Gjelleraasen IF – The GIF School

Many teenagers drop out of organised sport, while clubs struggle to find coaches and leaders. Gjelleråsen IF, a sports club in Nittedal, Norway, has created a school that gives young people responsibility, confidence and knowledge about mental health. Kavli Trust is giving NOK 2 million (£ 160 000) so the model can be rolled out to five new locations across the country.

About the project

The GIF School (GIF-skolen) uses the sports club’s meeting places to give young people and young adults a sense of mastery, belonging and leadership development. The leadership programme Ung Leder (Young Leader) consists of four modules of leadership training and supervised practice as a coach, event organiser or role model, and every participant completes their own practical project. The seminar series Sterk i hodet (Strong in Mind), developed with the Norwegian Centre for Sport and Mental Health, gives young people, coaches and parents knowledge about coping, pressure and safe environments. Everything is free and open to all, including young people who are not members of a sports club.

From 2027, Gjelleråsen will act as a development base, and five new local hubs will be set up in other cities: two in 2027, two in 2028 and one in 2029. Each hub will run two leadership programmes and two seminars a year. By 2029 the plan is 28 leadership programmes with 280 places and 28 seminars with 700 youth attendances.

How will Kavli Trust’s funding be used

NOK 948,000 goes to the GIF School in Gjelleråsen: six Ung Leder programmes and six Sterk i hodet seminars. NOK 500,000 is set aside as start-up funding for the five new hubs. The remainder covers shared activities and materials, travel, marketing, accounting and audit. Professional services are bought in from qualified providers, and the project has no salary costs.

About the organisation

Gjelleråsen IF was founded in 1935 and is a multi-sport club in Nittedal with around 1,700 members and nine different activities. 483 of its members are aged between 12 and 19. The club aims to be more than a sports club, working for inclusion, mastery and belonging, and to develop the volunteers and leaders of the future. The SpareBank 1 Foundation Jevnaker, Lunner and Nittedal funded the launch of the GIF School in 2026.