Exercise | The CEO of the Olympic Committee, Susiluoto, believes that the noise of harassment has improved the operation: “The lesson was public and visible”

“I was thinkingwhere Berlin is here, said the CEO of the Olympic Committee Taina Susiluoto when meeting the reporter and cameraman on the fourth floor of the sports organizations’ office in Helsinki.

Although the conference rooms in Pitäjänmäki are still partly a mystery to him, Susiluoto, who started his work in June, has clarified his thoughts on the role of the Olympic Committee.

An active lifestyle, elite sports and club activities are cornerstones, but in the future, advocacy will become more and more important, when the financing of sports comes from the state budget instead of betting profits.

“In addition to sports organizations, the situation is new for political parties. They are also not used to having a sports policy discussion, when it is thought about in the same context as, for example, the defense budget,” said Susiluoto in an interview with STT.

A big to-do list is also reaching out again to children and young people who stopped playing during the coronavirus pandemic. When the age groups are getting smaller anyway, we can’t afford to lose enthusiasts.

“Now the clubs have the last moment to lend a hand to young people who have stopped. It doesn’t matter if they choose another sport, but young people’s lives must not be wasted because adults have not been able to handle the pandemic,” said Susiluoto.

In Susiluoto’s family, which lives everyday sports, the children compete at an international level in taekwondo. The impact of the pandemic on competition has been drastic.

Wolf credit views the activities and responsibilities of the Olympic Committee with the Ferris wheel idea, where personal and family hobbies can lead to club activities, which in turn grow into top athletes. The operation is largely based on voluntary work, but other models must be developed.

“We need to bring about such a change that all schools have high-quality hobby opportunities and snacks after the school day. Nowadays, children are often alone at home with their phones in the afternoons, and club practices are late, after the parents’ working day,” said Susiluoto.

The exercise model is emerging as an election theme for next spring’s parliamentary elections. According to Susiluoto’s estimate, the reform would cost 30 million, but would bring multiple savings in the form of reduced morbidity thanks to an active lifestyle.

Wolf credit came to the Olympic Committee soon after the harassment scandals in the spring. The managing director estimates that the wide-ranging discussion they sparked had a salutary force.

“The lesson caused by the crisis was public and visible, and it has become clear to everyone that one’s own activities must withstand the light of day,” said Susiluoto.

As a result of the uproar, the Olympic Committee has, among other things, updated its competition guidelines by putting responsibility issues at the top. The new instructions were used for the first time in July at the Youth Olympic Festival in Slovakia.

“We must be able to set an example, because we are the face of sports. In this time, it is important to live according to one’s own values,” said Susiluoto.

Among the harassment cases that were being processed, there is only one case related to the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games of suspected sexual harassment at an athletics preparation camp. Investigations related to that have also been done.

“I have invited the parties to mediation,” Susiluoto said.

Susiluoto believes that Finns expect openness from the Olympic Committee. A quick step towards that was to make the minutes of the board open, and the advocacy meetings are also open remotely to representatives of member organizations.