Helsinki offers training scope for professional athletes

As the coronavirus situation has kept Helsinki’s indoor sports facilities closed, the city has decided to offer training opportunities to professional athletes.

The decision especially considered the sports that require special training circumstances and for whom replacement facilities cannot be found, for example, in the private sector, said a City of Helsinki press release.

The athletes supported by the Finnish Olympic Committee, competing in figure skating, women’s ice hockey, artistic gymnastics, diving, wrestling, badminton, and basketball, as well as athletes of various national teams have now the chance to use the Salmisaari Icehall (managed by the Foundation for Ice Rinks – Jääkenttäsäätiö), the Mäkelänrinne Swimming Centre (managed by Sports Halls Ltd. – Urheiluhallit Oy), and the municipal sports centres in Liikuntamylly and Ruskeasuo.

All training must follow the current restrictions and the athletes and trainers are required to commit to them. The permits and the training as a whole are to be coordinated by the Capital Region Sports Academy – Urhea (Pääkaupunkiseudun urheiluakatemia Urhea in Finnish). Only the athletes whose names have been placed on a specific list will be eligible for the special training permits. All traffic in and out of the sports facilities will be regulated by the facilities’ staff.

Earlier, during the pandemic, a few athletes supported by the Finnish Olympic Committee, as well as athletes in various national teams were given permits to train in the Mäkelänrinne Swimming Centre and the Liikuntamylly sports centre. The sports and athletes were chosen on the basis of the outcome of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. All training and exercise have taken place under the direction of the trainers in controlled small groups. The permits and the training as a whole have been coordinated by the Capital Region Sports Academy –Urhea.