Norway
nor-20110103-s-001
page = 1

In 1861 a group of Norwegian men founded a Central Society for the Promotion of Physical Exercise and Weapon Use. The initiators included cabinet ministers, MPs, professors, officers and prominent business men and craftsmen who were in reality probably motivated by military and political concerns.

At that time Norway was in a union with Sweden and not permitted to have its own army. The promotion of marksmanship was thus the Society's most important task, but it also had gymnastics and skiing on its agenda. The political tension in Norway increased during the 1860s and 70s. This could also be seen in the focus on shooting and sport. Conflict of interests led to the establishment of the National Rifle Association of Norway in 1893.

The Central Society changed its name to the Central Society for the Promotion of Sports. The first national association, the Norwegian Gymnastics Federation, had been founded in 1890 and joined the Central Society. It was followed by several national associations, and the same year saw a dramatic change in organisational structure. Pressure from the individual associations led to the founding of a national confederation, Norges Riksforbund for Idraet, based on the interests and activities of these organisations.

Discontent spread and by 1918 the Storting had approved a subsidy scheme which required the reorganisation of the sports associations. The following year a motion was passed to establish a new national sports confederation, Norges Landsforbund for Idreat.

Around 1920, members of the Labour Partystarted advocating the establishment of special sports clubs for workers. Disagreements arose between the national organisation and the workers' federation, resulting in reciprocal boycotting of each other's sports events. The Storting intervened in 1936 and a compromise was reached. This took place in 1946 when the two organisations were merged to form the Norwegian Confederation of Sports.

In 1996, the Norwegian Confederation of Sports was amalgamated with the Norwegian Olympic Committee. With the reorganisation of sport for the disabled in 2007, the confederation was named the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports. It consists of 19 regional branches, 55 national federations and 12,000 sports clubs with a total membership of about 2 million.

NK: 1776
Date of issue: 3 January 2010
Value and subject: Kr 14,00: "Sports enjoyment", photomontage featuring Norwegian sports
Design: Geir Henriksen, Blaest Design
Method of printing: Offset
Printing house: Royal Joh. Enschede, Netherlands

From Linn's "Stamp Issuing Entities Of The World" page.