The Stånga Games

Welcome to the website which tells about the Stånga Games, "the Gotlandic Olympics".

The Stånga Games

The Stånga Games, an annual competition in Gotlandic Sports, takes place in Stånga on Gotland. This competition was arranged for the first time in 1924.

In the game you compete in Ancient square-and-border- ball, the Stone, Pole throwing, Gotlandic Pentathlon and in some other minor games more for fun. You will find a short description of these games further down on the page, by using the link Gotlandic Games.

In 2003, 2350 competitors participated in the Games, of which about 1550 took part in the event Ancient square-and-border-ball, where as many as 201 teams competed (where off 55 teams consisted of women), each team consisting of seven members. What a record !

The number of people working with and at the game in 2003, were a little more than 300, everyone working as volunteers. The games continue for four days ( Thursday – Sunday ), where during the two first days, the only event taking place is the Ancient square-and-border-ball. During Saturday and Sunday you compete in all events.

A tradition since the sixties is that these Stånga Games always takes place during the second weekend of July.The dates for the next five years are:

History

The gotlandic games is a uniting concept for all kinds of games that took place among the peasantry and embellished their lives throughout the centuries. Many of the games originates from the Viking Age. It all started as family-games, played when having feasts and celebrations, and then developing into competitions between neighbouring villages, challenging each other in something called a " wagering contest ", a selected combination of three or five different games. ( The village which lost, generally had to pay for the feast to come. ) This gotlandic wagering contest has strongly contributed to keeping these games alive.

During the second half of the 19th-century, athletic associations were being established, and this created opportunities for more organized competitions. The first prize-competition in Ancient square-and-border-ball, was organized by Visby Ball Club in 1882. The Gotlandic Pentathlon was created in the end of the 19th-century, the first took place in 1892, and has today a very high status in the Stånga Games. In 1924, Stånga Sports Club:s The Stone-contest was being coordinated with Traditional Gutnic Sports Association:s (FGI) Ancient square-and-border-ball-contest, and the first Stånga Games was a fact.

The Stone is probably the most well-known event among the old gotlandic sports. This event has spread to different parts of Sweden and even to several countries in Europe. Swedish championships have been arranged since 1946.

Ancient square-and-border-ball has a number of " relatives " in Europe - " Jeu de Ball " in France and Belgium and the Basque " Pelote ". In Holland they play a game of much the same, called " Kaatsen ". You can find descriptions in writing from the 18th-century of this game, but in its original form it derives from the Greeks and the Romans.

The gotlandic Pole Throwing has a heritage from the Viking Age, so has the Scottish variant " Tossing the Caber ". Some exchange with our Scottish friends has taken place throughout the years, especially during the sixties and seventies.

The Stånga Games is today more popular than ever, which the following diagram shows:

Competition-program 2006

Gotland

Sweden`s biggest island situated in the Baltic Sea. A culture- and tourist-island, visited by around 650.000 peole yearly.

The city of Visby, known for its mediaeval citywall, can be found on the worldheritagelist. The number of inhabitants on Gotland is around 58.000, of which 22.000 live in Visby.

Stånga

An agriculture community 50 km south of Visby. Known for its 13th-century church with the richly carved portal in the southern part of the building and Gumbalde Golf - a 18-hole golf-course in the middle of the community.

And here in Stånga you find the place for the Stånga Games; Stangmalmen, a sports ground looking like a park with an area of 115.000 m2, which is equivalent to 19 footballgrounds. About 550 people live in Stånga.