Taru Lahti-Liukkonen, a beach volleyball professional who was left without an athlete’s grant, opened up to social media. He says he is considering taking the matter to administrative court.
Beach volley professional Taru Lahti-Liukkonen says he was left without an athlete grant from the Ministry of Education and Culture. In Lahti-Liukkonen’s opinion, there are no valid reasons for the decision.
Last year, Lahti-Liukkonen was on the sidelines due to her maternity leave, but returned to the competitions in August, five months after giving birth. Lahti-Liukkonen, who was previously one of the athletes, received a negative decision on her application in the autumn.
The unfortunate situation began to escalate as soon as the head of the group in the Olympic Committee’s Center of Excellence for Sport indicated that there would no longer be enough evidence to receive a grant. The Center of Excellence makes presentations on the recipients of athlete grants. The Ministry of Education and Culture awards grants.
According to Lahti-Liukkonen, the ministry’s decision was based on misinterpretations of his world ranking. Disappointed Lahti-Liukkonen filed an appeal and received a questionable answer.
– My ranking was said to be 141! Really? They looked at rankings where I had two tournaments played, while others had eight tournaments, Lahti-Liukkonen explains in his Instagram update.
According to Lahti-Liukkonen, his negative break was not taken into account in the negative grant decision.
– I completely agree that I do not have top screens from the previous season. It just had tournaments canceled because of the corona, as well as pregnancy and childbirth. Where in the middle would I have made those screens? OKM’s assessment of my ranking situation is unfair and discriminatory for me.
In 2020, World Tour tournaments were canceled due to a coronavirus pandemic. The following year, Lahti-Liukkonen gave birth to her firstborn.
When he returned to compete in August 2021, the vibe wasn’t the best possible right from the start. At the moment, Lahti-Liukkonen has found his partner Anniina Parkkisen with.
– And to top it all off, we are currently firmly attached to the World Cup venue, which is reached by 23 pairs through the world ranking, Lahti-Liukkonen writes.
Lahti-Liukkonen says that he is considering taking the matter to an administrative court.
– In principle, I would like to finish the matter. I really want to push this matter forward if someone else ever thinks about starting a family in the middle of a sports career, Lahti-Liukkonen says on Instagram.
– I would like to spark a debate on an issue that I think is also quite important from a social point of view.