SK Ull

Skiklubben Ull was a Norwegian Nordic skiing club based in Oslo. Founded in 1883, Skiklubben Ull attracted several skilled sportsmen who between 1883 and 1891 won six Ladies' Cups and one King's Cup in national skiing events. The sporting facilities belonging the club were located in Vestre Aker, with the ski jumping hill Ullbakken near Frognerseteren being opened in 1884. The prestigious Husebyrennet was staged there once. Members of SK Ull were later instrumental in moving this prestigious contest to the hill Holmenkollbakken.

Club members also held important positions in the general administration of skiing in Norway. The first Ull chairman Johan Bechholm was also the first secretary of the Association for the Promotion of Skiing; Karl Roll became the first chairman of the Norwegian Ski Federation, Hjalmar Krag became chairman in the Confederation of Sports and Fritz R. Huitfeldt was a pioneer in several respects.

The club was founded by students and its membership later drew from the upper social strata. During the first ten years of club history, forty-four of the sixty members admitted into the club belonged to one of four prestigious professions;

The most active sporting period, 1883–1898

Skiklubben Ull was founded on 29 January 1883, and named after the Norse deity

The founding members were Thoralf Fabritius, Paul Lorck, Petter Dahl Thams, Andreas Bechholm, Johan Bechholm, Otto Dahl, Sigurd Gotaas and Michael Strøm Lie. New members were allowed every year until 1887, after which new members were usually admitted biannually, in 1889, 1891, 1893, 1895, 1896 and 1897. Notable members who joined the club shortly after the foundation include Fritz R. Huitfeldt, Henrik Florentz, Hans Grüner, Marius Grüner and Stefan Meidell. The first chairman was Johan Bechholm, followed by Sigurd Gotaas from 1885 and Fritz R. Huitfeldt from 1887 to 1891.^[1][4] The three honorary memberships proclaimed in the early period were Fritz R. Huitfeldt (1883), Hans Grüner (1884) and Axel Huitfeldt (1889).^[5]

The club saw sporting success on the national level (international competitions were few or none) in its first years. Johan Bechholm finished eleventh and won the Ladies' Cup in

Reportedly, it was SK Ull's forays into the district around Holmenkollen for sporting purposes that spurred the establishment of the new hill Holmenkollbakken in 1891.^[1] The knowledge of the area spurred Fritz R. Huitfeldt to pinpoint the location of the new hill, together with Hans Krag.^[8] This hill lay at a higher altitude than Kastellbakken, and thus had more favourable snow conditions. Holmenkollbakken quickly replaced Kastellbakken as the main hill in the district, and eventually became world-famous.^[1]

SK Ull also saw some sporting success in the 1890s, although the last Ladies' Cup was taken in 1891. The club was joined by top skiers like Tobias Bernhoft and Jørgen Berg. In the late 1890s, however, as many members reached higher ages, SK Ull became more of a gentlemen's social club than an active skiing club.^[1][4] This social club was exclusive by nature, with a clause in the by-laws that the membership could not surpass forty. Actually the club never had more than thirty members, which was the case in 1890, and rarely more than twenty.^[9] The members were drawn from the higher social strata of Norway's capital region. Forty-four of the sixty members admitted into the club up to the opening of Ydale belonged to one of four prestigious professions: physician, military officer, jurist or engineer.^[1]

1900–1945

After 1898, there was a pause in admitting new members. Four were admitted between 1906 and 1908, followed by only one in the 1915, three in 1924, and two in 1935.^[10] In 1940 the average member age was 69.^[11]

After finishing their active careers, some of Ull's members entered the ranks of sports officials and administrators. Most notable was Karl Roll, who became the first chairman of the Norwegian Ski Federation in 1908. Several members had already held positions in the older organization Association for the Promotion of Skiing, founded three weeks before Ull, in 1883. Johan Bechholm was its first secretary, from 1883 to 1886, and many others followed. Johan Sverre (member since 1896) was a notable Olympic administrator after the Norwegian independence in 1905, and Hjalmar Krag (member since 1887) became chairman in the Confederation of Sports. Fritz R. Huitfeldt also became a known figure in his field; for his ski bindings, and for pioneering Telemark skiing. Huitfeldt's ski factory, which he started together with Richard Blichfeldt, was named Ull.^[1][4]

During the first years of the

At the war's end in 1945, Ull only had fourteen members. Its average member age was lowered to 65 years after the admission of five new members in 1946 and 1947.[12] The post-war period also saw the admission to SK Ull of men from more professional groups.^[13] One of the new members, Erik Plahte, would serve as chairman from 1951 to 1973,^[5] when he backed down at the age of 84. Another of the new post-war members, Jakob Vaage, took over. He was then aged 68.^[13] By 1953, all the club's elected positions were held by post-war members. Three of the older members, some with experience dating to the 1880s, were admitted as honorary members,^[12] the first honorary members in SK Ull since 1889.^[10]

After professor

This is a list of chairmen, deputy chairmen and managers/secretaries of SK Ull.[5]

References

Notes