Sports and recreation
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Winter sports[edit]
The Home Terrace in Löfbergs Lila Arena prior to match openingBandy at the old Tingvalla Ice Stadium, with the former military barracks of the Värmland Regiment seen to the far right
Ice hockey is a highly popular spectator sport in Karlstad. The most popular club is Färjestad BK. The team plays in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL, highest level) and their home arena is Löfbergs Arena. The club has won the Swedish Championship several times, most recently in 2022, and is the most successful ice hockey club in Sweden since the foundation of Elitserien (Swedish Hockey League since 2013) in 1975. Several other ice hockey clubs exist and Karlstad is also represented in the 1st Division of ice hockey (3rd highest level) by the team Skåre BK. The 2010 Men's World Inline Hockey Championships was also hosted by Karlstad, with Löfbergs Arena as the primary site of the tournament.[citation needed]
Traditionally, bandy has been the most popular winter sport in Karlstad, and the city is the home of two of the historically most successful clubs in Sweden, IF Boltic and IF Karlstad-Göta. Boltic reached 10 Swedish finals in a row from 1979 to 1988. They won the first 7 and the one in 1988. They also won in 1995. In 2000, the two clubs merged into BS BolticGöta. The first team again played as IF Boltic since the winter 2008/2009. After a successful season in Allsvenskan 2009/2010 the team qualified for Elitserien, but was again relegated for the 2011/2012 season. Boltic's general meeting decided in 2014 to take back the club's old name IF Boltic. And Karlstad-Göta does not have a bandy team anymore. The home arena of Boltic, Tingvalla Ice Stadium, built in 1967, was claimed to be one of Northern Europe's largest artificially frozen areas. The outdoor stadium was demolished in 2020 and converted into an indoor rink, inaugurated in 2022. While one of many indoor bandy arenas, it is Sweden's only indoor speed skating arena. Afghans living in Karlstad has taken a liking to bandy and set up an Afghanistan national bandy team, which is based in the city.
Karlstad is a regular host of start, finish and special stages for the Swedish Rally. The competition has world championship status and is held annually in Värmland. [citation needed]
Summer sports[edit]
Tingvalla IP
Several football clubs exist. QBIK was founded in 1978, and entered the premier division of women's football, Damallsvenskan, in 2005. The team currently plays in the 1st Division (2nd highest level), but has several players in the Swedish national team. Their home ground is Tingvalla IP, and the facility was also the home ground for the football team Karlstad BK, that played in the men's Division 1 Norra (3rd highest level), having gained promotion following a successful 2010 season. The third highest-ranking football team was Carlstad United. The club was founded in 1998 by an alliance of seven local football clubs, with the aim of providing Karlstad with an elite football team. The club was accepted by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF) in 1999 and the team played in the men's Division 2 Norra Götaland (4th highest level). Carlstad United and Karlstad BK ended up merging into IF Karlstad Fotboll, who compete in Division 1 Norra. Another club from Karlstad is FBK Karlstad, who currently play in Division 1.
Motorcycle speedway takes place at the Kalvholmen Motorbana, situated in the southeast outskirts of the city. The team is called Solkatterna (the Sun Cats), who compete in the Swedish Speedway Team Championship.
American football is also played on Tingvalla IP. The Carlstad Crusaders play in Superserien, the highest level since the founding of the club in 1990. The team has attended eight finals, winning its first championship in 2010.
Karlstad is also famous for athletics. The club IF Göta has a number of international athletes and host the annual athletics meet Götagalan. There is an outdoor athletics track at Tingvalla IP and an indoor track (200 m) in Våxnäshallen.
Another prominent sports club in Karlstad is OK Tyr, one of the largest orienteering clubs in Sweden. OK Tyr won Tiomila in 1989 and 1990.
Public facilities[edit]
Public sports facilities in Karlstad include Klarälvsbanan, a 90 km (56 mi) cycle path on a former railway line running north from Karlstad to Hagfors. It is popular with cyclists, inlines skaters and roller skiers.
There is also a large number of open-air beaches and bathing spots by Vänern, smaller lakes and Klarälven in the municipality, and a 25-metre (82 ft) indoor municipal swimming pool.
Many wood-chip jogging trails, some of which are lit, can be found in the city outskirts. During wintertime, several are used for cross-country skiing.
