Roundnet is one of the many users of the city's sports facilities

Article

8.7.2025 15.01

The Tampere Roundnet club plays and trains in the summer at the grass field in Koivistonkylä, and the game is gaining popularity year on year.

The Tampere Roundnet group poses for the camera at the grass field in Koivistonkylä. — Roundnet is one of the sports using the city's fields, and the Roundnet club in Tampere is the oldest in Finland.

On the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä, a group of young people dressed in sportswear set up four trampolines in the middle of the pitch.

– Split into four groups and let's start with a warm-up, shouts Simeon Seitz from the edge of the pitch.

The groups set up around nets resembling small trampolines and prepare for the first Roundnet game of the day.

Three Roundnet players play the ball game on the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä. — Roundnet is a fast-paced ball game where players can find themselves in tricky situations.

Roundnet is a sport similar to beach volleyball, where two teams of two play against each other. A trampoline on the ground acts as a net, on which the teams have to hit the ball with three touches. You can hit the ball as far or as close as you like from the net, and your opponent must return the ball to the net without it touching the ground.

At the edge of the pitch, Seitz turns around and picks up a few balls from the ground. Seitz is one of the leaders of the Roundnet Tampere exercises, both as chairman of Roundnet Tampere and Roundnet Finland.

– When the warm-up game is over, please all come back here, Seitz continues.

Simeon Seitz smiles for the camera with a ball in hand on the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä. — Simeon Seitz chairs both Roundnet Tampere and Roundnet Finland.

There are three Roundnet clubs in Finland, of which Tampere is the oldest and the largest in terms of number of players. The popularity of the sport has grown steadily, and Tampere has hosted the Finnish Championships since 2018.

– The sport has been practised in Tampere since around 2017, and is growing steadily at national level.

Roundnet is played in Tampere all year round. In winter, Roundnet players move indoors, and when the snow melts, the teams move back outdoors.

– The game ball is made of a material that loosens in cold temperatures. It's also a sport you want to play without gloves, says Seitz, rubbing his cold hands together.

Two Roundnet players sit on a bench at the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä. — Roundnet's popularity has grown year on year, and in Tampere the sport has been practiced since around 2017.

Previously, the team has played in Tampere parks and on sand pitches in the summer, but for the last three years the team has moved to the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä. Arrangements with the City of Tampere and other sports groups have gone well, and the Tampere Roundnet team trains twice a week.

– The Koivistonkylä grass field is also used by lacrosse, ultimate frisbee and American football teams, among others. Arranging the sessions has been really easy. We also organize internal tournaments and championships in Tampere on this field.

– Roundnet has a very low entry threshold, and anyone can come and try out the sport for free, concludes Seitz.

Two Roundnet game balls are on the ground at the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä. — In addition to Roundnet, many other sports are practised on the grass pitch in Koivistonkylä.

Text: Aleksis Villanen

Photos: Aleksis Villanen