The matter summed up: Misvær Sports Club has found a way to keep costs down, so that everyone can participate in swimming. In contrast to this, Bodø swimming club has high training fees and costs linked to hall ownership, trainers and travel. Secretary General of the Norwegian Swimming Association, Bjørn Soleng, says it costs on average around NOK 6,000 to swim in Norway, but there are local differences. According to a report from 2019, swimming has costs that are above the average for all sports combined. Misvær Sports Club operates with diligence and cooperation to keep costs down, including unpaid coaches and parents who volunteer as lifeguards. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – Everyone should have the opportunity to participate, says Ragnhild Klette, leader of the swimming group in Misvær sports club. The sports circles in Northern Norway fear that high costs could have major consequences for the sport in the country. Sebastian Henriksen, board member of the Norwegian Sports Association fears that a lack of facilities and high travel costs will lead to a class divide and drop out. But in Misvær they have a code. Vetle Klette only pays NOK 200 a year to go swimming in Misvær. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news – I think it’s nice to be at swimming training. It is important to learn to swim. It can help me further in life, says Vetle Klette. He is one of around 50 children and young people who are in the swimming group of Misvær Idrettslag. And membership in the sports team costs NOK 200 a year. Then you can take part in all the sports they offer. Something that is in stark contrast to Bodø’s swimming club, a few miles away in the same municipality. Costs several thousand kroner a year Bodø swimming club has around 60-70 licensed swimmers and around 200 participants in swimming training who do not compete. The club has two doping rooms a year, but it is possible to buy your way out of the room. If you are an elite swimmer in the club, it costs NOK 10-12,000 a year. Properties for meetings and gatherings are also included. For the very youngest, the training fee is NOK 3,400, including the doping room. If you opt out of that effort, the annual fee ends up being around NOK 6,400. – We want our members to pay as little as possible, but we have run the club in the red for three years, says chairman of Bodø swimming club, Ivar Vindvik. He believes there are several reasons for the high training fees: Trainers are paid Ivar Vindvik says Bodø Swimming Club has trainers and instructors who are paid for the work they do. – It costs us just over a million a year, says Vindvik. They have top swimmers who, for example, have six two-hour sessions a week. – It is difficult to get trainers with the necessary skills to come forward so often on a voluntary basis. Renting a pool Another big expense is renting a pool. Bodø swimming club has previously used the pool at Bodin secondary school. It is now all set for the new competition pool to open in Nordlandsbadet. When the new pool opens, the rental costs for the swimming club will increase from NOK 159,000 to NOK 950,000 a year. If the club and the municipality do not agree on another solution in a meeting next week. Difficult to get sponsors Ivar Vindvik goes on to say that it is difficult to get hold of sponsors. – If your name is not Bodø/Glimt or BHK, it is difficult to get big sponsorship agreements, says the chairman. Finally, there are the travel costs for those who want to compete. – If you want to compete nationally, you have to leave the region. There is a very big difference between being a club in Northern Norway and Eastern Norway, for example. Bodø swimming club chairman Ivar Vindvik says that they also have a swimming school for the youngest, which also costs money to run. Photo: Bente H Johansen / news Big local differences The price in Bodø swimming club is not unique. According to the Secretary General of the Norwegian Swimming Association, Bjørn Soleng, it costs an average of NOK 6,000 a year to participate in swimming. According to a report from Oslo Economics and the Ministry of Culture from 2019, swimming, together with cross-country skiing, gymnastics and karate, have costs that are above the average for all sports combined. – But there are incredible local differences, says Soleng. – Why are there large variations? – There are variations in the activity offer. And there are different practices from municipality to municipality in relation to hall ownership, which is often the biggest cost driver. He thinks it is fascinating to have two such different prices within the same municipality. – It’s quite fascinating that you have a free principle in Misvær and that you have negotiated it, while Bodø swimming club has to shell out quite hefty amounts in Bodin and now in the new Nordlandsbadet. So there is a difference here. According to the Secretary General of the Norwegian Swimming Association, Bjørn Soleng, it costs an average of NOK 6,000 a year, but there are local differences. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news Soleng brags about what they have achieved in Misvær. – It is fabulous what they achieve, and especially the number of people who swim there. 60–70 per cent of all children in Misvær swim. What else do they do in Misvær? Parents who contribute and make agreements with the municipality – The key word for us to make it happen is hard work and cooperation. And through that, we also achieve a good social environment, both among children, young people and adults, says Ragnhild Klette in Misvær IL. – How are things going financially? – For example, we don’t have paid trainers, so the trainers do the job on a voluntary basis. Leader of the swimming group in Misvær Idrettslag, Ragnhild Klette says that everyone should have the opportunity to take part in swimming. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news She also says that the parents stand up as lifeguards at the public swimming pool two days a week, which means that they get to use the pool free of charge from the operating company. Otherwise, they have a raffle every Christmas and run a charity cafe every summer. They also have local and regional companies that contribute sponsorship money. Volunteers to cover the crowd But all this does not cover the swimming crowd. So the swimming group has added themselves to a list where all the towns they can drive to have an asset of NOK 300. – And that is partly because not everyone participates in the swimming classes. And the money that is used for charity and things like that must be equally distributed. The 300 kroner then covers travel, accommodation, meeting and food. – Then we shop for a joint evening meal and breakfast, and then we do everything to build the social scene. According to the leader of the swimming group in Misvær Idrettslag, Ragnhild Klette, 64 percent of all children in the village go swimming. Photo: Daniel Hong Hansen / news The way they operate in Misvær has gradually led to them having eight young swimmers who have become quite good. Among other things, they have qualified for the LÅMØ election in Tromsø. That means a long weekend and plane tickets, which are expensive. Klette says this comes at around NOK 60,000. In a meeting with the parents of the eight, they agreed on an asset of NOK 1,500. – I think that is actually a lot, but I understand that it is little compared to many other clubs. And in order for everyone to have the opportunity to participate, Klette has agreed that parents can take volunteer shifts at the local alpine resort Vestvatn. – Then you get NOK 500 for a volunteer guard who goes in as property, she says.
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In Bodø municipality, one swimming club costs 17 times more than the other – news Nordland
