“Uusikaupunki has excellent facilities for sports”

Siblings Nooa and Veera Rostedt grab footballs and run to the green artificial grass. The two are clearly familiar with the ball, and the net keeps making swishing sounds as powerful shots land in it.

Katja Rostedt, Mother of Nooa and Veera, is watching the siblings play with the ball from the side of the pitch. As a parent of children with several active hobbies, she is familiar with both ice rinks and indoor sports arenas as well as grass and sandy pitches.

“Under normal circumstances, the adults of our family also do what the children do. Everyday timetables revolve heavily around Veera and Nooa’s hobbies and tournaments, which means we don’t have time for much else. But I don’t mind, I enjoy this,” she says and nods towards the pitch.

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Although, Katja says that, in summer, the family takes time off of their usual life even if the parents are working. Both children have football practice a few times a week and games every now an then but there is still significantly more spare time.

“Both also attended a Finnish baseball training organised by Jyske, and Nooa continued playing after that too. However, summers are in many ways more relaxed than our normal daily life,” says Katja.

She is happy to praise the diverse hobby opportunities and their facilities in Uusikaupunki. With the family’s older children, she has several years experience and many different sports.

“I feel that having sport hobbies here is easy, and there are several options for a smaller city. I wouldn’t dare think what our evenings and weekends would be like if we lived in a bigger place. Here, it’s easy to stay on top of things because of the short distances.”

Katja and the father of the family Tero are both actively involved in the children’s hobbies. Tero is the equipment manager of Nooa’s ice hockey team and Katja is the treasurer of several groups and the team leader of a team. At least one of the parents always tries to join the kids on tournament trips.

“We spend some long evenings in the sport halls but we want to support our children’s hobbies. It’s also important for the kids to have us there, supporting and encouraging,” says Katja.

A great support and help in the daily schedule puzzle is the group of parents created through the children’s hobbies that shares driving turns and helps otherwise when necessary.

“Many people say that it’s hard to find friends as an adult but I have found many great friends through my children’s hobbies,” says Katja.

A sense of community is present in the teams among the adults and the children. On game trips, everyone looks after everyone, and juniors of different ages cheer in the games of other age groups.

 

 

“Everything here works so well. If you have a question, it will be answered in no time. And having different sports hobbies has also got easier,” says Katja referring to the cooperation between teams when planning the training schedules.

The Rostedt family is also grateful about the moderate hobby charges. Katja knows that especially in the older age groups, the differences between many other places are high.

“For instance, time spent on the ice rink is very affordable in Uusikaupunki. Hobbies always cost money, and charges get bigger as children get older. But here, the costs will remain relatively sensible,” she says.

Before wrapping up, it’s time to take a photo. Wearing flipflops, Katja kicks the ball into the goal as the children giggle around her, and Veera is inspired to show her cartwheel skills.

The photos turn out just as action-packed and lively as is suitable for an active family.

The article has previously been published on the website Tuu Messiin.