Helsinki has suspended the use of city-owned sporting facilities and gyms used for club practice sessions at 39 schools. City officials said that due to the coronavirus crisis, early years education providers and schools will be needing their gym facilities for teaching purposes. The situation is expected to last from 31 August until the end of May next year.
In an email sent to sports clubs in the region, the city said that it would notify clubs if there are any changes in the situation and sporting facilities become available. The decision to suspend the use of school gyms has affected dozens of clubs.
"It was a very surprising announcement, hearing that all gym sessions have been cancelled at these schools for the entire year until the end of May," long time sports club activist and trainer Mikko Mäntylä said.
The news did not come as a complete surprise to all clubs, since evening sessions at school gyms had been cancelled in August for the same reason. However, Maäntylä said the scale of the changes was not anticipated.
He added that he was worried about children and young adults for whom school sports facilities were very important. He noted that the benefits of exercise to the health and well being of children and young adults are well known and pointed out that lack of exercise is a major national health and economic problem.
Uncertainty could affect clubs' viability
According to Mäntylä, the decision could also have negative consequences from the perspective of the coronavirus situation.
"If the gym in your area is not available, then you go somewhere else. And we would hope that during these corona times people would stay in their own areas and in their own groups. We might be throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. Children will now have to fit into fewer facilities and group sizes will automatically grow," he noted.
The decision to cancel training sessions at school gyms has affected many sporting bodies, including clubs representing gymnastics and dance, football, basketball, floorball and volleyball.
Mäntylä said that clubs are now waiting for additional information from the city about the situation. He also speculated that it might have been possible to implement the gym closures in a phased manner.
"Would it have been possible to cancel gym use one month at a time, perhaps? If the situation is different at the beginning of October, then it would be possible to plan for the future in some way. For indoor sports where the season is just beginning, the uncertainty could pose a big threat to their operations," he added.
He added that clubs are now concerned that sports may be suspended at additional school facilities.
"The clubs that are not affected now are wondering whether this will hit them at some stage. Could this be just the beginning?"
Other cities plan to keep gyms open
In neighbouring Vantaa however, city officials said they have no plans to prevent sports clubs from using school gyms because of the epidemic. They noted despite challenges organising school meals, gyms can be used for the purpose without suspending their use after school hours.
In Espoo, education director Kaisu Toivonen said that the city will not bar clubs from using the indoor facilities. She said that while some gyms are being used for meals during the day, that will not prevent clubs from using them in the evening. She added that clubs with first evening training slots have agreed to move tables and chairs, while clubs with the latest slots will put them in place for the next school day.
In Tampere, some school gyms were said to be closed for renovations or because of poor internal air quality. However no gyms have been closed in the evenings because of Covid-19. The city’s communications unit said that school facilities were too important to clubs to close them.
The City of Turku also said that it had no plans to prevent clubs from using school facilities for evening practice sessions.
