The Norwegian Pole & Aerial Federation is a volunteer-driven organization run by members of NPAF, dedicated to positively promoting the development of pole and aerial as athletic sports in Norway. NPAF aims to support individuals, associations, and other entities involved in Pole and Aerial Sports, in all its variations and styles, with the goal of unifying the Norwegian Pole and Aerial Sport industry. Since 2015, NPAF has been responsible for organizing the Norwegian Pole and Aerial Championship.
Our vision is to give our coaches, judges, athletes and the rest of the poles and aerial community the opportunity to achieve their highest potential in all aspects of Pole and Aerial Sport.
Our mission is to motivate and inspire people to participate in a safe and effective Pole and Aerial Sport around the world.
We want to achieve our vision and our mission through our five main goals mentioned below:
1. Pole and Aerial Sports Focus – We want to motivate and inspire all coaches, judges, athletes and enthusiasts to enjoy pole and aerial sports, by giving individuals the opportunity to engage, develop and realize their potential in all aspects of the sport, regardless of age, background, ability or disability
2. International success – We want our sport to be recognized nationally and internationally with representation at multi-sport events, the World Games, and finally at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
3. Development of partnerships - We want to develop strong internal and external partnerships, at all levels, in order to offer opportunities, structures and support for Pole Sport and the rest of the pole and aerial community.
4. Strengthen the profile of Pole and Aerial Sports - We want to publicize and inform the public about the full range of Pole and Aerial Sports' activities, which leads to increased recognition, sponsorship, funding, access and participation for our sport.
5. Athlete Support – The development of a comprehensive pole and aerial sports structure and community to support athlete careers as they retire from competition. We want to build a sustainable and long-term future for Pole and Aerial Sport's athletes.
6. Coach support - We want a unified, ethical, inclusive and valuable coaching system where skilled coaches support pole and aerial athletes at all stages of their development.
7. Anti-Doping – Our goal is to maintain an anti-doping program in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, which are recognized as the gold standard in fairness, equality and integrity across all sports and all countries.
8. Governing and regulating – Governing and regulating the Pole and Aerial Sport in a fair and comprehensive manner, from a national perspective, in all regions.
The Norwegian Pole Sport Association was founded on 22 October 2014 with the aim of uniting athletes, coaches, judges and enthusiasts.
A big thank you to those of you who have supported us in the start-up:
Svein Edin Hagberg
Mai Phan
Miriam Susan Hansen Bjørgås
Tina Tufte Holtsdalen
Camilla Haukås Skjeseth
Herdis Jenssen
June Berntsen
Elise Jacobsen
Gøril Synnøve Johansen
Linda Engebretsen
Julie Bjanes
Pole became a popular form of exercise in 2000 and pole competitions started to become popular. Competitions had little or no scoring or evaluation of criteria, no way to consistently award points to those athletes who were technically and artistically superior, and rules contained very little guidance on what the judges were looking for.
In 2006, a survey was conducted by Katie Coates to see how the pole community felt about making pole sports an Olympic sport. Over 10,000 voted yes. In 2008, Tim Trautman in the United States began working with Katie to create the International Pole Sports Federation, and the term Pole Sports was coined to transform Pole from a physical activity performed socially and for fitness, to an international sport and competition. Soon national federations began to form and competitive teams were organized. The first Pole Sports World Championship took place in 2012 with only 43 athletes from 14 countries; only 5 were men. In 2013, the youth category with only 7 athletes was launched. Just 5 years later, in 2017, there was an increase of over 80% in participation in the youth category; in all, 229 athletes from 36 countries participated on the World Pole Sports stage.
The Norwegian Pole Sport Association and pole sport in the media:
Trd.by: Dennis (23) er eneste mannlige deltaker i sin klasse i pole sport-NM i Trondheim
Trd.by: Bjørg testet en dansetime for fire år siden – nå konkurrerer hun i VM i pole sport
Lofotposten: Camilla (23) og Elise (25) har startet kronerulling for å komme seg til VM
Fredriksstad Blad: MS-syke Therese (44) kjempet seg opp av rullestolen tok NM gull i pole sport
Drammen Live24: Aleksandra har kun vært aktiv i seks måneder – nå konkurrerer hun i norgestoppen
VG: Sara (16) kjemper mot fordommene: – Jeg driter i å være sexy
TV2 God Morgen Norge: Dette er Norges beste poledance-utøvere
Tv2: HISTORISK NM I POLEDANCING: – Høyere nivå enn i Sverige
Trd.by: Elise (23) og Bjørg (32) er Trondheims VM-håp i denne idretten
KK: ME-syk: – Barna mine spurte: «Skal du begynne med stripping mamma?»
Nordlys: Tromsøjente til VM i Pole Sport: – Jeg skal kjempe i toppen
Nettavisen: Northug om danseøkt: – Jeg er bare glad jeg overlevde!
TV2: Pensjonisten Unni (69) skal lære seg poledancing: – Vi må tørre selv om vi er godt voksne!
Tønsberg Blad: Folk hadde fordommer mot dette før – nå har det blitt en svært populær treningstrend
Chair of NPAF since the summer of 2025. Has been practicing pole and other aerial sports since 2020, starting through NTNUI Dance’s Pole & Aerial group. Served as the chair of NTNUI Dance: Pole & Aerial from 2021–2022, and has been actively involved in volunteer work, especially within pole sport.
Michelle Åstrøm er 53 år gammel og begynte med pole fitness på sin 40 årsdag. Michelle har vært aktiv i sporten de siste 8 årene. Hun har konkurrert i NM tre ganger i både Pole og Aerial hoop. I 2023 kvalifiserte hun seg til VM som gikk av stabelen i Finland. Hun har sittet som nestleder i styret de siste to årene og vært med å arrangere tidligere NM, og Aerial Dreams 2025.
Michelle er en sertifisert pole instruktør som har fått sin opplæring, og jobbet som instruktør ved Unicorn Pole studio. For tiden jobber hun som Pole og Hoop instruktør ved Avancia på Skedsmokorset.
Elise has been the Financial Manager and a board member since 2020. She has been an active athlete and coach since 2014, with a background in gymnastics, calisthenics, and fitness. Elise is also an instructor for Lofoten Pole, a personal trainer, and an online coach.
She is a highly accomplished athlete with 11 Norwegian Championship gold medals in the elite/competitive division and a World Championship bronze medal in pole sport (2023). As a seven-time Norwegian Champion and World bronze medalist, she also works as a certified pole judge and coaches athletes preparing for national and international competitions.
Joy Michon has been an active part of the pole and aerial community since 2018, both as an athlete and as an organizer. She has previously competed in Pole, Aerial Hoop and Aerial Silks, and has contributed to the execution of several championships. She has also been involved in event operations with responsibility for digital solutions and streaming. Joy has served as the federation’s website manager since 2018. Professionally, she works with digital strategy, concept development, campaigns and design at Gress Oslo, and she trains and teaches aerial at Sometimes Pole & Aerial Fitness in Oslo.
The Norwegian Pole & Aerial Association consists of a dedicated team that is passionate about developing the Pole & Aerial environment in Norway. As a board member, you get to be part of the core group that works to include and gather the sport in Norway, organize championships, shows and workshops.
To apply for the board, you must be dedicated to setting aside time for tasks and meetings, be committed, cooperative and good at communication.
Som styremedlem får du delta gratis på workshops og andre event arrangert av forbundet. Du vil få muligheten til å utvikle dine egne kunnskaper innenfor samarbeid, ansvar, planlegging og gjennomføring av store arrangement, og mye mer.
If you have questions about the application, work tasks or other things, you can send us an email to admin@polesportnorge.no
MEMBERSHIP medlem@polesportnorge.no
WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS workshop@polesportnorge.no
PRESS, PR AND MARKETING presse@polesportnorge.no
ADMIN OG FAKTURA admin@polesportnorge.no
VM/EM / ANTIDOPING vm@polesportnorge.no
JUDGE Judges@polesportnorge.no
VOLUNTARY frivillig@polesportnorge.no
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