About NPAF

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.

Vision

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.

OUR HISTORY

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.

NPAF in Media

The Norwegian Pole Sport Association and pole sport in the media:

General assembly

Statutes

Organization plan

Styret 2024

Diana Nodland

Chairman of the board

Diana has been active with pole since 2015, and is the owner of Unicorn Pole & Aerial studio as well as Unicorn Poleshop and Aerial Movements at Strømmen. She has over 10 years of management experience and works full-time as a general manager and instructor at Strømmen. She is a certified instructor and has participated in several competitions since 2016. Diana has been chairman of NPAF since 2022.

Michelle Åstrøm

Deputy head

Michelle started with pole in 2013, and in 2018 she began as a student at Unicorn Pole & Aerial Fitness. She has previously tried many forms of exercise, including spinning, strength training, and Zumba. Michelle is a certified instructor and teaches regularly at Unicorn. She has also competed in the Norwegian and World Championships, as well as participated in show performances.

Christine Børresen

Board member

Christine has been a board member and the financial officer of the association since 2015. She has experience in accounting, administration, and collections. Christine is an IPSF certified judge and instructor at Unicorn Pole Studio.

Joy Michon

Board member

Joy has been responsible for the association's website and social media since 2018. She works with digital strategy, concepts, campaigns, and design at Gress Oslo. Joy trains and teaches aerial hoop and Aerial Hammock (Sling) at Sometimes Pole & Aerial Fitness in Oslo.

Board member

Elise er instruktør for Lofoten Pole. Hun er personlig trener og online coach, og har bakgrunn fra turn, Calisthenics og fitness. Hun er x7 NM mester og bronsemedalist i VM 2023. Elise er poledommer og coacher også pole utøvere som ønsker å delta på NM eller VM.

Marthe Tvervåg Aalerud

Deputy member

Marthe has been training pole since 2014 and is a certified instructor at levels 1-4. She works as a radiographer at Sykehuset Østfold. Marthe has been a member of NPAF since 2022.

Ellen Sande

Deputy member

Ellen has extensive experience from voluntary work from, among others, Natteravnene and Skedsmo Red Cross Relief Corps. She also has extensive work experience from the security industry. Ellen trains pole at Unicorn pole studio and in NPAF she works as sponsor manager.

Eyvor Tokle hoff

Deputy member

Eyvor Tokle Hoff, 28, trained chemist from Trondheim. Has been training pole since 2019, hoop since 2021, and has participated in two National Championships. Eyvor has a lot of organizational experience from the student environment in Trondheim, hence leader of the line association. In NPAF, she works as member manager.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BECOME A PART OF NPAF?

Send us an open application!

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.

Your benefits

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