POV from a Finnish Crazy Games organiser – "We celebrated it to the fullest"

POV from a Finnish Crazy Games organiser – "We celebrated it to the fullest" 

The idea behind the whole weekend was to celebrate 100-year-old Finland with the theme together. It was probably the craziest weekend of my life (23-24 September 2017). There was absolutely no better way to celebrate than to gather together as many people as possible! I designed the tracks for both hobbyhorse riding and wife-carrying, which also meant I had to get to the very heart of the matter by experiencing what the races would require from the contestants. N-oar-dic walking was probably the most twisted-minded sport. Using oars instead of walking poles? I guess that's why we called the event the Finnish Crazy Games, right?

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary

Even "wives" were provided by the house where needed. Even though I was one of the organisers, I was surprisingly also on call as a "wife". We encouraged people to call a neighbor to substitute as a deputy wife or to ask somebody on the spot. Wife-carrying attracted a total of about twenty brave pairs!

©Petri Kurkaa

The number of contestants exceeded our expectations. Hobbyhorse riding and N-oar-dic walking attracted hundreds of participants, and best of all: everyone was really having fun! That's exactly what we wanted. A weekend in the embrace of the sun attracted 3 500 visitors to enjoy Finnish culture: delicious food and quirky sports. In addition, Antti (Deputy Head of Mission) and Katri (Attaché of Public Diplomacy) gave numerous interviews to media. People were also able to experience the craziness virtually via live-streams.

©Petri Kurkaa

©Petri Kurkaa

Air you in?

Yes, there was something special for the Saturday evening: The Finnish Crazy Games Air Guitar Contest with the help of Air Guitar Australia was about to begin at 7 pm. There were 12 performers, 3 judges. But there was only one winner. There were two rounds, and special something in between. A duo called KatKat (myself and Katri Doup, Attaché for Public Diplomacy and Administrative Affairs) was ready for the stage. Our air guitar song consisted of four hits – from Neil Young to Kings of Leon. We just decided to give it a go. There was no other option than to do it with 100% or maybe even 200%.

Behind every great success

Without our great teams, such an event could simply not have been run. We were encouraging each other and the most important of all – we were all committed. The team at the embassy is absolutely phenomenal! Also, without the help of volunteers we would not have been able to be this successful.

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words. Explore the weekend by taking a tour with the pictures by visiting the Media Gallery. 

Photos: ©Petri Kurkaa

Katariina Tuomela is an intern at the Embassy of Finland in Canberra.