Winter Sports in Jyväskylä: The Annual, International Snow Rugby Tournament
By Frederic
Many people have probably
followed the recent Winter-Olympics 2018 in South Korea, and while the
Paralympics are about to begin Jyväskylä has an own unique winter sport
event: The annual Snow Rugby tournament, organized by the Jyväskylä Rugby
Club. So why is it so unique you might ask? -Well, while in most countries the
Rugby sport is vastly on hold during the cold and snowy winter month we here in
Finland make the most out of it in a sportive and funny way. No need to say
that we have enough snow here each year to make something out of it!
The tournament, which was
played with 7s Rugby rules happened like last year in Laajavuori next to skiing
area of Jyväskylä. All in in all it was a fun event, especially thanks to
the ladies’ teams’ disguises they individually come up with each year! This time, 19 teams participated in the tournament: They came from all over Finland as
well as from Romania and White Russia to experience the cool fun.
The day ended with a huge party at the local “Escape Club”, where the winners were nominated and received their trophies.
In the men’s tournament, the Kuopio
Rugby Club won “the bucket”, while Turku sacked it in the girl’s tournament. Needless to say, that
also the foreign teams were celebrated for their effort!
Events
like this make Jyväskylä a very liveable place and commit to the cultural and
sportive richness of the city. Even if it is a minor sport (in Finland) like
Rugby, there is some effort made to celebrate it, and bring people from all
over the world together. This is just another good opportunity to connect to
the local Finish and International community whether on the pitch or by just
watching the games. So if you want to experience this event first hand, you
have the opportunity in spring 2019. See you there…
Be JYUnited!