A hobby club is the fastest way into Finnish life, because nobody translates and everybody shows up on Tuesday. Here is what people do, and how you join.
What Finns watch
Ice hockey is the national sport; the Liiga season runs from September to April, the world championship in May stops the country, and a Finnish win means car horns at midnight. Football is growing (Veikkausliiga, and the national team's first Euro appearance in 2021). Pesäpallo, Finnish baseball, is the summer game in small towns. Also Formula 1 (Finland has produced more champions per capita than anywhere), rally, ski jumping and cross-country skiing in winter.
What Finns do
Walking and Nordic walking, cycling, cross-country skiing, ice skating, swimming (halls in every town, lakes in summer), running, floorball (salibandy, the most played team sport), gym, and, quietly, a great deal of fishing and berry picking. See nature and seasons.
Joining a club
Sports in Finland run through clubs (seura), mostly volunteer-run, with modest fees. Search your city plus the sport plus seura, or ask at the municipal sports office (liikuntapalvelut). Adult beginner groups (aikuisten alkeisryhmä) exist for skating, skiing, swimming and floorball, and nobody minds a foreigner who cannot skate yet. Children's clubs are where Finnish parents meet each other; they are also where your child learns Finnish fastest.
Municipal sports for a few euros
Every city runs swimming halls with saunas, gyms, ice rinks, ski tracks (lit, free) and sports halls at low prices, with discounts for students, pensioners and the unemployed. In winter, the city floods football fields into skating rinks; skate rental is a few euros.
Winter sports for beginners
- Cross-country skiing: rent skis, take one lesson, use the lit tracks in any park. The classic style is easy to start.
- Ice skating: outdoor rinks in every neighbourhood, free, with rental.
- Downhill: small hills near the cities, real mountains only in Lapland.
- Ice swimming: with a sauna, see sauna.
Hobbies beyond sport
Adult education centres teach everything from pottery to Finnish folk dance for a small term fee. Choirs, orchestras and theatre groups welcome newcomers. Libraries have makerspaces, board game nights and language cafés. Volunteering through the Red Cross or a local association is both a hobby and a network.
Sports Finnish
| Finnish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| seura | club |
| harrastus | hobby |
| jääkiekko, lätkä | ice hockey (formal, slang) |
| salibandy | floorball |
| hiihto | cross-country skiing |
| luistelu | skating |
| uimahalli | swimming hall |
| kuntosali | gym |
| Pelaatko sählyä? | Do you play floorball (casual)? |
| Hyvä Suomi! | Go Finland! |