TPM #292 Youth Sport in Norway.

How does a small country with 5.8 million people promote youth sport to the point of having won more medals than any other country in the history of the Winter Olympics?

Thanks for the positive feedback on last week’s edition, looking at youth sport in China. We have some very strong leaders in Canada looking to re-structure the youth sport system, as our results are not so flattering.

In the spirit of looking at other countries as comparison, have you thought of looking at what they do in Norway?

Why Norway?

Well, if they have won the most medals of any country in the history of the winter Olympics and have some of the top track athletes, golfers and tennis players in the world, I am curious how they develop young athletes.

Are you?

Let’s dig in:

Norway is a Scandinavian country encompassing mountains, glaciers and deep coastal fjords. Oslo, the capital, is a city of green spaces and museums. Norway is also known for fishing, hiking and skiing, and their development of world class Olympic athletes.

Norway has competed in every Winter Olympic Games since 1900, except for 1980. They have won more medals than any other country in the history of the Winter Olympics.

Youth sports in Norway are characterized by a focus on fun, inclusion, and development. The country's youth sports system is known for producing Olympic athletes.

Norway has a 93% youth sports participation rate (compared to approx. 50% or less in North America). The economic costs and barriers to sport are low, travel teams don’t form until the teenage years, and coaches don’t intervene to separate the talented from the average until high school. The result at the last Winter Olympics speaks for itself. Norway, a country of just 5.8 million people, won the most medals with 39, the U.S. by comparison had 23. Early sports specialization is unheard of Norway.

Children's Rights in Sports

Clubs at all levels, coaches, managers and parents are expected to adhere to the Children’s Rights in Sports, a statement updated by the General Assembly in 2007 that helps anchor Norway’s globally respected sport system in the principles of inclusion, play, and social development. Before age 13, children play in clubs that prioritize local, low-cost competition and training that is developmentally appropriate. Only after that do promising child athletes enter the high-performance pipeline, via National Sport Federations and Norway’s elite performance organization, Olympiatoppen. Inspired by Norway, Project Play created a Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports statement tailored for the U.S. which has been endorsed by more than 200 organizations including the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and 300 athletes.

Low-cost, local competition

Before age 13, children play in clubs that offer low-cost, developmentally appropriate training and competition.

The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), is overseen by the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Sport Policy, a government agency. The Ministry guides public funding for sport, administering 64% of gaming proceeds from Norway’s national lottery and sports betting mechanism, Norsk Tipping, to the sports ecosystem, which receives roughly $400 million USD annually for new projects.

This is a direct contrast to the $28 billion dollar North America youth sport engine.

Volunteer coaches

Coaches are volunteers, and there are no scores or standings until age 11 or older.

Emphasis on fun

Children are encouraged to try multiple sports and decide what they like best.

“It’s impossible to say at 8 or 10 or 12 who is going to be talented in school or sport. That takes another 10 years. Our priority is the child becoming self-reflective about their bodies and minds,” said Inge Andersen, former secretary general of the Norwegian confederation. “We’re a small country and can’t afford to lose them because sport is not fun.”

National plan for sports facilities

The government is working to increase access to sports facilities for children and young people. Popular sports soccer, handball, cross-country skiing, gymnastics, and swimming.

Norway’s approach starts with an endorsed philosophy of promoting fun with a wide variety of sports offered at low cost in first class facilities.

The results speak for themselves.

We can learn a lot from others who are successful.