won spirit in two of them – with one being the Mixed Team at EUIC! This is something they are extremely proud of and an attitude and way of playing they wish to continue to practise for years to come. Furthermore, Norway has begun hosting more outdoor events and this year have introduced a new tournament in Oslo which will be open to International Teams to partake in.
Another challenging factor to consider when working with a small player base preparing for EUC 2023 sees some long, established players becoming injured or others deciding to retire from the sport. Additionally, the recruiting and retaining younger players is the financial burden this places on students wishing to represent the Nation internationally that some cannot reach as well as very time consuming for those that cannot afford to substitute potentially studying time for practice.
However, being the driven, motivated community they are, an outdoor tryout took place in what could be considered a rather breezy and crisp February and fortunately for all, the day was extremely sunny creating huge levels of excitement as all think of the tropical weather they will experience in Ireland in July! With a whopping 38 players at tryouts, nearly a quarter of their entire community, the tryout was a huge success and inspiring for the future of Ultimate in Norway.
Aside from the blue skies and luscious green fields of Ireland, Norway Mixed look forward to the opportunity to play against Europe’s best and how they will overcome challenges presented to them over the course of the tournament. Having perfected their throws against the gales of Mother Nature, the Norwegians look forward to showcasing their grit, determination and overall mental strength that guides them through any adversity – all while dressed in their armour which they have described as the coolest and best jerseys in all of Europe!!
You can expect to hear Nå Koser Vi Oss! by Tix blasting from the speakers of every player warming up to perform as their best, echoing the song that was the inspiration for their development group for all of Europe to hear! Keep an eye out to see how this team progress and continue their preparations for the EUC 2023 on the following channels:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UltimateLandslaget/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/norwayultimate/