Tampere Outdoor Swimming Pool named Water Sports Venue of the year 2024
The Finnish Swimming Teaching and Lifesaving Association (SUH) and the Swimming Pool and Spa Technical Association (UKTY) have selected the Tampere Outdoor Swimming Pool as the Water Sports Venue of the Year 2024. The selection was made during the national swimming pool and spa days on 5 February 2025.
Opened in 2018, the outdoor pool has become a staple of Tampere's summer and set a new visitor record in 2024 with nearly 130 000 visits.
-Tampere Outdoor Swimming Pool has become a kind of summer living room for Tampere residents of all ages. I am particularly pleased that it offers something fun to do for young people who otherwise don't always find meaningful places to stay, says Kristiina Heinonen, SUH's Executive Director.
In addition to the diverse range of services, the selection emphasized the staff's strong educational background and excellent customer service. The effective safety and orientation practices for staff, which help ensure safe conditions for all visitors, also received praise.
Additionally, the jury appreciated the innovation that improves energy efficiency by combining the needs of the district cooling network, which requires cold, and the outdoor swimming pool, which requires heat, using heat pump technology. This solution enhances both energy efficiency and the economic viability of the entire outdoor swimming pool and swimming pool concept.
-Especially the professionalism and customer focus of the staff and the innovative energy solutions make the whole system exemplary, says Kristiina Heinonen.
The combination of the Tampere Outdoor Swimming Pool and the swimming centre is a great example of how traditional and modern solutions can be combined to serve customers efficiently and sustainably. The outdoor swimming pool was long awaited in Tampere and its opening in 2018 was a great contribution to wellbeing and mobility.
-In the design of the outdoor pool, we aimed to consider different user groups as well as possible. The large pool areas and extensive lawn area allow for both goal-oriented exercise and spending a summer day in the area, says Mikko Heinonen, Head of Sports.
-Particularly impressive is the large diving pool, which allows you to jump from a height of 10 metres at the highest point. The diving pool is especially popular among children and young people. It's wonderful that the value of the outdoor swimming pool has also been recognized nationally, sums up the pleased Sports Manager Heinonen.
SUH has chosen the swimming pool of the year from 1994 to 2016 and the water sports venue of the year since 2017. In 2024, the selection was made for the second time by a joint jury of SUH and UKTY.
