LIM Arna: Local Super Role Models In Action For Our Youth
CONGRATULATIONS on record-breaking participation in LIM Arna with 102 enrolled children from three schools, just three weeks into startup. Students who participate in LIM increase their activity from 0-1 sports or from 1-2 sports. Meteva Sport og Helse invests NOK2.4Mill in LIM in six schools in Arna and Flaktveit, i.e. approximately 200 children into sports, relationship building with role models and help with homework. Why don't EVERY child, at EVERY school in EVERY city in Norway, get LIM offered?
Could you think of a better investment?
The LIM project — short for Lekser, Idrett og Mat (Homework, Sports, and Food) — launched this fall in Arna for pupils in grades 5 through 7. Erik Mjelde, former captain at Brann, is now the coach of Arna Bjørnar. His sister Maren Mjelde is former captain of the Norwegian National Football Team, and has won several titles in England playing for Chelsea. They have returned to their roots to contribute in developing a club which is strongly value driven. Tertnes Dragons are in charge of basketball.
LIM in Arna is now offered in three Arna schools with over 102 students signed up and participating in just three weeks of operating. Starting with Football and basketball this semester, expanding to more sports next year including athletics, floorball, karate and more. The schools/teachers provide for the homework assistance while volunteers prepare and organize the meals.
LIM has proven to be an organic recruiter to increase the number of sport activities for children. Children who don’t do sport when starting LIM end up as members of at least one sport activity. Children with one sport activity when starting LIM ends up participating in two sports activities - demonstrating the successful domino effect of LIM and its alignment with public health.
A Proven Concept Expanding Across Bergen
First launched in 2017 by Arild Hovland, a lifelong volunteer in Norwegian sports and recipient of His Majesty The King’s Medal of Merit, the LIM initiative has transformed everyday afternoons for children at several Bergen schools — including Slettebakken, Fridalen, Møhlenpris, and Ny-Krohnborg. Over the next two years, the program will expand to more neighborhoods, including Arna and Flaktveit.
Through a partnership between the Bergen Sports Council and Meteva Sport og Helse, the Arna launch represents the next chapter in this growing story of inclusion, integration, and belonging. Louise Mohn, Founder of Meteva Sport og Helse, has contributed to the expansion through a two-year cooperation agreement aimed at supporting more schools within the LIM framework.
“We believe in award-winning initiatives that foster inclusion, integration, and belonging through sports,” says Louise Mohn. “Led by Super Role Models, LIM is a shining example of how local schools, sports clubs, and communities can come together for children and youth.” - Louise Mohn
Sports as a Bridge — Children’s Rights to Sport in Action
LIM aligns closely with the Children’s Rights in Sport and offers free participation in up to 15 different sports throughout the school year, led by local sports clubs and professional instructors. Each session combines homework help, a nutritious meal, and organized sports, creating a holistic environment where physical activity, learning, and social growth go hand in hand.
Beyond sport, LIM is about breaking barriers — economic, social, and cultural. It helps children from all backgrounds participate equally, regardless of financial means or family circumstances.Its slogan says it best: “Alle må få muligheten” — Everyone must get the opportunity.
Role Models and Relationship Building
With its latest partnership, Meteva Sport og Helse brings its NextGen Neighbor Network (NNN) initiative and branding into the LIM ecosystem — highlighting the importance of SOCIAL CAPITAL and I CARE CAMPAIGNS, securing belonging for everyone, regardless of performance. Meteva Sport og Helse invites every Super Role Model from Basketakademiet to visit LIM Arna, giving children across Bergen the opportunity to build a relationship with them. Facilitating Super Role Models to visit schools outside their own area gives more children the opportunity to form a bond and feel included in the basketball family. After all, basketball is more than a sport.
The connection between elite athletes and their much admired younger generation creates belonging, and that starts face-to-face at LIM. It is about human connection, shared stories, and the opportunity for the youth to be seen by a true role model. This is what empowerment and inclusion looks like in action and it holds no borders. Every child in Bergen, regardless of where they go to school, should be given the chance to meet the Super Role Models in town.
This systematic relationship-building between elite athletes and youth/children cultivates close, authentic, and trusted bonds — supporting communities as catalysts for belonging and inclusion, and nurturing the organic growth of social capital. When there is less distance between adults and children, there is more trust — and when there is trust, everyone thrives.
“We should all share our local role models and facilitate for all children growing up to meet them. When Super Role Models collaborate through mutual social responsibility for children and youth; rivals become allies, competitors become collaborators” Louise.
A Compassionate Holiday Gift of 2025
This December, Meteva Sport og Helse invites businesses, corporations, and private contributors to support the LIM Project directly — giving more children in Bergen the possibility to try different types of sports after school, a true gift of inclusion, friendship, and belonging.
Meteva Sport og Helse Christmas Gift 2025: The LIM Project
Can you think of a better gift this year than inclusion and belonging for the children in your local area?
To find out how you or your company can contribute, please contact SANDRINO BIRKELAND sandrino.birkeland@idrettsforbundet.no Mobile: 93027947 and make your holiday gift the healthiest — and most meaningful — investment of the year. There is still an alarmingly high number of schools without LIM, so would you be able to make that difference in your local area please?
