Södertälje BBK
Södertälje Basketbollklubb, shortly SBBK, is a Swedish basketball club based in Södertälje. The city is located in Eastern Södermanland, 34 km south of Stockholm. Its men's team plays in the Swedish Basketball League (SBL) and has won the national championship 12 times, which makes it the most successful team in Swedish basketball. The team's home arena is the Täljehallen, which has a capacity of 2,000 people. From 1995 until 2020, the men's team was named Södertälje Kings. History. The YMCA period. In 1960 the basketball arrived in Mariekällskolan. It was the P.E. Teacher Lennart Carlqvist  who introduced the sport to a group of boys. 2 years later in 1962 the boys contacted KFUM Södertälje (YMCA) to ask them to start a basketball section in their organisation. In 1963 the boys were allowed to register the basketball club KFUM Södertäle with the Swedish Basketball Federation (SBBF). On January 21 they became members of SBBF. The first coach was Enno Laus who had played in Estonia and the training was starting. In April the same year they were competing in the SKFUM Championships. The record was 2 losses to KFUM Göteborg (46-11) and to KFUM Sunne  (22-31). The first player to score was Per Lindstén. The training continued and after a couple of pre-season wins in the summer they wanted to play in a higher league (Div. 2). And because team Solbacka had left the league the SBBF invited Södertälje. When it was time to play in a league the team had to wear team jerseys and after discussion decided to follow Södertälje IF and wear white and green. It all went well and with the new jerseys they won the first game of the season against KFUM Eskilstuna (54-22). 1963-1964 they  started a women's team, which started to compete in a league a couple of years later. The SBBK period. In 1968 KFUM decided to shut down the basketball section due partly to economic problems and a bit too wild parties. The deficit after the season 1967-1968 was 2889 kr (300 US-dollars). The youths gathered in the KFUM club house to find a way to save the basketball in Södertälje. A new organisation was founded and was called Södertälje Basketboll Klubb (SBBK). Benny Johansson was the founder. Benny wrote a letter to his 30 players asking if basketball  should continue or not. He got 27 positive answers. On 6 August 1968 KFUM held a meeting where they closed down the basketball section. Later that night SBBK, which it was called from the start, had a meeting where they gathered 25 players and decided that they would call themselves SBBK. They announced Benny Johannson as chairman, Peter Sund as cashier and May Ohlsson as secretary. KFUM's administration supplied some used equipment including a Hippo - the men's teams mascot. The development is now increasing rapidly. The women's team plays its first season in Elitserien (The elites league ) 1971 and the men's team in 1973. After falling out of the league after the first season the team climbed back again. 1972 the SDV was founded and 400 young players enrolled to the organization the first week. 1977 the women wins it first championship, the first of eight in a row. The dominating players of the team were Ann-Marie Wikner, Britt-Marie Andersson and Kicki Johansson. The same year, the men's team, Södertälje Kings, loses in the final against Alvik, but the games is watched by 6,414 people (a new record) in Scaniarinken. 1978 the men 's team won its first gold after beating Alvik 3 games to 2. (Game 5 in a packed Eriksdalshall). Another important part of SBBK's history is when Täljehallen was opened in 1984 and the team got access to three basketball courts and stands. A facility with a capacity of 2000 people. Organizational structure. SBBK can be divided into three parts: elite- and young elites (All-star), Stadsdelsverksamheten (SDV) and Södertälje Basketball League (SBL). SBL is where everyone can play, from a young player to an adult. The home for SBBK is in Täljehallen in the center of Södertälje, next  to the new hospital. Elite. SBBK has a men's team, Södertälje Kings, in the highest league (Basketligan) and the women's team, Telge Basket, also play in the highest league (Damligan). On the men's side the development team is called Knights and play in Basketettan. The women's development team is called Kringlan Basket and play in the second division in Stockholm. Beneath these teams there are youth teams in SBBK's elite preparation which are called All-Star. Young prospects play in those teams and the first audition is in the sixth grade in school. Many of  SBBK's championship golds such as Swedish Cup have been captured by these teams. SBBK is one of the most dominating teams on the youth- and elite league in Sweden. On the side of the basketball teams there is a co-operation with Södertälje Municipality which allows students from the seventh grade up to the last year of high-school to practice during schooltime. Rosenborgsskolan and Igelstavikens Gymnasium are schools where students can combine their studies with basketball. Stadsdelsverksamhet (SDV). Every child from 6 to 15 years old is allowed to participate in SDV. They can go to a practise , get enrolled, and be able to participate in games. Most of the times the children chose to play with the team that is closest to the school. There are teams spread all over Södertälje. The teams have different names such as Rams (Soldalaskolan), Bulls (Blombackaskolan) and Wolves (Fornbackaskolan). Södertälje Basketball League (SBL). For players older than 15 there is another league called Södertälje Basketball League. The league is open for both seasoned players and rookies. The players create teams and manages the league pretty much by themselves.