Mio Kortelainen elected as President of the Finnish Student Sports Federation for 2024

The new vice chairs of OLL, who were elected at the General Assembly in Tampere which ended on Thursday the 9 of November, are Tomas Kurenniemi from Aalto University and Marika Uusi-Illikainen from University of Jyväskylä. Meanwhile Tiia Tjukanov from Moveo sports services was elected as Board Member.

“Student wellbeing and physical activity are now more topical than ever before, and they must be taken into account better in the decision making. Equality is one of the cornerstones of wellbeing, and it’s closely linked to ensuring access to sports services,” the new President Kortelainen says.

The future of OLL was also discussed during the General Assembly, as the Federation is about to implement its new strategy. The General Assembly made decisions about a new membership model, which will see the Federation invite universities to become full members and to promote wellbeing and the ability to study from the perspective of physical activity.

“Next year we will be celebrating the 100-year history of university sports, but making an active lifestyle part of student life requires us to look steadily into the future,” Kortelainen summarises.

“This year we have strengthened our networks with both decision-makers and other players in sports and student activities. We have had constructive discussions about topics such as the implementation of the Suomi liikkeelle programme and the role of university sports with ministers. The new Board is well placed to continue the development work with members, decision-makers and our other partners,” President Emilia Junnila said.

The Flame of the Year prize awarded to Tampere, the OLL Trophy goes to Kajaani

On Wednesday evening the General Assembly was invited by the City of Tampere to visit Tampere City Hall. At this event, the annual awards were also handed out to organisations who have distinguished themselves in developing university sports. Helena Collin, Sport Centre Manager at SportUni, the sports services of the universities in Tampere, was awarded the Flame of the Year prize. Collin has shown exceptional initiative in the network of university sports services. She has used her time and skills to promote collaboration between the Federation’s work and the sports services and set an example for others in this area.

The OLL Trophy is an annual award given to one of the Federation’s member organisations which has gone above and beyond with its sport and exercise activities. This year, the trophy was awarded to the Student Union of Kajaani University of Applied Sciences KAMO. KAMO has been doing exemplary work in areas such as sports tutoring in the last few years. The members in Kajaani have also been active participants in the Federation’s work, and in the past year they have organised a significant number of local sporting events.

More information:

Niko Peltokangas, Secretary General
niko.peltokangas@oll.fi
+358 44 780 0210

Emilia Junnila, President
emilia.junnila@oll.fi
+358 44 780 0211