Akseli Haanpää elected to lead the Finnish Student Sports Federation – awards go to the LUT University and student ice hockey

In addition to President Akseli Haanpää from the University of Jyväskylä, the new board will consist of Vice Presidents Nette Rimpioja from Aalto University and Niko Lavikainen from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, and Board Member Pekko Pirhonen from LUT University.

“It’s fantastic to be given the opportunity to promote students’ opportunities to exercise and the sports culture at universities! I look forward to the upcoming lobbying work for both the county and municipal elections and the Government’s mid-term review. Another exciting challenge is to support universities in creating conditions for physical activity now that this has been agreed between the universities and the Ministry,” Haanpää says.

The General Assembly made the final decisions required to allow universities to join OLL as ordinary members. The aim of the Federation is to bring together the students and staff of universities and universities of applied sciences to develop the conditions for physical activity and sports culture at universities.

The Flame of the Year prize was awarded to hockey league FCAA and the OLL Trophy to LTKY

At the reception held by the City of Helsinki during the General Assembly, OLL’s annual awards were also handed out to organisations who have distinguished themselves in developing university sports. The Flame of the Year prize was presented to the college hockey league FCAA. The prize was collected by Anton Harju, Tuomas Koivistoinen, Kami Kortelainen, Elias Lampinen and Niko Viljakainen. The league, which was founded in 2023, has already been joined by 26 teams from 12 towns and cities. The OLL Board say that the league is an excellent example of creating an active student culture.

The OLL Trophy, which is given to one of the Federation’s member organisations, went to the LUT University’s student union LTKY. The Trophy was accepted by the student union’s vice chairperson Simon Hajjar and board member Katja Immonen. The organisations under the student union organise a large number of events which increase the physical activity of students. As an example, the university sports club’s number of sports offered and participant numbers have increased significantly in the last few years.

For more information:
Akseli Haanpää, akseli.j.haanpaa@gmail.com, +358 44 2534875