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Our @tomfarrey has written about Norway’s inspiring sport system, which prioritizes fun. Now, see it for yourself on @RealSportsHBO. New episode features interviews by reporter Jon Frankel from “country that takes virtually everything we do here in the US, and does the opposite.” 
“Youth sport in (US) is a runaway train driven by the marketplace, entrepreneurs, and the fears of parents that their kids are going to be left behind. In Norway ... they are not trying to professionalize kids when they are 6, 8 and 10.” —@TomFarrey on @RealSportsHBO
Norway doesn’t rank kids or offer national championships before age 13. Friendship and well-being are official objectives. It’s all codified in the Children’s Rights in Sports, put in place in 1987: assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/upload…
Frankel: “An American parent would say, give me a break, the world about winning and losing, and you gotta learn that at an early age?” Top Norway Olympic official Tore Ovbredo: “Yeah. For (our) results in the Olympics, I want American parents to continue thinking this way.”
Norway (pop. 5.3M) won 39 medals at the Pyeonchang Games, more than any country in the history of the Winter Olympics. The US (pop 330M) finished four in the medal count.
@RealSportsHBO argues that inclusive and low-pressure environment helps make Norway one of the healthiest and most joyful countries. In the UN’s World Happiness Report, it has ranked in the top four countries every year since 2015.
Ovbredo, on Norway’s success at the elite level: “I don’t see the irony. There is no collision between being number one at the Olympic Games and treating kids well. It’s the same thing.”
@RealSportsHBO interviews community ski coach who says program costs $60 for 6 months of skiing fun, or 30 cents a day. “We send an invoice once, and if they don’t pay, we don’t bother them.”
Frankel: “This all sounds so nice and soft and friendly and rosy.” Ovbredo: “It should be a good environment. It should be safe. It shouldn’t be hostile. It’s not soft, it’s right – right for the kids.”
More background reading: Sports Betting in the Public Interest, which examines the funding model for Norway
aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/spo…
aspeninstitute.org/blog-posts/spo…
Conversation at our Future of US Olympic Movement event, with @USOC_CEO, @maxkcobb @hanxiao86 @shannonmiller96 @CindyBoren @JonSolomonAspen @TomFarrey
aspeninstitute.org/events/future-…
aspeninstitute.org/events/future-…
Our takeaway: To see #ProjectPlay in full, go to 🇳🇴. 30 years ago, country effectively put in place a model that embraces all eight of the PP strategies. Stuck with it, backed model with policies, wore out the doubters. And now is reaping great results in sports and society.
