IL Stålkameratene


Idrettslaget Stålkameratene, Stål for short, is a Norwegian sports club from Mo i Rana, Nordland. It has sections for judo, biathlon and Nordic skiing. Until 2019, the club had a football section, but this was merged with Mo IL to create Rana FK.

History

The club was founded on 11 January 1935 as AIL på Mo, a club with membership in the Workers Confederation of Sports. After the Second World War the Workers Confederation of Sports was dissolved, and the club changed its name to IL Stålkameratene. The name Stålkameratene means "Steel Comrades". The city as a whole got a boost in the 1940s and 1950s when the Norsk Jernverk was established in Mo i Rana, with the club profiting accordingly.

Skiing and athletics

Its most famous member in its early days was Simon Slåttvik, Olympic gold medalist in the Nordic combined at the 1952 Winter Olympics. The club's athletics section was also thriving, mainly at national level. Ole Bernt Skarstein became Norwegian champion six times Thorbjørn A. Larsen won the marathon in 1977. Jan Albrigtsen managed one silver medal as his best result. Henry Hatling won two medals, a gold in the standing long jump and silver in the standing high jump ; also Eskil Sommernes won the standing long jump in 1988. Unn Andersen managed a silver medal in the discus throw and a bronze in the shot put. The club is not active in athletics anymore, having started a cooperation with local rivals Mo IL under the club name Rana FIK in 1989.

Football

The men's football team had its heyday in 1995 and 1996 when it played in the 1. divisjon, the second tier. Then, having just been relegated to the Norwegian Second Division in 1997, they were kicked out after the 1997 season for using ineligible players. They then won re-promotion in a supreme manner. In the 1998 Third Division season they won all their 22 games with a goal difference of 153 for, 15 against. They then had a run in the Second Division from 1999 to 2002. In 2000 they even won their Second Division group, and contested a playoff to win promotion to the First Division. However, they succumbed to Hødd with a 2–7 loss on aggregate. In 2002 they ended last in their Second Division group, and were relegated. They had some mediocre results until winning their Third Division group in 2009. They then contested a playoff for the Second Division, but were beaten 3-2 on aggregate by Harstad IL. In 2010 it won its Third Division group again, but lost out in the promotion playoff against Mjølner.
The club colors were yellow and black, and the home field was Sagbakken with Moheia being used occasionally.
In November 2017 the football section was merged with Mo IL to form the new club Rana FK. The merger would come into effect on senior level from the 2019 season. The final season of Stålkameratene was spent in the 2018 3. divisjon, which ended in relegation.

Recent history