Freedom of action and self-expression are the lifeblood of the enduringly successful Finnish sport of snowboarding. It is believed that the success of the sport is based on the fact that it has not been squeezed into the mold of an elite sport.
Sanna Kähkönen,
Tanja Heikkonen
The people from Ivalo who arrived at the snowboard camp were rented Nelli Turunen and from Vantaa Aada Hämäläinen hold tightly to the snowmobile while the camp coach and sport developer Simo Suopanki drive the campers onto the ski slope. After reaching the top, the campers go through the tricks they are going to try on the nose of the jumper. Suobanki guides you in terms of technology.
The middle school camp also serves as a good practice for next weekend’s World Rookie Tour snowboarding competition. The competition is a showcase for young surfers.
About half of the competitions on the tour are held in Europe, and the top three in each series from each participating country go to the finals in Austria. The Vuokatti race is the only Nordic competition.
Snowboarding has been competitive from a very early stage. President of the Snowboard Association Tuomo Ojalan the relaxed atmosphere that belongs to the sport and at the same time the competitive culture are now on the rise.
– The first boom in snowboarding twenty years ago was big, now after a few quiet years we are on the rise again, says Ojala.
According to Ojala, the sport has become familiar to the general public precisely through the games, but also the relaxed attitude that is an essential part of the sport draws people to the slopes.
– Those enthusiasts, for whom snowboarding has represented a free form of activity, are now middle-aged and return to the sport through their children. They also have time for hobbies.
The strict rules of competitive sports can take away the relaxation of the sport
According to Ojala, nowadays many sports end up with competitive ambition very quickly. He also sees risks in competitive sports if external institutions start to define what top-level snowboarding should be. Warning examples can be found in other species.
– For example, the original freestyle skiing (or hot dog skiing) was originally born from the idea of doing things in your own style without rules. However, after the competition started and at the Olympic Games, for example in the vault and jumps, these sports were locked into a certain mold both in terms of performance and conditions.
After this, according to Ojala, the sport experienced a hard fall. He fears the same will happen to snowboarding.
– This is unlikely to happen, because snowboarding has such a much stronger cultural base through skateboarding and surfing.
Ojala points out that youth culture sports enable free doing and self-expression in different ways compared to, for example, team sports. Ojala counts, for example, independent event organizers and media that maintain the culture of the sport as the saviors of snowboarding.
At the same time, the sport is allowed to develop and grow freely without an external format, which Ojala is forced into by the hands of the Olympics or another external organization.
According to Ojala, the Rookie Tour organized this weekend in Vuokatti is between the two: it is goal-oriented competition, but suitable for junkies.
We want to keep the venues in Vuokatti in international condition. The races are held in a so-called park with jumps and different rails intended for tricks.