I’m totally sure that attending sport activities is a key to a fulfilled and healthy life, especially when we have to do a lot of intellectual work. Attending sport lessons regularly brings a lot of joy because at these lessons we have a chance to get out of stress and everyday study routine and at the same time we can keep up a good shape.
Every Finnish university has sports halls, clubs, events and competitions for students and there is always something that will suit you whether you prefer team sports, fun games with friends or exercising on your own.
Sport facilities of Saimaan University of Applied Sciences
At LUT and Saimaa there is the SaLUT sports club. Students can choose between two different ways to attend lessons: either going to gym and professional leagues like volleyball, basketball, ice hockey, etc. for the price of 20 euro/semester or to attend group exercises (such as zumba, yoga, bootcamp, fitness boxing and so on) for 60 euro/semester. However both passes give an opportunity to book private session at university sports halls (for example if you want to practice only with your friends or alone, or give a lesson to other students).
There are also lots of private clubs. In my opinion they are too expensive. But there are city sports halls where for a little price you can enjoy sport activities which are not available in the university campus. In Lappeenranta’s city hall there are almost all kinds of sports, martial arts + swimming pool and bowling. The prices depend on the club, but a single ticket to a swimming pool costs 3.5 euro/student.
Sport facilities of Saimaan University of Applied Sciences
About myself, I like to attend sport lessons. I practice aikido. In summer I play frisbee-golf with my family and visit Finnish national parks, there are lots of beautiful places for walking. When I have free time I attend bouldering practices. But at a younger age I used to practice sports more professionally. I used to attend light athletics, volleyball and figure skating. At the age of 16 I discovered aikido, a Japanese martial art. A good friend of my mother is a woman who manages the Aikido association in the Republic of Kyrgyzstan in the Central Asia. She has 5th Dan Aikikai and she inspired me to learn the art of peace (that is aikido). After moving to Finland I continued to practice Aikido at the university campus. In Finland there is a great Aikido association and a lot of opportunities to progress further.
