Be active in Åland
Excellent sports halls in combination with great accommodations and good food, ensure successful sporting experiences in Åland. And of course it also feels good to get away from everyday life and exercise without stress. Large teams or small clubs – all enjoy Åland, no matter if it’s training or competition.
Bowling
In Idrottsgården’s newly renovated and fresh bowling alley in Mariehamn, bowling is sheer pleasure. In the alley there are a total of eight new laminated lanes. Next to the bowling alley is Idrottsgården’s café, where you can sit down with a cup of coffee in between your games. The computerized scoring system Viking makes scoring convenient, also for the happy amateur. Bowling is a fun activity that suits almost everybody, no matter the age. In the bowling alley it is also possible to arrange Cosmic bowling, an interesting bowling variant where you play to both music and disco lights.
Curling
Eckerö’s curling rink, Åland curling, is something for both professional curlers and amateurs who want to try out a bit of fun with a difference. The rink is equipped with two playing areas called “sheets” that are of international competition standard. Next to the sheets there is a cafe, bar and lounge where you can get your breath back between games. The cafe has a view over the sheets.
The curling rink in Eckerö, called Ålandhotels curlingcenter, offers both drop-in arrangements and advance booking, but they recommend that you book at least one day in advance, Ph. +358 457 374 9778. You can also book a complete company package that includes the game, food, accommodation and travel.
Did you know that Ålandhotels curlingcenter has hosted Paf Masters, Women’s Curling Champions Tour, several years in a row?
Floor hockey
Floor hockey is a big exercise sport in Åland. The well kept sports halls are just as well suited to training as to a competition. Apart from floor hockey, other ball sports such as volley ball, basket ball and handball are popular in the sports halls in Åland. Some of the player’s favourites are Baltichallen in Mariehamn and newly renovated Vikingahallen, just 5 minutes from Mariehamn. Baltichallen has two dividable floors while Vikingahallen has been much praised for its new floor without seams. Godbyhallen in Finström is also suitable for floor hockey. Close to the three sports halls are exercise tracks for the teams that want to vary their training. By Vikingahallen is also a gym while Godbyhallen also offers a gym and a swimming hall. For floor hockey players, Eckeröhallen is also an alternative. Here it’s possible to put in a moveable floor over the artificial grass.
Fotboll
Football is a hot sport in Åland. Both the men’s team, IFK Mariehamn, and the women’s team, Åland United, play in the highest league in Finland. Did you know that IFK Mariehamn won Suomen Cup, the Finnish Cup in soccer, 2015? A year later, 2016, IFK Mariehamn made Finnish football history and secured the Finnish men’s football Veikkausliiga championship.
In Åland there are also many international football tournaments arranged for different age groups each year. The biggest of them is Alandia Cup, a classic football tournament for 11-year-olds, which has been organised since 1978 and attracts more than 100 teams every year.
Training camps
There are also good opportunities for training in Åland with a total of 6 fine sports halls, 2 full size artificial grass fields (3 from May 2020) and 15 well kept grass fields. When the outdoor season is over, the full size football field in Eckeröhallen is available. There you can play all year round.
If your team wants to do more than just train during your stay in Åland, the local football teams are more than willing to play a friendly game.
Gyms
There are a lot of modern gym facilities in Åland and they provide all the latest in training. Train for both strength and fitness, or choose between gyms with strength training equipment and free weights and gyms that offer different types of group training. Why not book a session with a personal trainer who can help you reach your fitness goals?
Sports facilities in Åland
There are 49 different sporting establishments and sport courses in Åland. The establishments are of high quality and make all kinds of sports possible – football (indoor and outdoors), ice hockey, floor hockey, handball, boule, swimming, table tennis, judo, bowling, shooting, basketball, badminton, tennis, golf, track and field, equestrian sports, windsurfing, sailing, volleyball, cycling, basketball and gymnastics – the list goes on and on.
Sport halls and grounds with high standard
The football pitch, tracks and sports grounds at Wiklöf Holding Arena and the ice hall Islandia are centrally located in Mariehamn. Eckeröhallen in Eckerö has a full-size indoor field with artificial grass. Ålands Idrottscenter in Godby offers a complete establishment with swimming hall, sports hall, exercise trail and tennis courts. In the swimming centre Mariebad in Mariehamn, there is an adventure pool and an 8-lane exercise and competition pool. Åland also offers a trotting racecourse of international standard in the northern part of Mariehamn.
Icehockey
The ice hall Islandia in Mariehamn offer professional training facilities for ice hockey and floor hockey. The season is long – there is ice from the end of July to mid April. In Islandia 700 spectators means a sold out hall where the excitement is high. The ice and the grand stand are in direct contact with each other. This means that both spectators and players get that special feeling. Outside the ice hall there is an exercise track. Nearby is also Idrottsgården with both a gym and a bowling alley.
Simning
Training, competition or exercise swimming – Åland offers swimming experiences for all levels thanks to a new swimming centre in Mariehamn and a new swimming pool in Godby. The establishments can receive groups of up to 60-70 persons. Since the halls are just a 15 minutes drive from each other, the groups may also split up and train in different centres.
Godby simhall
The main pool with its eight lanes is 25 meters long and 21 meters wide. That means that each lane is 2.5 meters wide instead of the normal 2 meters. The pool is optimally fitted for competitions and is considered a fast pool. In the grandstand on the first floor there are seats for 250 persons. It meets all international regulations that bigger competitions demands. The closeness to Godbyhallen means that there is also a possibility to combine swimming practice with the sport hall’s gym, sports hall, conference premises for 25 persons and serving area. Near the hall is a lit exercise track that also functions as a skiing track in winter.
Mariebad
The Mariebad swimming pools and spa centre has a superb position over the waters of the eastern harbour. In addition to the exercise and competition pool, with its eight 25 meter lanes and electronic timing, the swimming centre also offers an adventure pool with many fun activities for both children and playful adults: bubble pool, giddying water slide and exciting fun pool.
Outside the centre there is a sundeck and swimming jetty exclusively for Mariebad guests whereas the beach and café are open to everyone. Weary bodies can be soothed with some pampering in the Spa. Book your treatment in the swimming centre’s relax department on the second floor.
Tennis
There are many fine tennis courts in Åland. The majority are in Mariehamn and its vicinity. At Idrottsparken in central Mariehamn there are four outdoor courts. Three of them are gravel courts while one is a hard-court paved with plexipave.
Some 4 kilometers from the centre of Mariehamn is the sport’s hall Bollhalla that, apart from tennis courts also offers possibilities for gymnastics, badminton, padel and billiards. Bollhalla has four outdoor gravel courts and three plexipave courts indoors.
Track and field
In Åland thrives both track and field youth and sporting stars of world class. Before the World Championship in Helsinki in the summer 2005, for example, the Swedish track and field national team chose the Wiklöf Holding Arena in Åland as the place for their warm up practice. In the summer of 2020 a totally new and modern arena for track and field opens in the southern part of Mariehamn, close to the sporthall Baltichallen. In the winter, Ålands largest indoor sports hall, Eckeröhallen is available with its 2000 sqm large sport floor. For track and field athletes there are four 110 meter tracks for running and high jump and throwing areas.
