Vardåsbanen Kunstgress

General information

Founded in 1993 (as Otra Raiders)
Renamed The Kristiansand Gladiators in 2000
Home field: Karuss Colosseum (Vågsbyd)

The Gladiators are an established organization in Kristiansand, Norway, the 5th largest city of the country; it is located in the southern part of the country and borders the Baltic Sea.

The Gladiators are a member of the NAIF (Norges Amerikanske Idretters Forbund), which is a member of Norwegian Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (NIF). The federation consists of about 90 clubs from various sports, boasting close to 4000 members. Organized American Football has been a part of the federation since 1983.

Originally founded as the Otra Raiders in 1993, the team was renamed in 2000 when the Raiders and rival club, Arendal Wildcats, merged to form the Kristiansand Gladiators.

From the span of 1993 through 2007, the Gladiators played their games at Hellemyr Kunstgress. In the spring of 2008 the team relocated to their new facility at Karuss in Vågsbygd. This was made possible with a generous donation from two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Andreas Thorkildsen (Javelin). The field was fashionably named Karuss Colosseum. Thorkildsen is the only honorary member of the Gladiators, and he has been honored with a "12th man" jersey. His honorary jersey will be retired at Karuss Colosseum the day he retires from Javelin competition to recognize his generous contribution to the Club.

The Gladiators have competed at all levels in Norwegian competition during its 19 years of existence. In 2012, the team has rejoined the Norwegian 1st Division (Best division in Norway) and looks to compete in a league that boasts teams from Oslo, Trondheim, Stavanger, Eidsvoll and Bergen.

The organization also has youth teams (U19 and U16), which consists of players ages 17-19 and 13-16 respectively. The U19 has won two Norwegian Championships, the most significant occurring in 2008, where the team strutted an undefeated season and a 30-0 victory against the Eidsvoll 1814s in the Norwegian U19 Championship. The U16 team went undefeated in the 2011 season and looks to repeat the feat in 2012.

-Allan Wetrhus

Norwegian Wikipedia site: http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kristiansand_Gladiators

Read more about the federation (NAIF) Here: http://www.amerikanskeidretter.no/grener/AFN/Sider/default.aspx