Keflavik ÍF
Encyclopedia
Keflavík ÍF is an Iceland
ic sports club, from the town of Reykjanesbær
. The club has several divisions for different sports: football, basketball
, swimming
, gymnastics
, badminton
, shooting
and taekwondo
. Its biggest divisions are Keflavík Football Club
and Keflavík Basketball Club
.
. The club became a member of The Icelandic Youth Federation which had been established in 1907 as part of Iceland's drive for independence. The Keflavík Youth Club was a typical youth club of the era; forming teams in swimming
and athletics, teaching physical education
, putting on theatre productions and supporting various local causes. An important part of the Youth Federation was appreciation for the country and its people and the movement was especially active in rural areas and small towns.
On 12 July 1950 a second sports club was founded in Keflavík
, the Keflavík Football Club (Knattspyrnufélag Keflavíkur, KFK). Despite its name, the club formed teams in football, handball
and swimming
.
it was felt that resources were being spread too thin. On March 18, 1956 a new club was formed, Keflavík Sports Federation (Íþróttabandalag Keflavíkur, ÍBK). Similar sports federations were formed in towns around Iceland
. The idea behind them was that various groups and clubs could come together to represent the town in various sports, often against other towns. Another aim was to enable sportsmen from smaller towns to compete against the bigger clubs from Reykjavík
, especially in football and other team sports. The town federations also represented the town's clubs within national associations. In Keflavík the existing clubs were not disbanded but their operations were limited. Keflavík Youth Club continued to work within the national youth movement, mainly on social and cultural issues. Sporting activities within the youth club and Keflavík Football Club were virtually non-existent, although the youth club participated in the semi-annual national youth festival. The two clubs also played against each other in team sports like football and handball
on special occasions in the town, like Independence Day
.
merged with its neighbouring towns of Njarðvík
and Hafnir
to form a new municipality, Reykjanesbær
. A new sports federation was formed for the new town, Reykjanesbær Sports Federation (Íþróttabandalag Reykjanesbæjar,ÍRB). With the Keflavík club no longer a sports federation it was decided to form a new club, Keflavík Sports and Youth Club (Keflavík, íþrótta- og ungmennafélag), which was to be commonly known as Keflavík. The youth in the title was to indicate that the club was a member of The Icelandic Youth Federation. The new club also became a member of The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland (Íþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands, ÍSÍ) and Reykjanesbær Sports Federation.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic sports club, from the town of Reykjanesbær
Reykjanesbær
Reykjanesbær is a municipality on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland.It is made up of the towns Keflavík, Njarðvík, the village of Hafnir and, since 2006, Ásbrú. The municipality was created in 1995 when the inhabitants of the three towns voted to merge them into one...
. The club has several divisions for different sports: football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
, shooting
Shooting
Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
and taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. Its biggest divisions are Keflavík Football Club
Keflavík Football Club
Keflavík Football Club is an Icelandic football team, commonly known as Keflavík. It is a subdivision of Keflavík ÍF , based in the town of Reykjanesbær in Iceland. They play at Nettó-völlur in Keflavík.-Competition history:Keflavík have played in the Icelandic football league since 1956...
and Keflavík Basketball Club
Keflavík Basketball Club
Keflavík Basketball Club is an Icelandic basketball club, commonly known as Keflavík. It is a subdivision of Keflavík ÍF , based in the town of Reykjanesbær in Iceland. It is one of the most successful clubs in Icelandic basketball with its men's and women's teams winning multiple titles over...
.
History
The history of Keflavík ÍF is considered to have begun in 1929. Its history has been convoluted, with several changes in name and status.Early years
Keflavík Youth Club (Ungmennafélag Keflavíkur, UMFK) was founded on 29 September 1929 by 28 young people in the town of KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
. The club became a member of The Icelandic Youth Federation which had been established in 1907 as part of Iceland's drive for independence. The Keflavík Youth Club was a typical youth club of the era; forming teams in swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and athletics, teaching physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, putting on theatre productions and supporting various local causes. An important part of the Youth Federation was appreciation for the country and its people and the movement was especially active in rural areas and small towns.
On 12 July 1950 a second sports club was founded in Keflavík
Keflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
, the Keflavík Football Club (Knattspyrnufélag Keflavíkur, KFK). Despite its name, the club formed teams in football, handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
.
Sports federation
With two major sports clubs in the small town of KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
it was felt that resources were being spread too thin. On March 18, 1956 a new club was formed, Keflavík Sports Federation (Íþróttabandalag Keflavíkur, ÍBK). Similar sports federations were formed in towns around Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
. The idea behind them was that various groups and clubs could come together to represent the town in various sports, often against other towns. Another aim was to enable sportsmen from smaller towns to compete against the bigger clubs from Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, especially in football and other team sports. The town federations also represented the town's clubs within national associations. In Keflavík the existing clubs were not disbanded but their operations were limited. Keflavík Youth Club continued to work within the national youth movement, mainly on social and cultural issues. Sporting activities within the youth club and Keflavík Football Club were virtually non-existent, although the youth club participated in the semi-annual national youth festival. The two clubs also played against each other in team sports like football and handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
on special occasions in the town, like Independence Day
Independence Day
An Independence Day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's assumption of independent statehood, usually after ceasing to be a colony or part of another nation or state, and more rarely after the end of a military occupation...
.
Modern era
In 1994 the town of KeflavíkKeflavík
Keflavík is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. In 2009 its population was of 8,169.In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Hafnir to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 .- History :...
merged with its neighbouring towns of Njarðvík
Njarðvík
Njarðvík is a town in south-western Iceland located on the peninsula of Reykjanes. As of 2009, its population was 4,400.-History:In 1995 it merged with the town of Keflavík and the village of Hafnir to form the new municipality of Reykjanesbær....
and Hafnir
Hafnir
Hafnir is a village in the south-western Iceland.It is situated in the Reykjanes peninsula and has 109 inhabitants . In 1995 it merged with Njarðvík and Keflavík to form a municipality called Reykjanesbær with a population of 13,971 ....
to form a new municipality, Reykjanesbær
Reykjanesbær
Reykjanesbær is a municipality on the Reykjanes peninsula in Iceland.It is made up of the towns Keflavík, Njarðvík, the village of Hafnir and, since 2006, Ásbrú. The municipality was created in 1995 when the inhabitants of the three towns voted to merge them into one...
. A new sports federation was formed for the new town, Reykjanesbær Sports Federation (Íþróttabandalag Reykjanesbæjar,ÍRB). With the Keflavík club no longer a sports federation it was decided to form a new club, Keflavík Sports and Youth Club (Keflavík, íþrótta- og ungmennafélag), which was to be commonly known as Keflavík. The youth in the title was to indicate that the club was a member of The Icelandic Youth Federation. The new club also became a member of The National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland (Íþrótta- og Ólympíusamband Íslands, ÍSÍ) and Reykjanesbær Sports Federation.