Sporty Finns, part 2: Show on ice

As I mentioned before Finns seem to be a very sporty nation. There are numerous fitness clubs, sports associations, hobby clubs etc. The most popular sport is ice-hockey - no doubt. But because ice-hockey is so popular there are many ice-rinks and ice-halls to train other forms of ice-skating related sports.

Today's post will be about something related to my hobby - figure ice-skating. There are two big clubs in Kuopio where you can learn figure ice-skating: KuTa and KuLs. Additionally KuLs offers a possibility of joining speed-skating team or synchronized skating. Both of those clubs organise various types of events throughout the year. In the spring it is time for the show on ice. Last year Cinderella was enacted, this year's topic was Circus. The show took place last Sunday, 18th of April.

Anyone who wanted to act in the show was welcome, all of the groups could have their part: amateurs and professionals, children and adults, synchronised and figure ice-skaters, no matter what the skill level or intensity of trainings are. The point was to get together, do something nice and have fun. And maybe also show parents that their kids are doing great :)

On the Circus show you could see almost anything that circus has to offer. There must be the circus director naturally, clowns, and various animals (a bear is a must). Respect for all "animals" who had to perform in furs :) Being on ice in skates is already a challenge, but being in skates, wearing special animal "overall" and still make the jumps and spins is amazing. I hope I can upload some pics soon when I finally get them.

The show itself was nice, but my absolute favourites were bunnies. 5 little girls in white bunnies' outfits with pointy ears and round scuts were adorable. Watching them jumping, spinning and playing around with their carrots just made me grin all the time.

The second best part in my opinion was the part with precision skaters, all dressed in black, with white masks on. The music choice was perfect, the movements and choreography were full of drama, tension and kept me staring and wanting more. The whole performance was brilliant, like on a stage of a good theatre. Really well done!

This kind of ice-show is an annual event therefore I can't wait to see what kind of show will the next year bring!

Until next post!

Plane crash in Smolensk, Russia

This note is a bit off-topic, but being Polish I just could not leave it without any comment.

The air-plane crash in Smolensk, Russia with top Polish politicians, army representatives and many other respected people is a big tragedy. The reaction of the political leaders from all over the world sending words of sympathy is consolatory - Poles are not alone during those sad days.

I also think that the reaction of Russia and Belarus when it comes to visa policy for relatives and other people to investigate the reasons of the crash means more than political discussions on the top level. Visa's for relatives and investigators will be given without much formalities, queuing and fees. I think that for those families this gesture means more than million words and contributes significantly to improvement of Polish-Russian relations. I hope that this unfortunate event will be a lesson for both sides and a big step forward to improve relations between Russia and Poland.

Words of sympathy are coming from so many countries, so many newspapers are describing people who died yesterday. Political divisions disappear. It is good to see that in the face of such a tragic event people, nations, and countries are supportive towards each others. This makes me believe that we still didn't fail as a human race. The sad part is - why can we sympathise and cooperate flawlessly only when such a tragedy takes place? Why can't we be the best of our human being nature in normal circumstances as well?