The 2023–24 Úrvalsdeild kvenna is the 67th season of the Úrvalsdeild kvenna, the top tier women's basketball league on Iceland. The season started on 27 September 2023 and concluded on 22 May 2024 with Keflavík winning the national championship after beating Njarðvík in the Úrvalsdeild finals, 3–0. Sara Rún Hinriksdóttir of Keflavík was named the Finals MVP.
Competition format Prior to the season the number of teams in the league were increased from 8 to 10 with a 8 team playoff tournament. The bottom team will be relegated to the 1. deild kvenna while the team in 9th place will face the teams in 2-4 place in the 1. deild in a playoff for a spot in the Úrvalsdeild. Rules regarding foreign players were also changed, allowing free flow of players from within the European Economic Area. Previously, only three players from each team without Icelandic citizenship were allowed on the court at the same time.
Teams
Team City, Region Arena Head coach Breiðablik Kópavogur Smárinn Guillermo Sánchez Grindavík Grindavík HS Orku-höllin Þorleifur Ólafsson Fjölnir Grafarvogur Dalhús Hallgrímur Brynjólfsson Haukar Hafnarfjörður Schenkerhöllin Ingvar Þór Guðjónsson Snæfell Stykkishólmur Íþróttahúsið Stykkishólmi Baldur Þorleifsson Keflavík Keflavík TM Höllin Sverrir Þór Sverrisson Njarðvík Njarðvík Ljónagryfjan Rúnar Ingi Erlingsson Stjarnan ReykjavíkMathús Garðabæjar höllin Arnar Guðjónsson ValurReykjavíkOrigo-völlurinn Hjalti Þór Vilhjálmsson Þór Akureyri AkureyriSíðuskóli Daníel Andri Halldórsson
Managerial changes Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in table Replaced with Date of appointment Fjölnir Kristjana Eir Jónsdóttir Resigned 15 April 2023 Off-season Hallgrímur Brynjólfsson 12 May 2023 Breiðablik Jeremy Herbert Smith End of contract 25 April 2023 Pétur Ingvarsson 25 April 2023 Keflavík Hörður Axel Vilhjálmsson Resigned 3 May 2023 Sverrir Þór Sverrisson 21 May 2023 Valur Ólafur Jónas Sigurðsson Resigned 8 May 2023 Hjalti Þór Vilhjálmsson 13 June 2023 Breiðablik Pétur Ingvarsson Resigned 1 June 2023 Guillermo Sánchez 19 June 2023 Stjarnan Auður Íris Ólafsdóttir Resigned 13 December 2023 3rd Arnar Guðjónsson 13 December 2023 Haukar Bjarni Magnússon Resigned 24 January 2024 5th Ingvar Þór Guðjónsson 24 January 2024
Notable occurrences On 17 April, Helena Sverrisdóttir announced that she would play for Haukar after missing most of the 2022–23 season due to injuries. On 21 May, Thelma Dís Ágústsdóttir signed with Keflavík after having played for Ball State since 2018. On 31 May, it was announced that ÍR had withdrew its team from the league and Snæfell would take its place. On 13 June, Valur's player and three-time national champion, Hallveig Jónsdóttir, announced her retirement from basketball. On 5 July, Þóra Kristín Jónsdóttir returned to the Úrvalsdeild after two years with AKS Falcon and signed with Haukar. On 19 July, Fjölnir signed Portuguese national team member Raquel Laneiro who played for Njarðvík the previous season, averaging 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. On 2 August, Njarðvík signed Denmark national team player Emilie Hesseldal who led the Úrvalsdeild in rebounds during the 2019–20 season. On 9 September, Stjarnan signed Poland national team member Katarzyna Trzeciak. On 10 September, former Iceland national team member Unnur Tara Jónsdóttir returned from a two year absence and signed with Stjarnan after sitting out the previous two seasons. On 7 October, Kolbrún María Ármannsdóttir became the youngest player to score 31 or more points in an Úrvalsdeild game at the age of 15 years, 9 months and 9 days, breaking Helena Sverrisdóttir's record from 2004. On 19 November, Helena Sverrisdóttir announced her retirement from basketball. On 15 December, Breiðablik withdrew its team from the league after several players terminated their contract and left the team. At the time of its withdrawal, the team had lost 12 of its 13 games. On 2 January, Grindavík signed Denmark national team member Sarah Mortensen. On 16 January, Grindavík signed Dagný Lísa Davíðsdóttir who had been without a team for the first half of the season. On 17 January, Keflavík signed five-time Icelandic Female Basketball Player of the Year and Iceland national team member Sara Rún Hinriksdóttir. On 24 January, three-time Icelandic Female Basketball Player of the Year, Hildur Björg Kjartansdóttir, announced her retirement from basketball. On 7 February, Keflavík sent a formal complaint to the Icelandic Basketball Association, stating that a representative of Njarðvík forged the signature of the vice president of Keflavík on transfer papers for Irena Sól Jónsdóttir, a Keflavík player. The Association rescinded the transfer and Njarðvík later apologised for its actions. The 26 year old Irena Sól, who had resumed her basketball career after pregnancy during the season and averaged 7 minutes in 9 games for Keflavík, announced that since the transfer was denied that she would be retiring from playing basketball.
References
External links Official Icelandic Basketball Federation website