Teacher student Dana playing in the European Championship!

Dana was born in Iceland, but moved at a young age to Konnerud in the eastern part of Norway. She grew up there and began playing handball at age 11. Fast forward to the present, and now she is goning to represent her home country in the European Championship, together with two former Volda handball players, Katrin Tinna Jensdottir and Thea Imani Sturludottir.

– Going to play at the European Championship will be absolutely fantastic and a dream come true! I will have to be away for at least two and a half weeks, and hopefully longer, says Dana, who hopes for Iceland to go as far as possible in the tournament.

The handball career has gone very well for the teacher training student. In October 2024, Dana was selected for the Icelandic national team for the first time. She made such a good impression that, about three weeks later, she received the call up for the team that would play the European Championship in November/December 2024.

You can follow Dana and Iceland's EC journey here on Iceland's Instagram account.

Iceland plays its first match Friday 29 November against the Netherlands. Follow this link to see the fixtures for Iceland. Everyone at VUC will be watching, and cheering for Dana and her team mates - ÁFRAM ÍSLAND!

A town of elite sports and studies

Volda is a small town, but can boast an amazing venue for elite sports, the Sparebank1 Volda Campus Arena. With this state of the art arena, the teams of Volda handball and KFUM Volda Volleyball has improved to compete at the highest national level. The arena has also hosted national team games in both volleyball and handball and provides media students at VUC with an opportunity to practice sports journalism.

For Dana, her journey to Volda started on 23 March 2022 at 18.00 in Reistad Arena. The coach for Volda Handball at the time, Halldor Stefan Haraldsson, was impressed with the winger's speed and technique and wanted to include her in the newly promoted handball team in Volda.

Playing handball at an elite level was something I really wanted to do, but I was also determined to get an education. (…) When I found the teaching training program at Volda University College, there was no longer any doubt.

Dana Björg Gudmundsdottir (22).

– At the end of the 21/22 season, Halldor contacted me. In a video meeting, where my dad acted as an "agent", I was asked if I could be interested in playing for Volda Handball, who at the time was promoted to the Rema1000 league (top division in Norway). Playing handball at an elite level was something I really wanted to do, but I was also determined to get an education. I therefore had to find out how this could be combined, and when I found the teacher training programme at VUC , there was no longer any doubt, she explains.

Before the offer from Volda, Dana had a year off where she combined working in a school and at a training centre, while playing handball for the 1st division club Reistad IL.

Bli lærar i Volda"! – Les meir om våre lærarutdanningar her!

The good environment in Volda

Dana speaks warmly about the community of both the handball team and in the student town of Volda in general. There is a close-knit community both among fellow students at VUC and between the players in the handball team.

–The university is not very big and this makes it easy to get to know people across the different departments. The most unique thing is how well you get to know your fellow students, and the close contact you get with the teachers because of the small class-sizes. In addition, Volda Handball has been extremely welcoming and I enjoy the social setting both on and off the court, she explains.

In her third season in the Volda outfit and after three and a half years of teaching education studies, she has a lot of experience with combining studies and elite sport. Dana has the following tips for others who are interested in doing the same:

-  My advice to those who wish to combine sports and studies is to early go into dialogue with the university so that you can find out how much it is possible to adapt your studies and plan ahead. Structure and planning is important to succeed! 

In good cooperation with the faculty and administration at VUC, solutions have emerged that allow for Dana to both be a full-time student and continue her handball career.

Curious about Volda Handball? See their homepage, Facebook and/or Instagram

A demanding combination

There is no hiding the fact that it can sometimes be demanding to combine elite sport with higher education - as the peak periods of her sport and studies can sometimes overlap. While Gudmundsdottir is on tour with the Icelandic national team, she must also submit essays and complete exams. Sometimes can feel like the day has too few hours, but in general she has managed to find a good balance.

–The biggest challenge is time. Finding time to do all necessary tasks, such as recovery after games, watching video of opponents, eating enough, strength training and handball practice, while at the same time studying full-time, is clearly demanding. Nevertheless, it has worked out well so far. The key has been good planning that allows me to perform at a high level in both arenas, says the Icelandic national team player.

She elaborates:

 - You always want to perform at your best level, regardless of whether it is top sport or education. For me, there is an inner drive to do well at both. Education has always been important in my eyes, and something I have prioritized. Handball was something I started more for fun and for social reasons, and I am lucky to be able to call it my job.

See also "Veien tilbake":

In the web-series "Veien tilbake", produced by Student-TV Volda, we get to follow Volda Handball in last year's season 2023/24. See the web-series here: