Löpenskold Teams

City Teams

Vintergard: The Guardians of Vintergard

The Guardians have remained a solid team across generations. They've won the title multiple times, though never in consecutive years. Their matches are consistently strong, with occasional spikes both upward and downward.  

Skipti: Skipti’s Ice Bears

The team from Skipti regularly recruits the best players from previous seasons. As a wealthy city, it can afford targeted acquisitions. The Ice Bears of Skipti are the only team that doesn’t care whether its players originally come from another city. They also own the only Löpenskold stadium built outside city limits, which has since become the venue for the annual championship. Their win record is notably high.  

Galdra: Galdra’s Lightning

Galdra’s Lightning are considered by far the weakest city team. Since their founding around 150 years ago, they’ve only won four championships. Rumors persist to this day that the mages secretly “enhanced” their team. The Lightning often finish at the bottom of the rankings, but the mages love the game, so the team continues to exist.  

Virkin: Virkin’s Wolves

The Wolves are a very strong team and compete not with Galdra, but with Skipti. They recruit almost exclusively active-duty soldiers, though there are exceptions. Their players have clearly defined roles—a bulky defender will never be used as a runner. The reserve squad consists solely of runners. Alongside Skipti, the Wolves have also won the title frequently, including over multiple consecutive years.  

Föndir: The Brawlers

The team from Föndir is—like much in Föndir—an exception. They follow no fixed concept, and coaches may change several times within a season, depending on whether matches are won or not. If the Brawlers have a coach who knows how to harness their mentality, they become one of the winning teams. It’s said that if they change coaches at least twice in a season, they’ll lose the championship—and that’s usually true. Additionally, the team rarely functions harmoniously; sometimes they even turn on each other.  

Other Teams

The Gray Foxes

This team consists mostly of players from the homesteads on the plains near Virkin. Since the Wolves use almost exclusively soldiers, this team was initially formed in protest. Later, a shared passion for the game kept them together. The Gray Foxes regularly struggle with a lack of substitute players. In some seasons, injuries have forced them to finish last. But in strong years, they compete at the top and have reached runner-up status multiple times.  

The Ice Floe Jumpers

This team is made up mainly of coastal residents and originally formed from a trade guild that played casually against each other. In a friendly match against the Guardians about 110 years ago, they won unexpectedly and decided to form a championship team. Over time, more professions and coastal dwellers joined. Their performance fluctuates greatly.  

The True Skiptians

The commercialization of Skipti’s city team led to the creation of a second team made up exclusively of Skipti residents. Their goal is to replace the Ice Bears as the city’s representative team. Unfortunately, their performance is too inconsistent compared to the Ice Bears, so the success-hungry citizens rarely switch allegiance permanently. In the few weak seasons of the Ice Bears, however, the city quickly rallies behind the smaller team—hoping they’ll at least win.  

Youth Teams

The city teams also have youth squads that participate in the championship. It’s rare for one of these “second teams” to rank near the top. Their main purpose is to prepare players early for the toughness of the championship. The Ice Bears often recruit standout players from these youth teams. Föndir has no youth team, while Virkin has two: The Pack and The Young Wolves—usually made up of recruits.  

Miscellaneous Teams

New teams occasionally appear or disappear. The ones listed above are the most traditional and longest-standing. A total of 15 teams qualify for the championship. Newly founded teams are rarely part of the championship. They mostly play friendly matches and treat it as a hobby.