The Finnish ice hockey women’s main league starts on Friday. The series changed its name to Auroraliiga, but the domestic flagship of women’s hockey is still struggling with familiar problems.
Audience numbers are marginal, while the level differences are large. Players don’t get paid, but have to pay for playing themselves. Only HIFK and HPK players can survive without season fees.
Practically all players are either studying or working to finance their playing. The teams still train quite professionally, often twice a day in the morning and evening.
The captain of the lynx Jenna Lehtiniemi says that because of the situation, not everyone can make it to the morning workouts.
– If someone is at work from eight to four, then he is at work. Then we just participate in evening exercises. In the morning, more individual skills are practiced, says Lehtiniemi.
– I myself am at work and at school during the day. I may have a few days when I sometimes get to morning exercises and do my own workouts.
A payment of thousands of euros
As a rule, women play on weekends. Lehtiniemi says that from game trips, for example, in the direction of Oulu and Rovaniemi, people may return home the night before Monday at four or five.
– From there in the morning to school or work and to wash clothes and clean the house. It’s quite difficult, but this is what we’ve started, says Lehtiniemi.
Recently, casual games have also been included. It knows how to compromise income for working people. Lehtiniemi says that he likes everyday games, because then on Sunday he can have a whole day of rest from studying and sports, which is important for a professional athlete.
Kärpi in Oulu also has long game trips. Captain Aino Kaijankoski away game trips with bus trips are quite heavy.
– I often don’t get to go out on Friday because of my wealth, so there are sometimes 4am wake-ups. There is always something to do to get the legs open for the game, but there are no alternatives, says Kaijankoski.
Each player of the Kärppie women’s representative team pays 1,800 euros per season to play.
– On top of that, travel expenses. Some travel in their own cars from nearby towns. In some cases, a thousand euros per season is probably not enough to cover those hidden costs.
Western model
Leader of the Women’s League Henni Laaksonen admits that currently playing in the main league is largely a paid hobby for women.
– In a country the size of Finland, we need to have a situation where we have a major league where women can play hockey as a profession in the future, says Laaksonen.
In order to improve the situation, in addition to the brand of the series, the sporting side must be developed. The level of player education must be raised and junior work strengthened.
– The work regarding girls’ hockey must be strongly integrated into the structures of the clubs so that we can develop in the future.
Cooperation with the limited companies of men’s SM league clubs must be increased. A women’s series with a high level of sportsmanship would provide good conditions for that.
– I believe that when we are able to give value to a limited company, it will give back to them as well. We are much stronger together.
In particular, Sweden’s high-quality semi-professional league SDHL and the new women’s North American professional league PWHL have overtaken the Finnish league. The situation has led to the fact that the majority of the Women’s Lions team plays in foreign clubs today.
According to Laaksonen, tough foreign series set an example of how to develop the sport.
– I have to say that the PWHL is the best thing that has happened in women’s ice hockey. SDHL is a model example of how that work has been started.
– Finland just has to do the work. Now we have built a brand and commercial framework. Now let’s start building the sport and the product in the direction it needs to go.
Bats would help
Many men’s SM league clubs guarantee a strong result. For example, Kärpät made a profit of one million euros last year with a turnover of 33.8 million.
Aino Kaijankoski says that Oulun Kärpät Oy somewhat supports the women’s team playing under Oulun Kärpät Ry.
– Media attention, let’s organize a lottery and let’s financially support some of our things. Yes, it is still very small, but I think we are going in a better direction, says Kaijankoski.
The women pay for almost all of their equipment themselves. Kaijankoski says that he hopes that the Kärppie limited company could help with them.
– There are many clubs in a season. 200 euros is a pretty big deal for a student when a racket breaks during practice. Yes, there might be a couple of oddballs. Surely the equipment would be the first thing. It would make our lives easier.
Jenna Lehtiniemi of Ilves says that she understands that women’s teams are not currently of great value to men’s professional organizations in a financial sense.
– But of course I hoped that there would be more cooperation. It’s quite a bit of a hassle what they could do, for example, on social media, advertising and in connection with games, because Ilves has a really large community of supporters and there are a lot of followers on different channels.
Ilves will organize a game day in the middle of next year, where first the women’s team and then the men’s team will play in the Tampere Arena.
– It is one step towards that cooperation. We have been getting jerseys through them for a couple of years now. However, there is cooperation, but of course I hope for more in the future. Lehtiniemi says.