The central mission of the Sports and Youth Services is to promote sports and other physical activity beneficial to health. The city supports the activity of its citizens by organising sports services and activities that promote health and wellbeing, by assisting civic activities and offering sports facilities in a manner that is as fair and equal as possible to all residents of the municipality.
Mikkeli has some 200 different sports venues maintained by the sports services, which offers excellent opportunities for sports and exercise throughout the year. In addition to individual venues, the city boasts of nearly 300 kilometres of trails, tracks and skiing tracks, of which some 80 kilometres are lit. The Mikkeli region has several beautiful hiking trails with great views, sights and Finnish lean-tos called laavus along the trail.
Mikkeli is situated in the Finnish Lakeland area, which means that there are 951 lakes in the region. In Mikkeli alone, there are 29 public beaches maintained by the City and free to use by all. In the winter, Mikkeli is ideal for outdoor winter swimming or visiting the two indoor swimming pools, Naisvuoren uimahalli and Viihdeuimala Rantakeidas.
Some of the city’s gravel, grass and artificial turf pitches are frozen over in winter for ice-skating, in addition to the ice hockey rinks and the Hänninhauta artificial skating rink. The citizens may use the rinks and skating facilities freely whenever the local sports clubs are not using them. The outdoor skateboard park, disc golf tracks and basketball courts as well as the beach volley, floorball and tennis courts may also be freely used, but they can also be booked in advance. In addition to the indoor swimming pools, the city offers two indoor ice stadiums, an air-dome mainly intended for football, several gyms, school gyms and an indoor skateboarding park.
The indoor swimming pools organise water aerobics and swimming schools, in addition to which several applied sports groups operate throughout the year. In the summer, both indoor and outdoor swimming schools are offered for children in particular as well as the “Liikettä lapsille” exercise groups for children. The Sports and Youth Services also organise various sports events all year round in co-operation with different operators.
For more information on the services and activities offered by the Sports and Youth Services (in Finnish), please visit www.mikkeli.fi/liikunta.