Rio Tinto and Hafnarfjörður Municipality support sportspeople

On Thursday, 31st May, the distribution of sports grants for under-18 athletes from the member clubs of ÍBH took place, in accordance with an agreement between ÍBH, Rio Tinto and the City of Hafnarfjörður. The ceremony was held at Rio Tinto's headquarters in Iceland, in Straumsvík. An agreement has been in effect since 2001 between the Sports Federation of Hafnarfjörður, Rio Tinto and the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður. Agreements have been made for three years at a time, and the most recent one is from 2017, ending at the end of 2019. Rio Tinto and the City of Hafnarfjörður each contribute 10 million per year to the partnership to support children's and youth sports in Hafnarfjörður. Today, the first grant of the year from the fund, or 60%, is being allocated for the number of members training regularly in the clubs and for equality incentives, totalling 12 million. Applications were invited from ÍBH member clubs in April, and 12 clubs applied for support from the fund. The following clubs will receive support based on the agreement and their applications:

Hafnarfjörður Gymnastics Club kr. 3,188,653.

Gymnastics Club Björk kr. 2,206,070.

The football club Haukar kr. 1,879,807.

Hafnarfjörður Swimming Club kr. 999,655.

Hafnarfjörður Ski Club kr. 838,420.

Hafnarfjörður Badminton Club kr. 517,848.

Golf Club Keilir kr. 356,613.

The Riding Club Sörli kr. 349,026.

Hafnarfjörður Dance Sports Association kr. 320,573.

Sailing Club Þytur kr. 216,244.

Sports club Fjörður kr. 83,463.

Hafnarfjörður Boxing Club kr. 43,628.

Total: kr. 11,000,000.

The 2018 Equality Incentive Awards were awarded to the Hafnarfjörður Sailing Association, kr. 500,000, and the Hafnarfjörður Badminton Association, kr. 500,000. Total: kr. 1,000,000.

Organised sports activities for children and young people in Iceland have achieved remarkable preventative success, as research findings from Rannsóknir og greining have shown since 1992. In this context, it is also worth pointing to an article published on mbl.is on 28th May. We are experiencing a „golden age of Icelandic sports.“ In it, Viðar Halldórsson, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Iceland, argues that we are experiencing a golden age of Icelandic sports. According to Viðar, we are achieving goals for sports clubs that are about competition and achievement, but also about social skills and upbringing. The system abroad is only working to a small extent in getting young talented athletes into the elite teams. Other countries are starting to look to Iceland and our system.