From cross-country skiing to management – ​​a passion for sports

Jonas Jensen has always had a passion for sports – a passion that was ignited childhood in the small North Greenland town of Qasigiannguit.

From the first moves on the cross-country skis for his role as general secretary of the Greenland Sports Confederation, Jonas has followed his passion and dedicated his life to both sports and that community it creates.

Jonas Jensen has always had a passion for sports – a passion that was ignited childhood in the small North Greenland town of Qasigiannguit.

From the first moves on the cross-country skis for his role as general secretary of the Greenland Sports Confederation, Jonas has followed his passion and dedicated his life to both sports and that community it creates.

Where it all began

Jonas Jensen was born in 1981 in Qasigiannguit – the North Greenland town whose name means "small spotted seals". Here he spends his first twelve years of life, surrounded by a large and present family, where commitment and community are one natural part of everyday life. The family is active, both physically and in the local community, and it leaves its mark on the young Jonas early on.

– As a small boy, I watched my father volunteer at board level in the it was then called Christianshåb Idrætsforening, CIF-70. That's where I got mine first encounter with sports, says Jonas Jensen.

Jonas is one of the youngest in a large and close-knit family where there is always been many to look up to and draw inspiration from. He remembers the many weekends when the family gathered at the grandparents. Every time flowed aunts, uncles, cousins and the house was filled with a special smell of security.

– There was a very special smell of medova tea, and it has always had a special place in my memories. To this day, I offer guests medova tea if I want to create a little extra coziness, says Jonas with a smile as he thinks back on childhood weekends at the grandparents.

One athlete becomes

Jonas grows up north of the Arctic Circle, where the darkness is deeper and the cold bites harder than in Nuuk, where he lives today. But for Jonas, the weather is never a problem. He keeps warm by always being on the move, full of energy and activity.

Like As a child, he looks up to his father and admires his voluntary involvement in sports the local community, but it is the mother who opens the door to the world of sports him. She lovingly holds his hand and introduces him to different people sports.

– I start playing football in CIF-70, later comes badminton, and in 1989 gets my mother took me out cross-country skiing, says Jonas with excitement, before he continues.

- I am deeply grateful that my mother introduced me to cross-country skiing. I have always loved many sports, but it is cross-country skiing where I really I feel like I belong, says Jonas, who still has a love for his family cross-country skiing to this day.

Jonas enjoys the sporting life, and in particular the communities that have been built up around sports. In the early nineties, a new sports hall is built in Qasigiannguit, and it gives the sporting life a boost. It's here, a young athlete really starting to take shape.

Cross country skiing, cross-country skiing, cross-country skiing

I 1993 the family moves to Maniitsoq, where they live for the next four years, after which they move to Sisimiut. With the first move comes a change of club too Jonas, who becomes part of KS-69, a cross-country club with high ambitions and a strong community. Here, Jonas gets the opportunity to develop as a cross-country runner, will be influenced by the club's core values and make friends for life. For a number of years he also plays football, badminton and handball, but not at a competitive level . He enjoys them for the sake of joy and because grassroots sports has room for everyone. Then he turns 14-15, he realizes that there is no longer time to cultivate all the activities. He chooses to bet on cross-country skiing, and it takes him all the way the road to the junior national team.

- I was one of the youngest in the junior national team. I remember wanting to bet all on cross-country skiing, but my mother had slightly different plans. When I started secondary school, she told the national coach before a meeting in Italy that I should now focus on my education. I disagreed then, but today I do completely agree, laughs Jonas Jensen.

One journey that shapes life

In 1998, Jonas participates in the Arctic Winter Games in Yellowknife, Canada, a experience that will be both unforgettable and life-changing. Inspired by that, he decides to return to Canada as an exchange student this year after. Although he is confronted with a completely new culture, he quickly settles in. He replaces cross-country skiing with running for most of the year, and his host family stays quickly as an extension of his own.

– I have often visited my host family, and they mean a lot to me, says Jonas, who in 2022 took his son and girlfriend, now engaged, to Canada to introduce the families to each other.

Then he returns home to Sisimiut after his time in Canada, he starts at HTX, and subsequently he spends a year at a sports college in Norway.

- I chose the study line 'sport and health', where I was introduced to one a wide range of sports. It has helped shape me and that's for sure contributing to the fact that I stand here today as Secretary General for Greenland Sports association, says Jonas and smiles.

Then he returns to Sisimiut, he decides to train in Arctic engineer. Here he meets Nivi Geisler, and together they share a passion for the sport. They have two children, a daughter Upaluk and a son, Qunaaq.

Although their relationship does not last, the children remain their common compass. Both children have i today followed in their father's footsteps and sought out the world to find life and learning. Daughter Upaluk is now studying at a university in the Netherlands, while son Qunaaq is attending ski high school in Norway.

- Upaluk is creative, while Qunaaq is interested in sports - probably a bit like me, says Jonas and laughs before adding:

- I am infinitely proud of both of them, says a touched Jonas.

More than a job

Jonas working as a structural engineer for seven years until 2016. A solid education and a good job, yet something else tugs at his heart. Through throughout his life, Jonas has stuck to sports and volunteered as coaches and on boards where he can. Among other things as chairman of the cross-country committee and as part of the ski association's board.

– No matter what I do or where I am, it's always the sports world, me passionate about. That is where my passion lies, says Jonas with a heavy heart the voice that leaves no doubt that his work today is a genuine matter of the heart.

Then Jonas gets the offer to start as an organizational consultant in Greenland Sports Association, he is quick to say yes. At first he sees it as one opportunity to test his passion, with the idea of returning to work as a structural engineer. But that thought is quickly put to shame. Jonas does not look back and finds his right place in life. In 2019 will be he general secretary of the association.

- It was just what I had to do, says Jonas with a broad smile that reveals that he has found his true path.

Jonas enters the Greenland Sports Association at a time when the membership numbers are declining, and new thinking is needed. Fortunately, it is precisely in that type processes that Jonas thrives. Together with his passionate colleagues, they get developed a new strategy, and after further training in management and strategy Jonas takes on the role of strategic manager for the project 'The world's most physically active country'. An ambitious project which, as the name suggests, has a goal to make Greenland the world's most physically active country by 2030. Because Jonas is this more than just common sense – it's a mission he's passionate about.

- I want to help create change in Greenland. Change the role of sports in society and make both Greenland and the Greenlanders stronger, healthier and happier. That is my vision, Jonas says with burning conviction before continuing:

- Sports can do so much. You make friends, develop skills and learn to win and lose, laughs Jonas.

And even though he thinks he's good at losing in the world of sports, it's something he rarely practices on the work front. With Jonas' entrance and those strategic measures he, together with his colleagues and business partners, has implemented, the Greenland Sports Association begins to experience increasing membership numbers.

New perspectives and targeted work have started a change, and the hope for a healthier, stronger and more active future for Greenland is now closer to become a reality.

One new year

Besides the sport of hunting and fishing is deeply embedded in Jonas' DNA. Since childhood in Qasigiannguit has the whole family practicing trout fishing, and as an adult buys Jonas his own boat and continues the proud traditions of reindeer hunting and grouse hunting.

– I relax in nature, in the mountains and on the fjord. Like when I stand on cross-country skiing. That is where I really feel at home, says Jonas.

Jonas seeks nature both alone and with those he cares about. One of them is his fiancée Uiloq. In 2020, Jonas and Uiloq get together and get out over their shared passion for sports, their friendship develops into a real one love. Since then they have been an inseparable couple. Together, they both share the joy by nature and the pleasure of moving in it. The future is bright and full of hope, not only for the Greenland Sports Association, but also for the couple, who in 2026 are facing a completely new beginning. They are expecting in June their first child together.

– 2026 Will be an exciting year, both at work and privately, says Jonas soon-to-be father of three, and smiles widely.