Acts
Legislative Act on Sports
Legislative Act on Sports
Article 1
In this Act, "sports" means any physical training intended to improve physical and mental prowess, health and fitness.
The Act does not apply to sports practised as part of the activities of health institutions or fitness centres.
Article 2
The main purpose of action by the state and municipalities in the area of sports shall be to promote opportunities for all Icelanders to practice sports under the most favourable conditions possible. Co-operation of the state and municipalities with the independent sports movement shall be based on the value of sports for pedagogical and preventive work.
Article 3
The Ministry of Education is responsible for sports to the extent that the state is involved. For this purpose, the Ministry shall gather information on the practice of sports in Iceland and on facilities for the practice of sports as well as promoting research in the field of sports.
Article 4
The Ministry for Education shall appoint a Sports Committee of five members. The Minister shall appoint the Chairman without nomination, one member nominated by the Executive Committee of the Icelandic Olympic and Sports Association, one member nominated by the Icelandic Youth Association, one member nominated by the Board of the Union of Local Authorities of Iceland and one member nominated by the Sports Instructors' Department of the Iceland Teachers' Training College. Alternate members shall be appointed in the same way. Committee decisions shall be taken by majority vote. The costs of the committee shall be paid out of the State Treasury.
The role of the Sports Committee is to advise the Ministry of Education on Sports affairs. The committee shall submit recommendations regarding allocations to sports in the state budget and on the appropriation of funds from the Sports Fund pursuant to Article 8.
Article 5
Sports activities outside schools shall be based on the voluntary activities of the general public.
The Icelandic Olympic and Sports Association is the supreme authority regarding the voluntary practice of sports in Iceland and regarding foreign relations of the sports movement. The Icelandic Youth Association is an independent, non-governmental organisation involved in sports.
Article 6
The country is divided into sports districts. The Icelandic Olympic and Sports Association and the Icelandic Youth Association are responsible for the division into sports district and alteration of boundaries.
Article 7
The construction of sports facilities in the interest of schools and for public use is the responsibility of the municipalities, unless otherwise provided by law.
Municipal authorities shall issue building grants to sports clubs and sports associations as decided in the municipal budgets.
Article 8
The Althing shall annually allocate funds to the Sports Fund for the promotion of sports in the country. The Sports Committee is responsible for the Sports Fund and shall submit recommendations to the Minster for Education regarding apropriatons from the Fund, cf. Article 4.
Grants may be awarded from the fund for:
1. Special projects undertaken by sports clubs and their associations intended to improve conditions for the practice of sports;
2. Promotional and educational activities;
3. Sports research;
4. Projects covered by Article 13 hereof.
The Sports Fund may not undertake expenditures beyond its annual appropriation
A regulation issued by the Minister for Sports on the recommendation of the Sports Committee may lay down conditions for grants from the Sports Fund and the form of applications and allocations.
Article 9
Appropriations from the State Treasury to the activities of national associations of athletes shall be determined by the Althing in the State Budget.
Article 10
Fund raising by sports associations through lotteries are subject to the decision of the Althing in the Budget Act.
Article 11
Sports shall be taught in all the primary and secondary schools in the country as further set out in legislation, regulations and curricula applicable to the schools in question.
All the children in the country shall be taught to swim unless exempted by a physician for health reasons.
Article 12
The state shall operate an academy responsible for the education of sports teachers pursuant to legislation on such activities.
Article 13
The Minister for Education may be a party to agreements on the establishment and operation of sports centres in co-operation with municipalities and sports associations provided that the services of the centres are intended for the benefit of the country as a whole. Financial participation by the state in such co-operation is subject to appropriations in the State Budget.
Article 14
The Minister for Education shall be responsible for establishing rules regarding safety measures in sports facilities, including supervision, and regarding sports implements and equipment.
Article 15
The Minister for Education may issue further provisions on the application of this Act in a regulation.
Article 16
The Act shall take effect immediately and replace the Sports Act No. 49/1956, as amended.
Done in Reykjavík on 12 June 1998
Commentary on the Legislative Bill
A bill on this same subject was submitted at the 121st legislative session, but debate was not concluded. The bill is now submitted once more, slightly altered.
The final version of this bill was prepared by the Ministry of Education based on the recommendations of a committee appointed by the Ministry of Education in 1992 to review the current sports legislation. The committee returned a draft bill along with a report in March of 1994. Account was also taken of the recommendations of a committee on the promotion of sports activities appointed by the Ministry of Education on the recommendation of the Althing on 16 May 1997; this committee returned its report in early December 1997.
The current sports legislation dates largely from 1956 (Act No. 49/1956) although some amendments have been made since that time, e.g. by Act No. 87/1989 on the division of responsibilities between state and municipalities. The 1956 legislation was based on the original Sports Act passed in 1940.
Sports activities are now carried out under totally different conditions from those of 40 years ago when the current legislation was enacted. The role of sports in the lives of the general public has grown in importance and so has the number of people involved in sports in one way or another. At the same time, the sports movement has become more organised and powerful and facilities for practising sports have improved greatly across the country. The introduction of television has in many ways created new conditions and new sources of revenue have appeared, e.g. in the form of pools and lotteries.
Sports activities outside schools are practised under the auspices of independent clubs when they are not practised on an individual basis. This was taken into account when the bill was drawn up. It is understood that the purpose of the legislation on sports is primarily to establish a formal framework for the role of government in promoting sports activities without interfering with the way in which the sports movement chooses to operate. Sports training in schools, like other school activities, naturally falls under the legislation on education.
The views outlined above have the result that the legislation visualised in this bill will be much less extensive and simpler than the current legislation.
Some of the main changes and innovations in the bill as compared to the current legislation are as follows:
- The provision on the sports representative in the Ministry of Education is removed although the Ministry remains responsible for sports matters on behalf of the state.
- Members of the sports committee are now five instead of three, and the role of the committee is changed somewhat.
- The role of the Sports Fund is widened and allocations of funds become the responsibility of the Minister for Education based on the recommendations of the Sports Committee.
- Provisions regarding the form and facilities of sports training in schools are deleted and reference made to legislation governing schools.
- It is understood that legislation will be enacted on authorisation for the state to participate in agreements on the establishment and operation of sports centres in co-operation with municipalities and sports associations, provided that the services of such centres are intended for the country as a whole.
- The Ministry of Education will be responsible for establishing rules on safety measures in sports facilities.
- Various special provisions regarding grants, e.g. regarding sports facilities, are removed, but authorisation granted for various conditions regarding grants to be set out in regulations.