Íþróttafélagið Grótta (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈiːˌθrouhtaˌfjɛːˌlaijɪð ˈkrouhta], lit. 'Grótta Sports Club'[a]) is an Icelandic sports club based in the town of Seltjarnarnes, in the Capital Region. The club is best known for its women's handball team that won the national championship in 2015[2] and 2016,[3][4] but also has departments for gymnastics, football and powerlifting.[5]
 Grótta's logo showing the Grótta lighthouse | |
| Full name | Íþróttafélagið Grótta |
|---|---|
| Founded | 24 April 1967[1] |
| Location | Seltjarnarnes, Iceland |
| Home ground | Vivaldivöllurinn |
| Website | grotta |
History
editGrótta was officially founded on 24 April 1967 by Garðar Guðmundsson, a football supporter from Seltjarnarnes who had begun the process of forming a club the previous year. Initially the club had only a football team but later expanded to include handball (1969), gymnastics (1985) and powerlifting (2013). The club has over the years tried to incorporate sports including basketball, skiing and chess but they have all failed.[6]
On 24 April 2007, the club held a festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its foundation. The day included a parade through the town with a brass band, displays by the club's various teams, addresses by the mayor and chairman and a gala.[1]
Football
edit| Full name | Knattspyrnudeild Gróttu | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 24 April 1967[1] | ||
| Ground | Vivaldivöllurinn, Seltjarnarnes | ||
| Capacity | 1,000 | ||
| Manager | Christopher Brazell | ||
| League | 2. deild karla | ||
| 2024 | 1. deild karla, 11th of 12 (relegated) | ||
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Home court
editThe football team plays its home matches at the Vivaldi stadium, which has an artificial grass playing surface and a capacity of 300 spectators.[7]
Men's team
editHistory
editIn 2007, the men's football team was promoted to the 2. deild karla after defeating BÍ/Bolungarvík 5–1 on aggregate in the play-offs.[8] In 2010, the side won promotion to the 1. deild karla and remained there for two seasons before returning to the third tier for the 2012 campaign. It returned to the 1. deild in 2017 but were relegated straight away. However, they won promotion again the following year. In 2019 they then produced what has been referred to as one of the most surprising seasons in Icelandic football history when they won the 1. deild and were promoted to the top tier of Icelandic football for the first time in the club's history.
64°9′0.6″N 21°59′45.0″W / 64.150167°N 21.995833°W
Honours
edit- 2019
- 2009
- 1991
Current squad
edit- As of 1 September 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Women's team
editNotable managers
editHandball
editWomen's team
editHonours
edit- Úrvalsdeild kvenna (2):
- 2015, 2016
- 2015[2]
Notable players
edit
Lovísa Thompson 2014–2018
Men's team
editNotable players
edit- Alexander Petersson 1998–2003
Gintaras Savukynas 2003–2004- Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson 1991–1998
- Viggó Kristjánsson 2010–2016
Gymnastics
editAround 1200 participants are in the Gymnastics department. Around 20% are from Seltjarnarnes and 80% are from the neighboring town of Reykjavík. Both Artistic gymnastics and TeamGym are taught at the club. Olympic gold medalist Szilveszter Csollány was hired as a coach in 2011.[9]
In 2016-2019 the Gymnastics department went under major reconstruction where the house was rebuilt bigger and new equipment was bought which has greatly improved the facilities for the participants.[10]
Footnotes
edit- ^ Íþróttafélagið is the definite form of Íþróttafélag, meaning "the sports club".
References
edit- ^ a b c "Íþróttafélagið Grótta 40 ára" [Grótta Sports Club 40 years old] (PDF). Skólablaðið Skinfaxi (in Icelandic). 1 May 2007. p. 28. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ a b Elín Heiður Gunnarsdóttir (12 May 2015). "Grótta Íslandsmeistari í fyrsta sinn". RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ Guðmundur Marinó Ingvarsson (15 May 2016). "Umfjöllun, viðtöl og myndir: Stjarnan - Grótta 23-28 - Grótta Íslandsmeistari annað árið í röð". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ Hjörvar Ólafsson (15 May 2016). "Grótta Íslandsmeistari". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Um Gróttu". grottasport.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Saga félagsins" [History of the club] (in Icelandic). GrottaSport.is. 28 February 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ "Gróttuvöllur". KSÍ.is. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ "Knattspyrna: 3. deild karla Síðari úrslitaleikir um sæti í 2. deild". Morgunblaðið. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ "Ólympíumeistari á Seltjarnarnesi". Fréttatíminn. 2011-10-14. p. 26.
- ^ "nýtt fimleikahús" [New gymnastics house] (in Icelandic). reykjavik.is. 14 September 2019.