International competition at SAMBO 80 – Two-year deal signed

A diverse sporting life in Hafnarfjörður

The City of Hafnarfjörður and SAMBO 80 have signed an agreement for the management and operation of the club's sports facilities at Flatarhraun 14. SAMBO will run the operations, while the City of Hafnarfjörður will provide the premises. Mayor Valdimar Víðisson and Alex Stoljarov signed the agreement last week.

Mayor Valdimar Víðisson and Alex Stoljarov, founder of Sambo 80, signed an agreement for continued cooperation last week.

Alex and his wife Helga Ingólfsdóttir run SAMBO 80. The sport is still new here in the country and is gaining a foothold. Helga says around fifty people practise the sport with them. „SAMBO is an international sport, part of the Olympic family and is now also under the auspices of the IOC. That makes a difference. This is a sport that is practised in almost 200 countries in the world, originating in the Soviet Union and having developed from there,“ says Helga. The sport is in many ways reminiscent of judo or Ju Jitsu and takes place on a mat.

Sambo 80 proved itself in Hafnarfjörður

The aim of the City of Hafnarfjörður with partnership agreements is to increase the availability and accessibility of sports and leisure activities for residents, and this area has proven to be a good addition to the sports landscape already in place in Hafnarfjörður.

„This is a new sport in Iceland. A significant proportion of the practitioners are of foreign origin, coming from the Balkans and surrounding countries, and are familiar with the sport.“ Alex, who speaks Russian, English and Icelandic, holds an international coaching qualification and also a refereeing qualification.

„We are taking six boys to the Netherlands for a competition trip,“ says Helga. Several trips have already been made and an Icelandic championship held, in which a sister club from Reykjanesbær also took part.

„We encourage people to come and give it a try. We emphasise professional work and for the kids to come there to train. There is discipline in this sport. It's very important to have kids who are willing to put in the effort,“ says Helga.

Everyone is welcome for a trial session. All ages. „A man in his forties came last week. He's going to carry on,“ says Helga.

Basic training providing flexibility and strength

„The basic training is flexibility and strength; you learn to fall, strengthen your neck, learn to roll and other basic training before you start grappling. This basic training is useful for all sports. It's good training for kids. I recommend it,“ says Helga, vice-chair of Sambo 80. She thanks the City of Hafnarfjörður for its support.

„We've done this together,“ she says. „We could never have done it if it weren't for the City of Hafnarfjörður standing firmly behind us. Now we're in a position to hold the tournament,“ says Helga. „We're taking things slowly and maintaining our professionalism.“