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Finnish viking age martial arts federation - FVMF
Finnish viking age martial arts federation - FVMF
FVMF (SVTL in Finnish), is Finland's national federation for viking combat. Our members are groups who practice viking age, iron age, or other similar martial arts.
The federation aims to promote and develop viking age and other iron age-inspired martial arts, acting as the national body for its members. FVMF supports the practice of viking age martial arts and research into the Finnish iron age, fostering both national and international collaboration in these fields.
The federation operates under the following principles:
The federation operates under the following principles:
Political, ideological, and religious neutrality; ensuring equality among all members; refraining from competing against its own members; and actively supporting their activities.
Members:
Members:
The Federation can have three types of members. Its regular members are registered associations which practice viking age, iron age, or other similar martial arts and agree to the federation's bylaws and purpose. A company that fulfils the same criteria may also be accepted as a member. FVMF's member associations have over 400 individual members in total.
Currently the federation has six member associations from around the country:
Birckalan Kaarti - Pirkkala
Björnfell - Kouvola
Palkkakorpit - Jyväskylä
Pohjan Kaarti - Oulu
Vanajan Sudet - Hämeenlinna
Wirran Wartijat - Turku
FVMF can also have supporting members. These can be associations, companies or individuals who want to support the federations goals, but cannot or don't want to become regular members.
Finally the federation can also have up to nine honorary members. Honorary membership is a high honour the federation bestows to individuals who have significantly promoted and supported the federation. Currently FVMF has no honorary members.
Governance
Governance
Democratic Governance:
Democratic Governance:
In the Finnish Viking Age Martial Arts Federation (FVMF), every member association holds equal power. The member associations exercise this power at the General Assembly, where each association has an equal vote.
The General Assembly:
The General Assembly:
The General Assembly (GA) is the annual assembly of the SVTL. The GA is the governing body responsible for approving or rejecting the Federation's financial statements, annual action plan, budget, financial regulations, and disciplinary rules. It also elects the next Board, amends the Federation's bylaws, etc. At the General Assembly, each member association has one vote. The right to speak and vote is exercised by a representative appointed by the member association or, in their absence, by a deputy representative.
Delegate to the General Assembly:
Delegate to the General Assembly:
A member association's representative and deputy representative are individuals selected by a member association from among its own members, authorized to represent the association at the General Assembly. Each member association may appoint one delegate and name one deputy for that delegate. Furthermore, a representative or deputy representative may not represent more than one member association at a time.
The Board:
The Board:
The affairs of the Federation are managed by the Board. The board consists of a President and a minimum of two and a maximum of eight other members. Members are elected by the GA from among the delegates appointed by the member associations. The Board's term of office is the period between regular General Assemblies.
The Origin - It all began with a pint
The Origin - It all began with a pint
The Finnish viking age martial arts federation was born out of a shared desire to advance the hobby of Viking Age combat in Finland and, above all, to increase cooperation between clubs. Before the federation was founded, there were, of course, smaller-scale collaborations. Many clubs have a shared history, which acts as a natural bond between them. In addition, cooperation based on personal relationships and friendships was and is widespread. However, a true, national umbrella organization did not yet exist in the summer of 2024.
During that same summer of 2024, over foamy pints after a day of battles, it was decided that something had to be done about it. The shared attitude at the start of the project was appropriately: "Lets just do it." We got to work immediately after the summers fighting season, and already at the meeting held on August 24, a consensus was reached on the milestones and strategy for founding the federation. This gave direction and purpose to the work. The good rhythm was maintained as the project progressed. During September, the federation's rules began to take their final shape, and discussions shifted to doing the groundwork for the time immedistely following the federation's founding. As autumn turned to winter, the focus shifted even more to preparing the clubs for the birth of the federation. The founding associations held internal discussions based on the negotiated rules, the project was more widely communicated to several clubs, and interested parties were invited to become founding members.
Finally, around New Year and spring, the clubs made the official decisions and necessary rule changes related to the founding of the federation. All the work finally culminated on April 13, 2025, in Pirkkala at the founding assembly of the Finnish viking age martial arts federation, where, with the blessing of five associations, the rules for the federation were confirmed, a board was elected, and the founding document of the SVTL was ceremoniously signed. The national umbrella organization for Viking Age martial arts was finally entered into the national association register on May 5, 2025, after a small clarification of the rules required by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office. And this is where the whole story truly begins.
Contact us
Contact us
If you want to contact our federation for collaboration, information, or training, please don't hesitate to send us an email at:
hallitus.svtl@gmail.com
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