Pajulahti Sports Institute

[4] Since November 2015, Pajulahti Sports Institute has been officially Finnish National Olympic Training Center.

The centre eventually acquired its own gymnastics hall in 1937, while slightly earlier a swimming facility had been opened.

[7] Pajulahti served solely as a women's sports centre for nearly a decade, but after the opening of the gymnastics hall, the first men's courses were also held there.

The federation decided to launch a major funding-raising effort, with the aim of building a new sports institute.

The fund-raising was a great success, but rather than a new institute it was finally decided instead to expand the existing facilities at Pajulahti.

Pajulahti began to train sports instructors and this led to the formation of a second institute which fell within the sphere of central government financial aid.

[8] In 1952 the Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation decided to separate Pajulahti into an independent unit.

The next period of strong growth took place in the 1970s, when Pajulahti obtained a new main building with ball-game halls and a training pool for swimming.

In the late 1980s the main building was extended further and an indoor tennis facility and a new residential unit constructed.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Pajulahti was formed into a limited company, "Valtakunnallinen valmennus- ja liikuntakeskus Oy" in 1996.

Pajulahti is also used by the following sports activities: tennis, figure skating, swimming, judo, physical exercise for special groups, ice-hockey, volleyball and wrestling.