Books Aki Huovinen is the labor inspector and Toni Latvamäki is the chief inspector – but their real skills are manifested in hundreds of questions

“Who the Finn has scored a goal that was abandoned in the penalty shootout final of the World Championships in floorball? ”

This is one of a thousand questions that can be found Aki Huovinen and Toni Latvamäki from a book just published All-time sports quiz (Minerva). Of course, the answers to all the questions can also be found in the book.

Huovinen wrote last year to test general information The quiz of all time book, and the good success of the book inspired me to make a sports quiz book.

“However, they aren’t very much published, and joggers in sports competitions can be found if that kind of saying can be used. Then I said it would be better if I did it with Toni. ”

“Today we are better authors of questions than respondents,” Latvamäki adds.

The quizzes of the duo can be considered to have coincided in 2013, when Latvamäki held the first quiz based on the questions he prepared.

“Aki happened to win. My questions fit Aki, but on the contrary it doesn’t work in exactly the same way, ”Latvamäki said.

Who quiz men are? Both live in Oulu. They have been avid bench athletes since childhood and enjoy cross-country running, among other things.

Huovinen, 39, works in the City of Oulu as a full-time occupational health and safety representative.

“The book still reads the librarian – we said it sounds better in the visa book than the health and safety officer.”

Huovinen is also involved in the activities of Finnish sports scientists.

“I’m excited to see if certain sports scientists bother to write in a series of stories [jossa kerrotaan virheistä] or whether mercy is given when the perpetrator is a member of the association. It would actually be a tribute to get into that series of stories, ”Huovinen says and laughs.

Latvamäki, 38, works at the Northern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency as an alcohol inspector.

“In the previous seven years, the title in the state administration has changed three times, but it has always included the word chief inspector.”

Latvamäki says that his passion for football was inherited from his father From Ari Latvamäkiwho played in the 1970s Finnish Football Championship (OTP) in the Finnish Football Championship.

“He played the stupidest place on the team, the left defender. He also played as a goalkeeper at times, even though he was 176 inches tall. ”

Felt and in Latvamäki’s book, the questions are divided so that they are always in the form of ten questions. At first there are easy questions in the book, then a little more difficult questions, followed by questions for truth-tellers, and finally thematically divided. For example, the question mentioned at the beginning of the story belongs to the For the Believers section.

What is a good sports quiz question like?

“Is it based on what shouldn’t be the question?” Latvamäki asks.

Let’s just leave.

“The worst clichés of all, like San Sirot [Kenen mukaan stadion on virallisesti nimetty?] and Wayne Gretzkyt [Mikä oli pelinumero?], can always be immediately thrown away. The question must not be worn or flat. Of course, there are room for a thousand questions that may cause a blur, ”says Latvamäki.

Huovinen expresses in his own way which questions were left out.

“So to speak, the burning of the ass was scraped off in the style of‘ no longer being produced after it has been answered three times a year ’. It’s nice to do these together when you dare to say outright that that’s a shitty question. Neither is angry about it. ”

Latvamäki gives another example, which at least they would not ask.

“Neither asks Paavo Nurmen the number of Olympic medals. Pre-censorship already exists. ”

All All in all, Huovinen emphasizes that the whole is more important than a single question.

“It depends on what kind of target group the questions are asked about. Efforts have been made to include fun questions, ”says Huovinen.

Huovinen gives an example: “Toni’s question: What is the Bundesliga club Wolfgang Wolf coached in 1998-2003? Of course Wolfsburg. ”

For example, Latvamäki takes this as one of the “cunning” questions: Who has played in the Champions League in Bayern Munich and Barcelona?

“It’s Aki’s question and a good one,” Latvamäki praises.

“I feel like it’s yours [Latvamäen] your question. In any case, it is a question where the reader may be startled that no one can be, ”says Huovinen.

The reader may be surprised that this question is not in the book. The right answer is the basketball player who has just finished his career Petteri Koponen. Instead, the book has such a version: Which Finnish athlete moved from Barcelona to Bayern Munich in 2018 after playing in Russia and Italy?

And what is the most difficult question that has come to the fore?

“It wasn’t about sports. It was in the World Cup [järjestetään vuosittain kesäkuussa]. The question was: Who is the end of the 15th century Chinese archivist? I don’t remember the question, but I don’t remember the answer either, ”Latvamäki says and laughs.

Huovinen does not mention a single question, but he does say where really difficult questions are asked.

“All sources can be used to answer at the Finnish track for sports athletes, and the response time is one month. In the internet age, the question has to be that google is not allowed [vastausta] find out. They also have a purpose. ”

The Koponen question it is by no means an exception that the duo get confused which one has drafted which question.

“This is done in the Lennon & McCartney style. They also had some songs made together, but the same one did it, it went in the name of both, ”Huovinen splits.

“I don’t even remember all the questions they made.”

The extent of the division is that of certain species, one knows more than the other. Strong sports for Huovinen include cycling and tennis, snooker in Latvamäki, bodybuilding and “weight issues”, as he puts it.

Latvamäki estimates that he wrote 485 questions for the book and Huovinen 515.

To the book there is also one significant difference in the wording of the questions compared to, for example, pub quizzes: the questions cannot be specified to the respondent.

“If there are seven correct answers to the question, even though you have only applied for a certain one, then the question is just a failure,” Huovinen emphasizes.

Due to the large number of sports scientists or those who think they are like that, the duo expect feedback from enthusiasts in the field – also from the non-Huovinen sports scientists community.

“For some, it is a hobby to look for mistakes in sports-related texts. On the other hand, it is good if some [virheitä] is left behind: a fanatical sports scientist, ”says Huovinen.

Sport has been a very masculine stronghold, especially in recent years. This is also reflected in the sports quizzes, as the questions are easily focused on men’s sports.

“As for older things, it’s hard to come up with questions from there when the same names revolve around them. Fortunately, this is leveling out, and women’s sports are getting more space, ”says Huovinen.

If sports issues focus on men’s sports, sports competitions will be even more important.

“There are a lot of women in quizzes, especially pub quizzes, but sports knowledge is a pretty masculine stronghold. Sometimes women have participated in the Finnish Championships, but it’s been a long time, ”says Huovinen.

New the book has just been published, but the duo already have the next book in mind.

“Next, the entertainment would be one that would be happy to write questions for the book,” says Latvamäki.

“Especially on the music and film side, you can find a similar fanatical outfit, as in sports, who can soothe detailed information,” Huovinen adds.

Five questions for HS readers

Aki Huovinen and Toni Latvamäki compiled five sports questions for HS readers. Test how many you get right.