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The Nordic Games were the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on
winter sports Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold a ...
, and were held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It was organized by Sweden's Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Athletics,SCIF: "Nordiska spelen"
(in Swedish), retrieved 1 February 2015
and more specifically by
Viktor Balck Viktor Gustaf Balck KVO KCMG (25 April 1844 – 31 May 1928) was a Swedish Army officer and sports personality who was one of the original members of the International Olympic Committee, president of the International Skating Union for 30 years, ...
, a member of that association and one of the five original members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was, in many ways, a precursor to the modern
Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hel ...
, whose success was a contributing factor (along with the social and economic turmoil following World War I) to the Nordic Games's discontinuation in the 1920s.


History

The Nordic Games began in Stockholm in February 1901, after being conceived in 1899 by the Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of Sports (SCFIF) led by Viktor Balck, a well-known Swedish sports figure. He is quoted as saying, "Above all we placed the national goal of rendering a service to the fatherland and bringing honor to our country." The Nordic Games have now become a national concern for our entire people." They were held every four years thereafter through 1926. Many believe that this event led to the implementation of the Winter Olympics as we know them today. The Nordic Games began as an effort to bolster both Swedish national sentiment along with Swedish tourism. The Nordic Games featured not only the snow and ice related sports that the country excelled in but also showcased Swedish cultural events such as theatre, opera and folklore. The beautiful countryside and tourist attractions were also highlighted.


Games through the years

Similar games were held in Helsinki in Finland in 1907. According to some sources these were Nordic Games, but it is unclear whether they were formally named Nordic Games or not.


Sports

The Nordic Games consisted of the winter sports that were popular in Scandinavia at the time, such as ski jumping, downhill racing,
cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreatio ...
,
skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...
, speed skating,
figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are men ...
, hockey (which at the time was a term used for
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
) and curling. Some non-winter sports were also included like fencing, swimming and a long-distance equestrian ride. Many other sports that are rarer or less commonly thought of as winter sports today were also included, such as horse-driven
sledding Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, ske ...
,
glima Glima is the name that covers several types of Nordic folk wrestling practiced as sport and combat. In one common form of glima, players grip their opponent by the waist and attempt to throw them to the ground using technique rather than force. O ...
, hunting, skiing behind reindeer (
skijoring Skijoring (pronounced ) (Skijouring in British English) is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs), another animal, or a motor vehicle. The name is derived from the Norwegian word ''skikjøring'', meaning ...
), military sports,
car racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organis ...
, motorcycle racing,
ballooning Ballooning may refer to: * Hot air ballooning * Balloon (aeronautics) * Ballooning (spider) * Ballooning degeneration, a disease * Memory ballooning See also * Balloon (disambiguation) A balloon is a flexible container for (partially or fully) ...
, kick-sled, and
pulk A pulk (from fi, pulkka; sv, pulka; no, pulk; se, bulki) is a Nordic short, low-slung small sled used in sport or for transport, pulled by a dog or a skier, or in Sápmi pulled by reindeer.bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...
was featured at the Nordic Games beginning in 1901. The final match in 1901 was the second real bandy match played in Sweden. The first took place between the same teams earlier the same year and was won by Stockholm 4-1. As many as 16 teams took part in the 1905 game. In the 1909 game, AIK participated as "Swedish Football Association A", while the "B-team" was beaten in the final which consisted of players from IFK Uppsala, Djurgårdens IF, IFK Gävle, IFK Stockholm and The Sea Cadets. On the way to the final,
AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
defeated the Copenhagen Skating Association 3-0. In 1913, seven teams participated and IFK Helsinki was responsible for the non-Swedish element. The Finns lost however, already in the quarterfinals with 4-2 against the final winners
AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...
. Even a German team, Leipziger HK, would have participated in 1913, but was absent because the event clashed with the
1913 European Bandy Championships 1913 European Bandy Championships was the first, and so far the only, European Championship tournament in bandy. The competition was held in February 1913 in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland. Background Modern bandy originated in England and the first ...
(Bandy-EM) in Switzerland. The 1913 European Bandy Championships had been won by England and had six more participating nations: Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland. Denmark's Bandy Union participated in the 1917 tournament and came fourth (out of six teams) after losing their matches with 0-13 (Stockholm, semifinals) and 0-16 (Västmanland, match for third prize). The Danes were also invited to the 1922 game, but despite an unusually bandy-friendly winter in Denmark that year, they abstained. During the Nordic Games in 1917, the bandy SM semi-finals and final were also decided as part of the arrangements. In 1922 it was a national team tournament and Sweden beat Norway 13-1 in the semifinals in the first meeting between the two countries. Because the Norwegians at that time played 7-man a side bandy, a match was also arranged between Norway and a Stockholm by combining it into a smaller one, the variant. It was this match that Stockholmers won 7-2. In the last Nordic Games in 1926, the bandy tournament existed between provincial teams with Norway as foreign element.


Ties to Winter Olympics

The Nordic Games were one of the first to lead to international championships in winter sports. For example, the skating championships raised the international appeal of the Nordic Games. Viktor Balck, the founder of the Nordic Games, was also a charter member of the International Olympic Committee and a president of the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, N ...
. He is credited with holding the ISU together through the end of World War I. He also established the World Championship Events for Ladies and Pairs, who were not recognised before this. Balck was known as the ISU president with the longest tenure of 30 years of any president before him. He was elected the first honorary president of the ISU. All of his participation helped the Olympics take hold. The Winter Olympics as we know it today began in
Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...
, France in 1924. Prior to this time, some winter sports such as figure skating and ice hockey were held during the Summer Olympics.


Decline

The Nordic Games mainly included only competitors from the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway. These countries ended up opposing the establishment of a separate Winter Olympics because it would take away from their nationalistic efforts. Sweden and Norway had political differences during this time which led Norway to cease participation in the games, which caused some controversy. After Viktor Balck died in 1928, there was no one to champion the cause, especially after the 1930 games had to be cancelled due to a lack of snow. The Winter Olympics turned out to be highly successful right from the beginning and their international appeal overshadowed the Nordic Games.


References


See also

* 1913 Nordic Games {{Inter-Nordic competitions Defunct multi-sport events International sports competitions hosted by Norway International sports competitions hosted by Sweden Multi-sport events in Europe Winter multi-sport events in Norway Multi-sport events in Sweden Recurring sporting events established in 1901 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1926 Winter multi-sport events Winter sports competitions in Sweden Inter-Nordic sports competitions