Company sports enjoys high participation levels in Iceland

Linda Laufdal, the company sports supervisor at the association, says that the company sports activities revolve mainly around two programs. 

“One is called “Hjólað í vinnuna” (Bike to work) which aims to encourage people to use active transport to go to and from work – either cycling or walking. Walking to catch a bus counts. 

“But most of those who participate cycle. Each employee is a team member within their company and the companies compete over a three-week period in May. The winner is the company that has the most rides per employee. We also have a special competition for who rides the furthest – those who take a detour on their way to and from work.”

Linda Laufdal says participation levels have always been good, although it has been a little lower in the last few years. 

“We think it’s because this has been going on for so long, many people are regularly cycling to work. We are convinced that this program has helped increase cycling’s popularity in Reykjavik.”

The other program is called Lífshlaupið (Motion for life), where all movement is recorded.

“We usually start in the first week of February to get people going after the Christmas period. Many people start exercising in January and we thought it was a good idea to start this when the power starts to diminish for many people at the end of that month.

“All movement can be recorded, whether it’s a lunch walk, walk or bike ride to and from work and also exercise outside of working hours. The participation is therefore much higher – around 16,000 people.”

Doing great per capita

And speaking of participation numbers, Linda Laufdal says they are very proud of them, especially in Motion for Life. And Iceland compares well to other Nordic countries. 

“I just came from a Nordic company sports meeting in Finland. And in Sweden, they have a program called Motionlandslaget where everyone participates in the same team. There are 28,000 participants and they are very pleased with that. But they have of course a much bigger population than we have. So I think per capita we are doing great.”

Representatives from Nordic company sports recently gathered in Finland. (photo: Private)

Linda Laufdal says many companies participate in both programmes every year, and they see more and more benefits from it. 

“This is a tool that companies can use to help their employees get some exercise. They know that people need it and when they get it, they feel better in their job. Also, there is sometimes a bit of competition between company divisions or stages. This boosts morale.

“I think this has also led to a lot of companies building locker rooms and showers for those that for example cycle a long way. This has increased significantly, I believe.”

Linda Laufdal says company leaders see the benefits of keeping their employees healthy. 

“Healthy employers mean fewer sick days. Many companies are even getting strict when it comes to getting their employees to exercise. Most of us are sitting still for most of our working hours. The companies are participating because they want their people to be healthy.”

“Everyone supports public health”

Linda Laufdal says their work also had very positive feedback from the ministries of health and education. 

“Today everyone supports public health. I think people realised after the pandemic how important public health is. I would say that all our projects, including the ones we do in schools, are getting around 50,000 people to exercise.” 

Most other Nordic countries organise company sports through special federations, while in Iceland it is organised through the National Olympic and Sports Association. Linda Laufdal says that there have been regular discussions on whether the association is the right place for company sports. 

“This conversation is still ongoing, and after the meeting in Finland, we will be giving this even more serious thought. I’m not sure we will reach a conclusion before the end of this year, but the aim is to decide on whether to keep company sports in the Sports Association or move it somewhere else. But Finland has roughly the same system as we have.”

Push for World Games participation

When asked about new ideas and programs, Linda Laufdal mentions the European Week of Sports, or #BeActive, which is an EU project and gets support from the European Commission. The purpose is to introduce different sports events to the public. 

“With that support, we have a program called “Swim” (Syndum), which is a national swimming introduction effort which takes place in November. We are always discussing possible new programs or changes, but nothing has been decided. 

“We are just glad that our programmes are getting people to exercise. We are ready to look at any ideas for changes if something comes up, but while there are good participation levels in our programmes, we don’t want to stop it until we have something to replace it with.”

In conclusion, Linda Laufdal mentions the World Company Sports Games that will be held in Frederikshavn in Denmark in 2026. 

“We will push Icelandic companies to register teams for these games. The organisers aim to get as many Nordic companies as possible to participate. They haven’t participated that much previously, so I believe there will be a lot of encouragement there to register.”