The City of Kankaanpää wants to support the well-being and healthy lifestyles of young people in their pivotal years of life. The city offers free access to the city's gyms and swimming pool to all young people in Kankaanpää in the calendar year they turn 18. The measure is part of the implementation of the well-being plan (2025–2029) approved by the council.
Adolescence and early adulthood are stages of life in which physical activity and lifestyle habits often change. Physical activity, basic fitness, and musculoskeletal endurance are key factors in the overall well-being, health, and functional capacity of young people.
– The decrease in physical activity among young people has been identified as a national challenge. Preventive and low-threshold measures can support the formation of healthy lifestyles and promote equal opportunities for exercise, emphasizes the wellbeing and sports coordinator of the city of Kankaanpää Ilari Koykka.
The city's free use of the gym and swimming pool is part of the Government's Finland on the Move programme, which aims to increase physical activity in all age groups. The role of municipalities is central in implementing the programme's objectives.
The Culture and Leisure Committee has decided that all young people from Kankaanpää will be granted free access to the city's gyms (sports center and Honkala) and swimming pool for one year in the calendar year in which the young person turns 18. This year, the benefit applies to those born in 2008.
The goal is:
- increase physical activity and exercise opportunities for young people
- support physical function and overall well-being in the later stages of life
- promotes the establishment of healthy lifestyles
- implement the goals of the national Finland on the Move program locally
- strengthens equality and low-threshold sports services
Practical implementation:
- The right to free use of the gym and swimming pool is granted to all young people in Kankaanpää. for one year in the calendar year in which they turn 18.
- The benefit is temporary and does not carry over to subsequent years.
- The young person obtains the necessary access token at their own expense.
Additional information:
Ilari Köykkä, Wellbeing and Sports Coordinator, City of Kankaanpää, 044 577 2773, [email protected]
Photo: Martti Tikka / Kuvaseura Pikseli