Tag Archives: sport

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.

Football Golf – Yes that’s a thing

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You probably haven’t heard of Footballgolf – but that is an actual sport and we have a 18-hole course right here on Als!

When my 10 year old, football-crazy nephew came to visit us this summer I challenged him for a game of Footballgolf.

The game was invented in Sweden not too many years ago and is more or less played like golf but instead of a small ball and an iron you just have a football – and a bigger hole. The international name is “Footballgolf” although in Ireland they have named it Footee. Here’s a video that explains the game (in Danish):

Als Fodbold Golf was started in 2012. It consists of 18 very different courses that each have a special “feature”, some of them are quite innovative and challenging. For instance hole number 13 has these gates where if you hit through the top triangle you get 2 kicks deducted.

Next to the course there is a covered area where you can eat your lunch or picnic. We spent about an hour and a half doing the course and we were very well entertained and we had hole-in-ones and giant blunders to tell about when we got home.

The price is 100 DKK for adults and 50 DKK for kids under 16 – kids under 5 play for free.

To play at the field you get the ball and score cards from Egen Put&Take lake at the address below.

Als Fodbold Golf
Nordborgvej 120
6430 Nordborg

Go kayaking on Alssund

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Sonderborg is surrounded by a lot of water and it is one of the best places in Denmark to kayak as it is almost always possible to find calm waters to sail in.

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Before moving to Sonderborg I had researched what watersports there are in the area and had fallen for the idea of joining Sønderborg Kajak Klub the local kayak club.

In order to be a member you have to complete a “beginners course” which is done in the spring. There are limited places available for the beginners course so it is a good idea to sign up before April 1st.

The first test before you get in a kayak is a swimming test. You have to be able to swim 600 meters. After that the course starts on the water. The course is either done over 8 evenings or throughout a weekend + one evening. In the course of the programme you have to kayak at least 50 km and be able to perform different tasks in the kayak.

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Parts of the requirements are that you fall in the water a couple of times. And as our course was the first of the year we got our first dip in 7 degrees water in May. BRRRRR – that sure makes your heart beat!

Once you have completed the course and the tests you are allowed to take the clubs kayaks out on your own.

We did the course last spring and this year we have recently started to go out on our own. And it is a great experience to get out on the water.

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Sønderborg Kajak Klub

The club was started in 1938 and today it has about 250 members and 40 boats which means there is always a boat available when you want to go out.

The club house is right on the water close to the new bridge. This means that you just carry your boat out of the boathouse and into the water – very convenient.

Membership is 850 DKK per year, however the first year it is 1000 DKK including the beginners course.

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.

Watch Sonderjyske’s Ice-Hockey team

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Sonderjysk Elitesport, better known as SonderjyskE is the main Danish sport club based in Southern Jutland. It was created in 2004, when all the elite sport teams in the region were merged into one club in order to improve upon sponsors, resources and attention.

The club consists of 2 football teams, 2 handball teams and an ice-hockey team. Last season we had been along to support one of the football and handball teams, and now it was ice-hockey’s turn.

I will start on a bit of a confession. I have been ice-skating 3 times in my life, so anything to do with ice is pretty much out of my sphere of consciousness. In fact, before this game I had never seen an ice-hockey game, except maybe a short bit on tv, or during a film.

The Game

As the name implies, ice hockey is pretty much hockey on ice (and no – I have no clue about regular hockey either!). It is played on an ice-rink, with 6 players on ice skates, including one goalie guarding a small goal post. The game is played with a hard rubber disc, known as a puck, that each team tries to get into the other team’s goal post with the use of a long stick. Each game is composed of 3 sections of 20 minutes each (though with time stoppage the time easily doubles). And that’s about it.

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The Experience

Ice-hockey is big in Vojens, where the SonderjyskE team is based. Considering that the team has been doing marvellously well the last few years, coming top of the league in 2006, 2010 and 2011, this is understandable. This was also clear on the day; it was a Tuesday evening, with a Denmark-Italy football game on at the same time, so anyone watching was definitely an ice-hockey fan before all else, but still the stadium was more than 50% full.

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As with all SonderjyskE games we have been to, there was a SonderjyskE band (mainly drums) enthusing the game along, and being around such hardcore fans I felt obliged to clap along (if only to save being attacked by one of them maybe?). The band playing was interspersed with singing, and also some music blasted over speakers when something besides normal play was happening.

Overall, there were 2 things that stuck in my mind regarding this first handball experience:

  1. At the start of the game, the teams go onto the rink one by one. The SonderjyskE (home) team did this to a high energy tune to get the blood running. The opposing team? Unfortunately they only got some tinny slapstick music that could only make you laugh. I though it was a bit mean, but hey, I get the point!
  2. Sponsors. There is one for everything! If someone scores, his name is associated with a sponsor, a penalty? There is a sponsor for that. There is even a sponsor for the different kind of faults!! (slashing, penalty etc). The sponsorship people must be doing a good job as I couldn’t pinpoint one further aspect that could have been sponsored.

I wonder though: is this normal at ice-hockey games, or just limited to Denmark, or maybe just this team?

Oh! And one more question: The SonderjyskE team had goalies, forwards, defence and boblere listed on their team member list. Aalborg, the opposing team, didn’t have any boblere. But what are boblere? Any clues anyone?

Women’s Handball

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When the national team in football is doing badly Denmark’s favorite spectator sport is handball. Especially if the team is doing well as in 2011 when 3 million Danes (60% of total pop.) watched the European Championship finale. Danes will say that the sport is invented in Denmark but that’s not completely true. In any case it is today the third most played sport with 119,000 players nationwide, only surpassed by football and badminton.

This weekend we were again lucky to get our hands on tickets to a match by the local professional sports team. Last time it was the men’s football team in freezing Haderslev we went to see, this weekend it was women’s handball in Aabenraa.

The local team, SønderjyskE has been playing in the 1st Division in the last season and the game we went to see was in the qualifying round to make it into the best league Håndboldligaen. (The handball league system is quite complicated.) The team they were playing were Aalborg DH, a team that is pretty good and beat SønderjyskE last time they met.

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After presenting an oversized team jersey and raising it on the back wall the players ran onto the court and the game began.

We had good seats from where we could see the whole court and like a tennis match watch as the game went from one end to the other in fast pace.

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SønderjyskE got ahead from the start so that ensured a good atmosphere in the arena. Every time there was a goal or another short break in the game the sound system would boom with schlager music like Lost Souls and Tørfisk.

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The local team stayed ahead throughout the game and at one point had a 12 goal lead before they let off their best players and slacked a bit. The end result was a comfortable 35-29 victory to the home team and they are well on the way in the qualifying round.

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I’m surprised how much I enjoyed both this game and the last football game, because I’m not really into watching sport except when there are the big tournaments. If I were to compare the two experiences I’ve had watching the local pro football and handball I prefer the handball. The game is faster (both on court and total time at event), it’s indoors, the arena is closer and the beers are cheaper.

Superliga Football Match

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Ann works at Danfoss and they are one of the main sponsors of the local professional sports club so once in a while they get tickets offered for games. Ann was lucky to get tickets for last Sunday’s football game, where the local club SønderjyskE hosted the team from Silkeborg.

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The full name of the club is Sønderjysk Elitesport (Southern Jutlandic Elite Sport) and the club was founded as a regional sports club in 2004 when it was decided that city based teams in the region needed better support from fans and sponsors in order to make it in the professional leagues. The club consists of two professional football teams (male and female) based in Haderslev, two handball teams (male in Sønderborg and female in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (male) in Vojens.

The football club has over the past decade hovered at the top of the Danish 1st division and bottom of Superligaen, the Danish version of Premier League, with 5 seasons in each league.

This year SønderjyskE is trying to stay clear of the bottom of Superligaen where the bottom two will get relegated. So far it’s succeeding – barely.

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We went to see the game against SIF from Silkeborg. A win or a draw would mean that SønderjyskE had a buffer from the two teams getting relegated.

The game didn’t start out too well, with SIF getting a two goal lead before half-time so things looked pretty bleak. The local fans were not deterred though and kept singing and drumming.

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Soon after the second half started SønderjyskE made a surprising comeback with two goals in quick succession!

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The score was 2-2 and the atmosphere was great, the local team was in the game again. But as SønderjyskE caught up it was as if the team let down their guards or the air ran out of the balloon. SIF scored two more goals and the final result was a disappointing 2-4.

Although it was a cold, grey day to spend a couple of hours standing around we really enjoyed the day at the stadium. We hope to get to see the other teams sometime soon, hopefully in slightly warmer conditions!