Even next year, the Sports Confederation promises to select all eligible general athletes for the prestigious competitions. The situation may change after that, says Riikka Pakarinen, president of the Sports Association.
In Finnish athletics, two things rose above the others last season. The team was brilliantly successful at the European Championships in Munich and returned Finland to medal status in the prestigious competitions after a seven-year hiatus. In addition, the Sports Confederation selected a total of 104 athletes for the World Championships and the European Championships in Munich in Eugene, 36 of them in Eugene.
It is telling that Finland has only had a bigger team three times at the World Cup level, and twice of these at home games, i.e. in 1983 and 2005. For example, Finland sent only 12 athletes to the 2017 World Championships in London and 15 athletes to the 2019 World Championships in Doha.
The generous selection line was bluntly reflected in last year’s financial statements of the Sports Confederation, which had a deficit of 120,000 euros, despite a grant of around half a million euros from the Athletics Support Foundation.
300,000 euros
According to the financial statements, around 300,000 euros were sunk into top sports travel and accommodation costs alone.
The new chairman of the sports association Riikka Pakarinen according to the selection criteria for the prize competitions is one thing to consider if the association’s financial situation does not significantly improve, for example in terms of partnership sales.
– The economy must go hand in hand in all solutions. Without further ado, we will do everything we can to continue to bring as many teams as possible to the prestigious competitions for adults.
Finns, all-round athletes who reach a place in the prestigious competition with result limits or ranking points are “safe” until the Paris Olympic Games in 2024. Before that, the World Championships in Budapest will be held this year and the European Championships in Rome next year.
– The sports federation’s strategy, which extends until the 2024 season, promises a prize competition selection for all eligible athletes (there are three national spots for each individual sport). It will be held to. A new strategy will begin to be planned in the coming months. Then this matter will also be discussed.
Pakarinen reminds that Finland’s generous selection line is not international automation. Among the strong athletics countries, for example, Britain and Sweden, only choose athletes for prestigious competitions, for whom they see a clear chance of success. In recent years, Finland has also followed a much stricter line than today.
– You have to remember that there are a lot of competitions other than competitions for adults. If we want to stick to the current selection line, then maybe we have to look at these other levels more critically from the perspective of costs.
By this, Pakarinen means, for example, the potential deductibles of athletes, including the 100-meter SE man Samuli Samuelsson recently raised the bar in an interview with Urheilu.
The guarantor of Finland’s giant competition teams last summer was the GM of the Sports Confederation, who has now moved to another employer Tuomo Salonen.
Expensive places
Salonen guided the athletes to the games that brought the best ranking points and kept in active contact with the federations of other countries in case of possible absences. For example, Finland got several places in Eugene at the very last minute, which turned out to be very expensive for the union due to late travel and accommodation reservations.
According to Urheilu’s information, Salonen’s actions even surprised some of the sports union’s management, because the cost level was known to be very high.
According to Urheilui’s information, the board of the Urheiluliitto has floated an idea according to which in the future, after the selection deadline defined by the Urheiluliitto, those who get their place from the chalk lines of the ranking would contribute to the costs of their prestigious competition trip themselves.
A pot thrower who has both advanced to and dropped out of the prestigious competitions through the ranking Tuomas Seppänen sits on the board of the sport’s interest protection organization, Yleisurheilaijat ry. He says that in a way he understands if the Sports Federation tightens the selection screw towards the jengos of the old days.
– The federation cannot file bankruptcy as a travel agency for athletes. On the other hand, then, in a way, the places in the competition are handed over to others. I would primarily set out to fix the issue through the association’s fundraising and the image work of the closely related sport, says Seppänen and emphasizes that he is not speaking from the association’s mouth.
Violent feedback
Chairman Pakarinen admits that he was a little surprised by the harsh feedback he received after Samuelsson was upset about the 400 euro deductible of the relay team traveling to the PM Games. They were originally planned to be 250 euros.
Deductibles are commonplace in a large part of national team activities in individual sports in Finland, also at representative level.
– One of these is always barking. Last summer, I personally spent 1,500 euros of my own money to enter the competition. In athletics, they always talk about putting themselves in the ring, but often the limit is reached when your own wallet starts to get wet, Seppänen laughs.