Kragerø HK

Kragerø is a small coastal town in Telemark, and for decades handball there has meant one name: the club grew out of Kragerø Idrettsforening, a broader sports club dating back to 1881, when a handball section was formed on 8 November 1946. Matches are played in front of a few hundred people at Kragerøhallen.

That ambition showed most clearly in three Norwegian Cup finals, in 1986, 1989 and 1994, none of them won — the closest came in 1989, when Sandefjord HK edged the club 26–25 after extra time. Bronze in the top division followed twice, in the 1988/89 and 1993/94 seasons, the closest Kragerø came to matching cup form with league form. At junior level the club fared better, taking the national title in 1988 and again in 1990.

Lars Erik Bjørnsen took a different path, leaving Kragerø in 2007 for Team Tvis Holstebro after building 75 caps for Norway during his years with the club.

Kragerø now plays in the 1. Division, but the rivalry that still defines its season sits closer to home. Gjerpen HK, from nearby Skien, meets Kragerø in what is known locally as the Grenland Derby.