Tag Archives: club

Floorball: For Women

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Sonderborg’s floorball club, the Vikings were advertising the setting up of a new team for women in the new year. The first training session was yesterday, so I decided to go along.

What is Floorball

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Floorball is a type of floor hockey, where two teams with sticks try to get a holey plastic ball into opposing goal nets. It is mostly popular in Scandinavia, having been developed in Sweden in the 1970s. I had never heard of it before moving here, but it seems to be a common sport played in schools, so most Danes know the basics.

First Training Sessions

The first training session was, I would say, a success. We were 22 women in ages from older teenagers to (according to Sonderborg Floorball Club) 61. The participants varied from what looked like quite experienced players to at least one person who had never seen a floorball stick before (me!). We first did some basic exercises, walking with a ball and passing a ball back and forth between us, before being divided into 4 teams and playing some short games between us.

Want to Join?

If you are over 15 (and a woman) and you’re looking for a sport (or something to do on a Monday evening!) I would encourage you to give floorball a try. The club has all the equipment needed, so all you need to do is turn up. Being a fairly new thing also means that there will be other people in the same boat as you and, hopefully, we can all get better (and fitter) together.

Training sessions: Mondays 19:00-20:00 at Kløvermarkhallen

If I had to say something about my experience, I quite enjoyed it and will definitely be back. It is, of course, very Danish, which means that there was barely an introduction, I still have no great idea how to hold the floorball stick (or how to select one) and no one told me their name (unless asked directly…a couple of times)! I hope that over time I will learn all this. But anyways, don’t let this scare you off! It’s all part and parcel of getting along with Danish people in Danish spaces. So it’s all good!

Other teams

Sønderborg Floorball Club has three other teams which are Youth 7-11, Youth 13-15 and a Senior Team for men. You can try and contact the club via the website if you are interested in one of these teams.

Sønderborg Cycle Club is evil

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The local road cycle club Sønderborg Cykel Klub (SCK) recently released a promotional video for the club and road cycling. The video is imitating a movie trailer with a deep voiced speaker and declarations like “The best bicycle club in the world”, “We are evil” and “We taler dansk”.

SCK offers cycling and competitive cycling for people of all ages (from 9 years old and up). The club’s aim is to create a team spirit and show that you can have fun while doing a competitive sport.

If you are interested you can join the weekly team training. If you are interested send an email to the chairman so he can let the trainers of the day know that a newcomer is joining. You can train with the club for while to try it out before you become a paying member. There is no requirement of being in a particular state of fitness in order to join, for instance can adults start training with the young adults in the beginning.

The club has some borrow-bicycles that people interested in the sport can borrow. Primarily the bikes are in sizes for 9-17 olds. In order to borrow a bike you need to pay a deposit and the worn parts (breaks, tires etc. need to be replaced).

To become a member sign up here.

The Sønderborg based production company Zoom Film is behind the film and it looks like parts of it is shot with a drone around Dybbøl Mølle and some parts on Kær Halvø.

Try badminton in Ulkebøl

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The World Badminton Championships just finished in Copenhagen this year and in extension of this the local Ulkebøl Badminton club will have an open house where you can try your skills with a badminton racket and shuttlecock (yes – that is the English word for ‘fjerbold’).

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The open house at Ulkebøl Badminton is this Saturday the 6th of September from 1pm to 4pm in Ulkebøl-hallen. Bring indoor sports shoes and the club will lend you the gear to play and tell you about the sport.

Ulkebøl Badminton club has about 200 members in all ages, there is a lot of social activities around the year and there are family events.

Check out the clubs website or Facebook to learn more.

Ulkebolbadminton

Try out Cricket in Sønderborg

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This is a guest post by Vivek Menon a member of Sønderborg Cricket Club.

Did you know you could play the sport of Cricket right here in our lovely Sonderborg? What the hell is Cricket – most of you may ask?

Well here is the Wikipedia version – Cricket is a bat and ball game, played between two teams of 11 players each. One team bats, attempting to score runs, while the other bowls and fields the ball, attempting to restrict the scoring and dismiss the batsmen. The objective of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. There are many rules to the game which are better understood by checking out this basics video.

It is a team sport and considered to be Gentlemen’s (and Ladies’) game with a rich history and tradition. What makes cricket stand out from football and other team games is that it has a more gladiatorial feel to it. It’s not an even 11 vs 11 contest but more of a 2 vs 11 uneven battle in the ring. The batsmen, like the gladiators of old – go out to the center with a bat, some protection and helmets to face a hard leather ball which is being thrown at them upto 100 Km/h which swings or spins in the air and after pitching and have to survive.

Cricket Sonderborg

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To the serious fans of the game it is best encompassed by the a quote from Jon Arlott:

“Cricket is a most precarious profession; it is called a team game but, in fact, no one is so lonely as a batsman facing a bowler supported by ten fieldsmen and observed by two umpires to ensure that his error does not go unpunished”

For the more light hearted fans/interested people the famous American comedian Robin Williams has a more apt definition:

“Cricket is like baseball on valium”.

It is game invented by the British and played in over 100 countries today including Denmark. Many of you would be surprised to hear that some of the oldest football clubs in Denmark started as Cricket clubs when the British came here to build the Danish railways?

So where can you play this game in Sonderborg. Well the Sonderborg Cricket Club has been recently formed and they are currently using the grounds of the Uklebol school (Just behind of Park Kollegium). During winter they are playing indoors in the Klovermarken hallen. They practice almost all Thursdays (from 1700 hrs) and Sundays (from 1000 hrs). Everyone is welcome to come and join in or watch the action.

The club currently has about 20 members living in Sonderborg and Flensburg. It includes players from Danish, Indian, Pakistani, Srilankan and Afghani backgrounds. They are looking to increase their membership and invite both children and adults from all backgrounds.

The aim of the club is to spread the message and team spirit of cricket and supporting integration of all nationalities living in Sonderborg. They will be present at the Sonderborg Kultur Nat on 24th August – so be sure to catch them there.

So are you or your kids ready for battle? Become modern day gladiators? (Kids will play with rubber balls)

For those who would like to read more about cricket in Denmark in Danish please read more at Dansk Cricket Forbund.

Sonderborg Welcome Experience

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You arrived in Sonderborg. Excited about your new life. The sun is (hopefully) shining. The water is shimmering. A great start. You explore the place for the first few days. Questions arise. But where do you find the answers? What have you missed by exploring on your own?

These are questions that hit most newcomers to Sonderborg at some point or another. There is the kommune for regulatory questions (if you can speak Danish), the tourist office for tourist-related questions. But what about those other questions? And that is where the ‘Sonderborg Welcome Experience‘ comes in.

This event was the outcome of a university project by a group of non-Danish students at SDU in Sonderborg. The question they were trying to tackle in their project is how to make newcomers to the area feel more welcome. During a workshop to discuss this, it was clear from all present that a big problem people find is how and where to find the information they need.

Sønderborg Welcome Experience

And this is (part of) the solution: A tent set up in front of the town hall, with information about Sonderborg, Danish food, activities in the area, as well as a way of showing that you are not alone in struggling with the Danish language and culture. The first such event was held the past weekend. However, there are plans to repeat this at semi-regular intervals.

Another great thing is that the resources generated for this event are not restricted just to people attending. One of the possibly most useful resources is a map of sports clubs and cultural sites in the area. Although I am a member of 2 clubs, I had no idea there was actually so much variety! So if you’re into sports, and you haven’t found the relevant club, or are looking at starting something new, do check it out. And if anything has been missed, do leave a comment and we will make sure it gets added.

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Run around Sonderborg with Vidar Motion

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Do you enjoying exercising? Running? Breaking into a sweat? No? Neither do I!

I haven’t done much exercise since I moved to Denmark (or while I lived in the UK, for that matter). The last time I was semi-seriously doing something was when I played softball while living in Malta. However, I knew I had to do something to get my ass out of the sofa. So when an acquaintance mentioned the ‘Vidar Motion club’ I decided to drag myself down to Sonderborg’s track to check what it is all about.

Vidar Motion is a running club for exercisers who want to enjoy themselves while doing something to maintain well-being. The club meets on Tuesdays at 6pm at Sonderborg’s track on Ringridervej. The meeting starts with a short warming up session led by one of the trainers. This can vary from extremely light to extremely demanding, depending on who is leading on the day.

Following the warm up session, the group divides itself into teams, and the individual groups set off on runs around Sonderborg, depending on their target. The different teams’ target can be to run 4-4.5km with breaks after 20 weeks up to running a full marathon. You can also move between teams throughout the course of the training programme, depending on how you are feeling on the day. You can find the day’s training programme online prior to the run, so you know exactly how much you will run. For someone who likes to feel in control, this is great.

So we went once, and got my first ever Cooper test (6 minute Cooper tests are done twice in a 20 week programme). Then went the second time and joined group A. I found that didn’t challenge me as much as I would like, so I moved to group B for the next time, which is the group I have stuck to – the right balance of feeling pushed, without dragging everyone down with me (I hope!).

As you can probably figure out I have actually kept on going! Now, I am not the most sporty person ever, so was has kept me going? First of all, I appreciate that I can just go, run, and go back home. I don’t feel the pressure to socialise after the meeting as I have done with other clubs here. Also, the fact that it takes less than 1 hour a week is a great bonus.

Joining the club costs only 150 DKK, and you can do as we did. Go down, check it out, and if you enjoy it, join up as a full member.  Its a great way to see new areas in Sonderborg and a great way to get some exercise at your own fitness level.

Read more on Vidar Motion.

Sunday jazz at Sønderborghus #10/99

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Back in 1953 when blues and jazz were all the rave every town in Denmark had a jazz club. Sonderborg was no exception and a group of friends started what would later become Sonderborg jazzclub. As one of the few in our region the club still exists. It is one of the oldest in Denmark and organises at least one concert a month.

Piano and sax

The jazz club aims to focus on the growth layer in the Danish jazz scene and tomorrow’s stars. While they do have traditional 50s swing jazz they more often present something more edgy and contemporary.

Sønderborghus

It was my first time at Sønderborghus when Magnus Thuelund Melody Project Quintet played on a very clear, cold Sunday. There were only about twenty people in the theater hall which made it feel quite empty. However, there was a nice atmosphere, the jazz club people were very friendly and once the band started playing it was really enjoyable.

Magnus Thuelund Melody Project Quintet

The jazz concerts are usually held at Sønderborghus on Sundays at 15 and tickets are 100DKK or 80DKK for club members. Membership of the jazz club is 200DKK per term which comes with free entrance to one concert for you and a friend.

The next concert is on Sunday the 26th of February where Clara Bryld and August Rosenbaum is playing at Sønderborghus. See the website for more concerts.

Sønderborghus just released an English version of their website. Even the description of bands are now available in English. To see this click the UK flag in the top right corner of their website.

Below The Surface

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Have you ever walked along the pier or across the bridge in Sonderborg and wondered what goes on below the surface of the water? To me the water usually looks dark, cold and inhospitable. But that’s not the case for the (crazy?) guys from Cold Blooded Divers. They seem to love the cold waters of Denmark and looking at some of their videos it seems like there is a world of colours and life to be explored below the surface. Here they dive around Sonderborg Castle:

Here is another video that starts off with pictures of a concrete barge getting sunk in Sonderborg harbour. The barge is 35 by 86 meters and has lots of hiding places for marine life. As they dive down to the barge you can see huge cods in the wreck:

There are diving clubs in Sonderborg, Nordborg and the Sports College in Sonderborg that all offer diving courses.

Ann already has a PADI certificate and I’m thinking of maybe trying to take a course when we go for a longer stay in Malta.