Riikka Pakarinen, president of the Finnish Sports Association, says that the PM Games are important above all for Norway and Denmark.
Finland President of the Sports Association Riikka Pakarinen says that last summer there was a discussion about whether Finland would participate in the Nordic championships at all.
The PM races held at the end of May came up in the discussion last week, when a sprinter Samuli Samuelsson brought up the fact that athletes traveling to the Games are charged a deductible of 400 euros. It also applies to all relay team runners individually. In total, the team pays 1,600 euros for representing Finland.
The relay team’s place in next year’s European Championships requires placing sufficiently high in the ranking, which is affected by two results. There are only a few opportunities to run an instant relay during the summer. That’s why paying to enter the race hurt the runners who spoke through Samuelsson’s mouth.
Buttock says that the PM Games are an exceptional competition, the continuation of which is uncertain. The competition is being held for the first time.
“There were mixed reactions to these games. Other countries were more eager to organize. Especially the Danes and Norwegians missed competitions where you can get good ranking points. As a compromise, we decided to participate because we wanted to be involved in the good Nordic spirit, but we imposed a deductible,” says Pakarinen.
In Finland, there is a GP series in the summer, and for the toughest athletes there is an international quality Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku. They offer opportunities for collecting ranking points in the home country. The need for PM races is not as great as in Norway and Denmark, where, according to Pakarinen, there is no national competition equivalent to the GP series.
Deductibles are not a new thing in athletics either. For example, the members of a team going to a youth competition have to pay deductibles, which may be waived in whole or in part if they are successful in the competition. Deductibles are defined on SUL’s website in the competition selection system.
For example, the deductible for 19-year-old athletes who are selected for the European Championships in Israel is 750 euros. Medalists do not have to pay, and athletes who reach places 4-8 pay half the amount.
There is no deductible in the adult competition, the European team championships or the match against Sweden. Pakarinen says that a discussion has taken place with Yleiurheilaijat ry, which represents the athletes, and there is no disagreement on the principle line.
Buttock hopes that SUL’s finances would improve so much that there would be no need to think about co-responsibility for the PM Games either. Last year, the financial result sank into a loss, even though Finland organized a match against Sweden at the Olympic Stadium, which gathered a nice crowd. Big competition teams raised expenses.
“The stronger the economy, the more you can invest. We must be able to do everything we can towards the summer to get new partnerships. In that sense, last year was a wake-up call,” Pakarinen says.
The team going to the PM championships will be announced next Wednesday according to the selection system. Pakarinen is not aware of any athletes who would refuse the trip due to deductibles.
Pakarinen says he talked with Samuelsson in a good spirit.
“I understand the frustration. Of course, it would be a wonderful thing if getting a relay team into a merit race would be a wonderful thing. The competition is really tough, there are fewer competitions in the relay. It would be good to have more of them on the calendar.”
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