Expat Sporting Sunday at DGI-byen

EXPAT

*ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT*

SPORTINGSUNDAY

12 FEBRUARY, 10:00-16:00DGI-byen, Tietgensgade 65, Cph V

Let me fi rst introduce myself. I’m Danish and my name is Kanishka Sina.

I am one of the many DGI ‘SportsGuides’. I would like to welcome you

to Denmark and to the Danish sports clubs in parti cular. I’m currently

in my second semester at the Copenhagen Business College. My focus

point is marketi ng management, which I really feel att ached to, and hopefully

someday I’ll fi nd a job in this very combati ve environment. Temporarily I do

volunteer work as a school teacher and at StreetMekka.

To me, one of the biggest att racti ons in Denmark - besides the beer, fashion,

smørrebrød and blondes of course - are our fantasti c sports associati ons (sports

clubs). I do a lot of sport myself. My main focus is football and this I practi ce

twice a week at a club called KB (Københavns Boldklub). Besides that, I do some

weight lift ing, swimming and running - when I’m not injured.

I personally think that the sports clubs are a beauti ful way to get to know other

people – it sure beats having an awkward conversati on on the Metro. Sport

brings everybody together in its very own and direct way.

It is oft en remarked that we Danes leave work early and don´t work many hours

a week. But what do we do then? You might not see us and you might think

that we hide in our fl ats and houses. But actually, most of us are doing physical

acti viti es at one of the 15,000 sports Clubs around the country. We meet in

indoor sports halls to play handball, gather to run together in parks, do gym-

nasti cs with our babies, practi ce swimming with friends and play cricket in the

suburbs. A lot of the acti viti es take place at schools following the end of the

school day, at the clubhouses of the diff erent clubs, or on the sports pitches

that are located everywhere you can see, oft en behind hedges and fences.

About half of the Danish populati on is a member of an offi cial sports Club, and

a lot of people are members of more than one club. Football clubs, gymnasti cs

clubs, swimming clubs, all sorts of sports – and you can fi nd them all over your

local area.

So what do we do when we meet at a sports club? First of all, we practi ce

sports together. Sounds simple, but this can take us through a whole spectrum

of emoti ons: laughing, crying, sweati ng, winning, losing, shouti ng, singing, get-

ti ng ti red, exhilirati on. It’s a game of mutual self-disclosure where you get to

know yourself and the rest of your teammates. And you are getti ng fi t as well.

In other words it’s a win-win. I, myself, have played football at a football club

my whole life and can´t imagine a life without it or my teammates. And it´s

cheap as well, as everybody at the clubs are volunteering, be it the coaches,

the team leader and the board. You just pay for the set-up, the balls and so on.

You can join a club just to play, practi ce and have fun, and you can choose to

get involved in the volunteering if you have the moti vati on to make a real dif-

ference. But it´s your choice and most people just join to take part in the sport

and the fun.

I just signed up as a SportsGuide for expats in Denmark through DGI, and I

invite you to hook up with a SportsGuide, just to get started. We can show you

a local sports club according to your wishes and make sure that you get started

in a nice and safe way. Contact us if you need directi ons to one of your local

clubs or if you are interested in having a personal SportsGuide introduce you to

a local sports club and the local area.

Join us on Sunday to meet us and try out many of the sports within easy dis-

tance of your front doorstep.

Best regards

Kanishka

www.børnibevægelse.dgi.dk/Sunday-12-2-2012

Underwater

What we Danes actually doBy Kanishka Sina

when we leave work early

FIND YOUR LOCAL SPORTSGUIDECall or write to us today, if you want to learn more

about the Danish sports clubs!

Greater Copenhagen

Morten Graff

morten.graff @dgi.dk

2921 6133

North Sealand

Kim Bremer

[email protected]

7940 4718

Odense (Funen)

Jett e Laursen

jett [email protected]

7940 4629

Aalborg (North Jutland)

Jett e Grønhøj

jett [email protected]

7940 4153Team sport

Running

THE DGI AND ITS CLUBSIn Denmark, it is said that whenever fi ve people get together to share a common interest, they immediately form an associati on! This might not be completely true, but it is undeniable that the forming of associati ons has been one of the most fundamental characteristi cs of the Danish people, his-torically, as well as today. The right to form associati ons is even embodied in the Danish consti tuti on of 1849.

As one of Denmark’s three nati onal sports bodies, the Danish Gymnasti cs and Sports Associati ons (DGI) is an umbrella group for around 5,000 local associati ons (clubs), which massively vary in size, from the dozens to the thousands.

The associati ons are very democrati c. Each one has a board and provides regular opportuniti es for every member to have their say. Of course, the main focus is on sport, although some members would be lying if they said they didn’t also sign up for the communal benefi ts and great parti es.

Anyone can join an associati on, regardless of their age, gender, or nati on-ality. So come and join one in your neighbourhood and get to know your neighbours bett er.

POST BOX

President and Publisher: Ejvind Sandal

Chief Executi ve: Jesper Nymark

Editor: Ben Hamilton

Journalists: Mike HofmanClaudia SantosEric Maganga

Producti on & Layout: Lyndsay Jensen

Map:Aviaja Nielsen

Sales Director Supplements:Hans [email protected]+45 2420 2411

Sales and Adverti sing:Jeanne Thames, Mark Millen, Lyndsay Jensen+45 3336 3300

If you would like to contact us or leave a comment: [email protected]

This supplement is published by The

Copenhagen Post in co-operati on with

Wondercool, please refer to our disclaim-

er on page 2 of the newspaper.

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

DIFFERENT SPORTSFOR DIFFERENT SORTSFire off some live rounds, discover the joys of throwing a frisbee and learn more about the sporting opportunities within easy reach of your doorstep. By Eric Maganga

You’ve seen them charging around the sports centre, throwing and catching a frisbee, or man-handling each other a bit but not too physi-cally, playing some sort of game - and while it looks like fun, it’s also a

bit baffl ing and you’re a bit apprehensive about learning the rules in Danish.

Well, here’s a chance to have a go with English instructi on. Drop your kids off at one of the children’s acti vity areas, and the missus at one of the free exercise trials, and spend several hours working up a sweat, meeti ng new people, and learning more about a galaxy of sporti ng opportuniti es in this country, that you didn’t even know existed.

And did we menti on they have guns? With live rounds! In the basement, tucked away from the kids, this is another of the acti viti es at the Expat Sport-ing Sunday that is absolutely free.

While American football has fl ag football, rugby union has its own non-phys-ical variant: ‘touch rugby’ (Idrætshuset, 10:00-14:00, over-8s only). Instead of having to deal with a 500-pound man with ears that look like caulifl owers tackling you, you merely have to deal with him trying to touch you. This has the benefi t of less injuries and less of a physical toil on your body. The mini-mum try-out age is eight years old – which makes it a great springboard to its more aggressive sibling, but at a more suitable age.

But if that sounds too physical, maybe you’d prefer ‘Ulti mate’ (Idrætshuset, 10.00-14.00), an American football kind of game, which is played with a fris-bee. It’s prett y much non-contact as there are no tackles, merely intercep-ti ons as each team tries to throw the frisbee into the end zone for a touch-down. There is a training session before the game in which you are taught how to throw. Players with the frisbee are not allowed to run and can only move by turning on one foot. This opportunity is strictly for adults only.

Meanwhile, up in the lobby area – a great place to get a good view of all the acti viti es – you can play table tennis, watch some ‘Capoeira’, test your ‘body age’ (10:00-15:00), and also try out ‘Panna’, a street soccer game played one-on-one on a small, round pitch with wooden sides in which the object of the game is to nutmeg your opponent – i.e put the ball through his legs. The three-minute game, of Dutch origin, is named aft er a slang-term for putti ng the ball through an opponent’s legs. While football is typically a team sport, this one is all about individual talent. Light physical contact is permitt ed, no grabbing. Suitable for all ages – to try it out, borrow a ball from the recepti on area, where you can also borrow table tennis equipment and make other enquiries. On top of the possibility to play on the 12th, there are three-hour workshops on February 16, 17 and 18.

A good opti on for all the diehard ice-hockey fans out there is ‘Roller-board hockey’ (Sporthuset, 13:30-15:00). Again, this one has no age limitati ons, and will probably not be overly physical either. This version of the popular game will fi rst include a warm-up consisti ng of a few drills to get players used to the equipment, aft er which some games will be played. There are four players per game (including a goalkeeper), shorter sti cks than traditi onal ice hockey, and it’s played on a type of skateboard that you sit on.

And don’t forget, as previously menti oned, you can drop off your young-est ones at the rough and tumble area for acrobati cs and jumping around, for boys as well as girls. There are three hours of Fun and Games for those aged three to nine at the Sportshuset from 10:00-13:00, while the Rough and Tumble opti on is for one hour from 14:30-15:30 at Gymnasti khuset for three to six-year-olds.

• Sport • Sport • Sport •

Top 5 reasons to att end the day:

• Try out new sports

• Find out more about sports clubs

• Take a break from the kids

• Get seriously good at throwing a frisbee

• They’ve got guns

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

3

Gymnastikhuset Sportshuset

Idrætshuset

Indoor climbing wall

EntranceThe Swim Centre &

The Spa

Glass corridor

Spise

huse

t

Stal

dgad

eSt

aldg

ade

Loun

ge

The

Gym

The

rest

aura

nt V

esta

uran

ten

The Spa1. �oor

Hotel Reception

Car park

Entance Car park

Meet in Art

2,3 & 4

Meet in Art5, 6, 78 & 10

Terrasse

Bygning 55

Øksnehallen

Tietgensgade

Ingerselvgade

1. �oor IS

CA / DGI S

torkøbenhavn / PPI

OutdoorClimbingTower

To Central StationDANHOSTEL Copenhagen City.Tivoli & Strøget

To Hotel CentrumHotel Astoria & Halm

torvet

Indoor climbing wall

Changing roomsbasement

Forsamlingshuset

MAIN ENTRANCE

MAIN

ENTR

ANCE

Cph Confrence/Cph Bowling and Lounge

Shooting Alley,basement

Changing room

Changing room

P

I

ND Room

Foye

r

Expat Sporting Sunday scheduleTIME LOCATION SPORT

10:00-11:00 Forsamlingshuset Yoga (+15)

10:00-13:00 Sportshuset Fun and Games (3-9)

10:00-14:00 Idrætshuset Touch rugby (+8).

10:00-14:00 Idrætshuset Ulti mate (+18)

10:00-15:00 Foyer Panna

10:00-15:00 Foyer Table tennis

10:00-15:00 Basement Shooti ng

10:00-16:00 Main entrance The Great Outdoors

11:30-12:00 ND Room Yoga (6-10)

11:30-12:30 Forsamlingshuset Cross-fi t (+15)

13:00-14:00 Forsamlingshuset Bhangra

13:30-15:00 Sporthuset Roller-board hockey

14:00-15:00 Forsamlingshuset Pilates (+15)

14:30-15:30 Gymnasti khuset Rough and Tumble (3-6)

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

4

Gymnastikhuset Sportshuset

Idrætshuset

Indoor climbing wall

EntranceThe Swim Centre &

The Spa

Glass corridor

Spise

huse

t

Stal

dgad

eSt

aldg

ade

Loun

ge

The

Gym

The

rest

aura

nt V

esta

uran

ten

The Spa1. �oor

Hotel Reception

Car park

Entance Car park

Meet in Art

2,3 & 4

Meet in Art5, 6, 78 & 10

Terrasse

Bygning 55

Øksnehallen

Tietgensgade

Ingerselvgade

1. �oor IS

CA / DGI S

torkøbenhavn / PPI

OutdoorClimbingTower

To Central StationDANHOSTEL Copenhagen City.Tivoli & Strøget

To Hotel CentrumHotel Astoria & Halm

torvet

Indoor climbing wall

Changing roomsbasement

Forsamlingshuset

MAIN ENTRANCE

MAIN

ENTR

ANCE

Cph Confrence/Cph Bowling and Lounge

Shooting Alley,basement

Changing room

Changing room

P

I

ND Room

Foye

r

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

5

Jean-Luc FrastLuxembourg, 33Several sports: Universitetets Studenter Gymnasti k (University Sport Associati on)

Why did you join this parti cular club?My partner and I were looking for standard dance lessons to att end. USG off ers a wide-range of courses with highly compe-tent teachers and as a student, you can actually att end these courses for a very aff ordable amount of money. Beyond that, the classes take place close to where we live and work, so the combinati on of a great off er, an aff ordable price and the loca-ti on made us go with USG.

Do you understand the Danes and their strange behaviour bett er aft er joining a sports club?Not really. My partner is Danish and I already had a good idea why Danes sing and dance around the Christmas tree, while singing pagan pixie songs.

Is there a diff erence in between doing sport with people and just having a meeti ng with them? If yes, what is the diff er-ence?The diff erence is that the fi rst odd barrier of an encounter is removed. You know that all of the people in the room are here to play a game and that you are expected to engage. On that basis, interacti on is happening in a rather natural fashion, com-pared to the someti mes odd situati on when you try to meet people out in town, but you are not sure if they want to meet you, especially as the Danes are sti ll perceived as rather distant and cold in fi rst encounters.

Marvin RadfordUS, 37Football: Foreningen for Middelmådige Boldspilleres Fremme (the Club for Promoti on of Mediocre Football Players)

Why did you join this parti cular sports club?Because the players are nice people who come from all over the world. Many are internati onals who are in Copenhagen for work, study or family reasons. We also have Danes as mem-bers, so it is a very diverse group.

What do you think of the social events? How important are they to you? There are occasional birthday beers. We have a ‘Julefrokost’ coming up in a few weeks [in March]. It will be hosted by one of the players. We are looking forward to a long multi cultural evening! The players generally have a well-established social network apart from the sports club. Even so, club-based social events are a welcome bonus for my life in Copenhagen. What do you fi nd the most strange about Danish sports club culture? I don’t fi nd it strange - but rather invigorati ng. It is interesti ng to observe the strength of clubs in Danish culture. Parti cipat-ing is even more interesti ng than observing!

Do you get involved beside the practi cing and the games?Yes. I don’t mind being the one suggesti ng an occasional beer or get-together. I will be preparing slow smoked barbecue ribs for our Julefrokost on March 2! It will be great … we will all get to act ‘crazy like the Danes!’

We caught up with some of the internationals who have found a new home at their local sports association

A HOME AWAY FROM HOME AT YOUR LOCAL CLUB

Anna MacMurdo Kaufman US, 29

Rugby Union: CBS Sport Rugby

What would you miss if you weren´t a member of

this club?

I can’t imagine living here without it. I lived here about six

months before I joined the team, and it wasn’t easy to meet

people and have a social group here in Denmark (especially

since the Danes are more reserved than I’m used to). Now,

I really love playing rugby and learning more about the

sport, but I also love my teammates - they are some of my

closest friends here in Copenhagen.

Do you get involved off the pitch as well?

Yes, defi nitely. I would say that I probably see my rugby

teammates twice as much

for social acti viti es than I do

for practi cing. Between No-

vember and February, our

team doesn’t have practi ce

(off -season, mostly because

it’s so cold), but I sti ll see

many of my teammates

about once a week or so for

one thing or another.

Thomas ThimothéeFrench, 23Rugby Union: Frederiksberg Rugby Club

What do you think of the social events in the club? How impor-tant are they to you? The social events in the club are extremely important for me to get integrated in Denmark.

What would you miss if you weren´t a member of this club?It would be way harder to meet Danish people and get “close” to them without the club.

Why did you join? To meet Danish people. I actually wanted to play for a Dan-ish club (FRK), rather than a more internati onal one, mainly because I wanted to build a close relati onship with Danish people.

Do you get involved off the pitch?Yes, I try to take part in as many social events as possible, and I ‘coach’ the U18 team with three other guys.

6

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

Francesco Saverio MondelliItalian, 31Ulti mate: Københavns Frisbee Klub

How did you get into contact with the sports club?The Ulti mate network is prett y small, so before moving I asked my Italian sport-mates if they knew anyone playing in Copenhagen.

Do you understand the Danes and their strange behaviour bett er aft er joining a sports club?I defi nitely do. I try to bett er assimilate and adapt, but there is sti ll a lot I have to learn. It takes a lot of ti me to get close to you Danes, but one of the most interesti ng social events I’ve been part of is without any doubt the Julefroko-st. People kind of transform and if they are on their own for 364 days, this is the moment they are surprisingly open, smiley and crazy! There is something similar in Italy - it is called Carnival!

What do you think of the social events at the club? I really like to join the social events of my team, especially when I’m the only foreigner and feel a bit closer to the Danes. I have to say that the frequency of the social events drasti cally drops when we leave the short sunny season for the long dark season of the year, but I guess this is refl ect-ed in all aspects of Danish life. Nevertheless, I really enjoy being part of them, as they are usually a completely new experience for me: singing together incomprehensible and unpronounceable songs, having barbecues in the parks, or joining one of the many drinking games has become one of the parts of my life in Denmark I’m always excited about.

What would you miss if you were not a member of this club?I defi nitely would miss it. For me it is quite diffi cult to hang out with Danish people. I work in an internati onal consul-tancy and of course most of my workmates are foreigners - without KFK it would be even more diffi cult to get in touch with the Danes.

What was the hardest thing about joining the club?It was not diffi cult at all. The spirit of KFK is to be open and friendly to everyone; the hardest part is to try to join all the events and tournaments they organise, but that is a ques-ti on of ti me and prioriti es.

While the ladies are perfectly welcome to join the men roughing and tumbling all over the big halls, there’s also a wide range of more sedate acti viti es – including stretching,

meditati ve and strength-training exercises – going on at Expat Sporti ng Sunday primarily aimed at feminine visitors.

If you fi nd treadmills boring in your quest for that perfect fi gure, why not try ‘Bhangra’, a form of dance performed to Indian Punjabi folk rhythms played on a one-stringed instrument called the iktar. It’s suit-able for parti cipants of all ages, easy to learn, and fun. And while this one-hour free introductory session (Forsamlingshuset, 13:00-14:00) won’t necessarily hook you for life, it’s guaranteed to leave you sweat-ing buckets.

The popular stretching exercise ‘Pilates’, on the other hand, isn’t really suitable for under-15s, or at least people who aren’t yet fully grown. Regular pilates will sculpt your body, giving you long, lean muscles. It regards the stomach as the powerhouse - how it’s key to all exercises and breathing is heavily emphasised. It also increases fl exibility. A free one-hour trial (Forsamlingshuset, 14:00-15:00) should determine if it’s for you or not – aft er all, there’s nothing worse than paying the fee and realising you don’t like it, or didn’t understand what it really involved - aft er which you can sign up for classes or purchase a DVD. It is said that for opti mal results you should work out three ti mes a week. Expe-rienced pilates exercisers are also welcome.

‘Yoga’, the popular meditati ve technique that is typically instructed in warm setti ngs and will make you more fl exible than a cartoon char-acter (a typical positi on you might have seen is the Lotus where the legs are crossed and feet placed on the thighs) can be tried out at DGI-byen for free as well. The classes available – for children aged six to ten (ND Room 11:30-12:00) and another for over-15s (Forsamlingshuset, 10:00-11:00) – are a great introducti on to a practi se that many have heard of, but comparati vely few have tried. The children’s class incor-porates more playing and less meditati ve focus, but sti ll includes tradi-ti ons of yoga, although it is considerably less taxing on the body than the adult version, which is both meditati ve and physically demanding. Yoga is a great way to exchange stress for inner peace and a state of harmony, insight and tranquillity. Parti cipants are recommended to bring a mat and wear loose-fi tti ng clothes.

You have probably seen ‘Cross-fi t’ (Forsamlingshuset, 11.30-12.30) athletes running industrial estates carrying heavy objects – now you can fi nd out what they’re really doing and have a go yourself. Exclusively for over-15s, it’s physically challenging but highly rewarding, a cross between strength-training and gymnasti cs. Presented on the day by Butcher’s Lab, the country’s leading centre specialising in cross-fi t, ACT is a strength and conditi oning programme that focuses on the enti re body, parti cularly the muscles and joints. Cross-fi t benefi ts the body by increasing strength rather than muscle mass, and it is off ered at a variety of gyms, typically referred as ‘boxes’.

And fi nally, a great acti vity for the whole family to parti cipate in together is ‘The Great Outdoors’ (in front of the main entrance, 10:00-16:00). Organised by the DGI Storkøbenhavn Nature on the Move project (www.naturderbevaeger.dk), the emphasis is on nature, movement and outdoor leisure. Acti viti es include taking an outdoor sauna followed by a dousing in icy water, coff ee and hot chocolate from the outdoor lounge, going for a run directed by GPS, samples of outdoor Nordic cooking, making snobrød on the open fi re, wood carving, and plenty of competi ti ons.

A LEISURELY AFTERNOON OF

PLEASURETry out yoga, pilates or bhangra without signing up for a course, get in touch with nature and fi nd out what the outdoors has to offer, or sim-ply relax and let good things happen to you By Eric Maganga

5 GOOD REASONS TO ATTEND • Free trials• Instruction in English • Good child-tailored options• Get in touch with nature• Coffee, hot chocolate, snobrød and tastings

7

DGI-byen - Feb 3-9

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