Magazine

This club is growing again and again


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Islet Seastars, the Novice team from Vaasa last season. (Credits: Ville Vairinen - 2020)

Not all Finnish teams are located in the Helsinki area. More than 400 km away (250 miles), in the city of Vasaa, synchronized skating is also developing.

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"Our club was created in 2010, so last year we had our 10th anniversary. We are a very living and nascent club, and we are increasing every year," explained Niina Hintikainen, chairman of the Wasa Team Skaters.

The club has 4 synchro competitive teams and a skating school that consists of an elementary group for synchronized skating, a hobby group for juniors and a recreational skating group for adults. "For the next season, our main goal in club perspective is to establish a National Junior team again!"


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Vaasa teams names all start with "Islet", such as Islet Sweethearts, Islet Silverswans or Islet Sensations. Here: the Novice team this season. (Credits: Harri Peltonen - 2021)

The training environment in Vaasa is excellent. The synchro skaters can practice on three different ice rinks, and one competition ice rink has been completely renovated.

During the pandemic, the athletes have had stringent restrictions and practiced with a maximum of ten people on the ice simultaneously and with very strict hygiene rules. 

The adults and seniors teams have not able to practice for a long time. "It has been very frustrating that these restrictions have been valid almost all season. Still, we are very happy that at least other of our teams can train in small groups," said Niina Hintikainen.

"Better days are yet to come!"
"All competitions in Finland were cancelled, but luckily we could participate in the first selection competition in November with all our teams and our Novice team, Islet Seastars were the 2. in that competition with a strong and powerful program."

For Niina Hintikainen, the pandemic time has been very hard, but they face it with a positive attitude. "Better days are yet to come!"

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"We have very good common spirit in our teams, and our coaches are leading their teams very well and arranging some special things for the teams on the ice. We can also concentrate more on skating technic and be stronger in that area," added Niina Hintikainen.

Since their creation, synchro teams from Vaasa developed a lot and improved their results in competitions. They were also able to promote their club in Vaasa and present their teams to the rest of Finland. "Our strength is a good atmosphere and can-do attitude," concluded the chairman.

Wasa Team Skaters is the only synchronized skating club in the Vaasa area located on the west coast of Finland. Let's hope to see these teams grow even further in the coming years.

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