Young hockey players from Kyiv experienced Tampere's hockey culture at a camp
More than thirty young players and their coaches attended the camp, which was organised in cooperation with the City of Kyiv and the Ukrainian Ice Hockey Federation. The camp was organised by local ice hockey clubs Tappara ry and Ilves ry and the City of Tampere.
The hockey camp offered a varied programme with a hockey theme. The youth learned about the history of Finnish ice hockey at the Finnish Ice Hockey Museum in Vapriikki and watched two league games between Ilves and Tappara at the Nokia Arena. The camp also included plenty of training time on the ice at the Kaukajärvi Ice Hall with top coaches.
Coach Andrii Kochur says the camp was a rewarding experience for the young players.
"The camp was a great opportunity for the youngsters to train in a world-class hockey country. They learned a lot during the week.”
The Mayor of Tampere, Kalervo Kummola, came to greet the young people at the Kaukajärvi ice rink during the training sessions.
“I hope that the experience of the camp and the opportunity to practice their own sport brought joy to the young people. I am very happy that these young hockey players were able to get top coaching in Tampere and get away from the war for a while. I would like to thank Tappara and Ilves for their excellent cooperation in organising the camp," says Mayor Kummola.
Currently, there is an acute shortage of ice sports facilities in Kyiv. Therefore, the City of Kyiv has asked the City of Tampere for cooperation, especially in the field of ice sports. The City of Tampere is responding to this request by donating a replacement ice machine and ice rink to Kyiv, as well as other replacement equipment. In cooperation with Tuomi Logistiikka, the City of Tampere will also donate hospital supplies worth about 10,000 euros to Kyiv.
The ice hockey camp for young people from Kyiv was organised as part of the Tampere-Kyiv twinning programme. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the twinning of Tampere and Kyiv. The cities will celebrate the cooperation, which started in 1954, with a variety of activities in both Tampere and Kyiv.
Read more about the events and how you can help Ukrainians and Kyiv residents on the anniversary website.
