Storhamar Idrettslag is a Norwegian multi-sports club based in Hamar

Hamar

is a town and municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Hamar. The municipality of Hamar was separated from Vang as a town and municipality of its own in 1849...

. It has sections for ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, team handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

, association football and figure skating

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

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History

It was founded in 1935 as Storhamar AIL, a workers' sports club which was a member of Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund

Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund

Arbeidernes Idrettsforbund was a sporting organization in Norway between 1924 and 1946. As of 1935, AIF had around 50,000 members. AIF published the magazine Arbeideridrett.-Foundation and early growth:...

. The district Storhamar was located in the municipality Vang

Vang, Hedmark

Vang is a former municipality in Hedmark county, Norway.Vang was established as a municipality January 1, 1838 . The city of Hamar was separated from Vang in 1849. Furnes was separated from Vang in 1891...

 until an expansion of Hamar's city limits in 1946. It was one of four significant clubs in the districts before 1940, and because of their status as a local club, and certain ties to the Communist Party

Communist Party of Norway

The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...

, it declined to merge into a catch-all club after 1945. Fellow workers' sports club Hamar AIL did merge, to form part of Hamarkameratene.

Ice hockey

The ice hockey department was established in 1957, and took the name Storhamar Dragons

Storhamar Dragons

The Storhamar Dragons is an ice hockey club based in Hamar, Norway and plays in the GET-ligaen. The club also includes the largest junior department in Norwegian ice hockey.The ice hockey department of the Storhamar IL was founded on 18 March 1957...

 in 1998. It is one of the most successful ice hockey clubs in Norway. The home arenas are Hamar OL-Amfi

Hamar OL-Amfi

Hamar OL-Amfi , also called Nordlyshallen , is an indoor sports arena in Hamar, Norway, mostly used for ice hockey. It was built in 1992 for the 1994 Winter Olympics, and housed figure skating and short track speed skating.It's normal capacity seats 6,091 people, and is the largest wooden made...

 and Storhamar ishall.

Handball

The women's handball team currently plays in the highest Norwegian league. Players include Heidi Tjugum

Heidi Tjugum

Heidi Marie Tjugum is a Norwegian team handball player and goalkeeper, and World Champion from 1999. She was born in Drammen. She received a silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. She received a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney...

 and Anja Edin

Anja Edin

Anja Edin is a Norwegian handball player. She currently plays for Storhamar IL, and was on the Norwegian national team until 2010....

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Football

The men's football team currently plays in the Fourth Division, the fifth tier of Norwegian football.