The government is lowering the threshold for participation in sports

“The government wishes to help ensure that finances do not prevent children and young people from participating in sports and physical activities, and is giving priority to three different measures to reduce the participation threshold. We are giving local teams and associations a boost by increasing their activity funding by 40 per cent, including four new towns and cities in the grant scheme to promote inclusion in sports teams, and increasing the grant for low-threshold outdoor programmes for children and young people by 25 per cent,” says Minister of Culture Thorhild Widvey.

Local teams and association which organise sporting and physical activities for children and young people will now receive 13 per cent of the lottery funds allocated to sports, compared to 11.25 per cent previously. This equates to a total grant of NOK 294 million in 2015, an increase of NOK 85 million from 2014. Local sports councils administer the funds in their respective municipalities.

“Our escalation plan aimed to increase the grant to 12.5 per cent of lottery funds allocated to sports, and we have now succeeded in raising it to 13 per cent. The increase will also make it easier to find robust, local, un-bureaucratic ways of reducing the threshold so that more children and young people from families facing financial challenges can participate,” says Minister of Culture Thorhild Widvey.

The government is also facilitating the inclusion of four new towns and cities in the grant scheme to promote inclusion in sports teams

Funding for the Inkludering i idrettslag (inclusion in sports teams) initiative will be boosted by NOK 2 million, to NOK 13.5 million in 2016.

“The increase in the grant to promote inclusion in sports teams will permit four new towns and cities to join the scheme. This will facilitate greater participation in organised sports by children and young people from families facing financial challenges and girls and boys with a minority background,” says the Minister of Culture.

25 per cent increase in the grant for outdoor programmes for children and young people

NOK 20 million has been allocated to outdoor programmes for children and young people, an increase of NOK 4.1 million from 2014.

“The outdoor pursuits on offer are primarily low-threshold activities with small or no costs of participation. The increase in the grant will enable more children and young people to become involved in outdoor activities in 2015 – the Year of the Outdoors,” says Minister of Culture Thorhild Widvey.