The goal is more than 10,000 viewers.
A kind of public rush is expected for the Vantaa SC Skiing this weekend, when the Hakunila sports park will compete in, among other things Iivo Niskanen.
– In 2018, there were a total of 10,000 spectators during the weekend at our previous SC championships. Now more is expected, says the chairman of the Vantaa Ski Association (VHS). Jussi Eronen.
In general, in SC skiing, not counting last season’s event in Tampere, there are at most a few thousand spectators during the three competition days.
– This is the most significant showcase for skiing in six years. The future of skiing is in the cities, because there are a lot of people in the cities.
Vantaa is the number one place in southern Finland as a competition organizer. This is the 25th year in a row that the televised ski competition has been held in the airport city.
– There is no skiing without competitions and there are no competitions without organizers. We have a kind of skiing family, because there are people from Talkoo from under 10 years old to 85 years old. The club has a few hundred members and 130 skiers under coaching.
The VHS women’s team is strong. In 2022 Jasmi Joensuu and Anni Kainulainen won the double relay SM gold.
– Top skiers inspire people to the slopes, but our goal is not to be a professional team, says Eronen.
In Hakunila, free sprints are skied on Friday, 20 km traditional intermediate starts on Saturday and traditional pair relays on Sunday.
Iivo Niskanen has registered for Saturday’s championship start in Vantaa. PASI LEISMA