History

In the mid-1970s, gymnastics at the Tapiola Sports Hall was run on a small-scale by the Espoo City’s Sports Commission. At the beginning of 1978, the Finnish Gymnastics Federation took over the task, whilst, at the same time, it was decided that a special gymnastics club would be established in the community. This happened in May 1978 and the club was renamed Espoon Telinetaiturit. Yrjö Wegelius, the father of the well-known figure skater “Tintti” Wegelius, was elected the first chairperson. The other members of the board were acquired mainly from the family members of the organisers.

EsTT has been involved in gymnastics for boys and girls ever since its inception. At the turn of the 1980s, rhythmic gymnastics and, in the early 1990s, TeamGym came into play. The Ponnari group for children and youth with development problems began its activities in 1996, and by the turn of the millennium, trampoline gymnastics groups and adult gymnastics groups were formed. In 2004, baby aerobics and children’s ballet were added.

The chairpersons of Espoon Telinetaituri from 1978-2004 were Yrjö Wegelius, Lyly Teppo, Juhani Hämäläinen, Yrjö Venna, Kirsti Peuralinna, Ann-Britt Rajala, Pentti Lipponen, Ann-Britt Rajala (again), Risto Nylund, Jari Ahlqvist and Vuokko Rantanen. During 2009, EsTT was chaired by Eero Lampén. Other members of the Board of Directors are elected annually at the autumn meeting

The club’s longest-standing coaches have been Timo Tālio, Outi Leiste, Petri Leiste and Maarit Heikura. EsTT’s first gymnasts were Päivi Häkkinen (later Toivonen) and Eeva Huttunen on the girls ‘side and Ari and Timo Jääsalo on the boys’ side.

Competitive activities flourished in the 1990s

As the 1990s began, the club’s top gymnasts rose to the top of Finland and have since represented Finland in national, Nordic, European and World Championships. Men to be mentioned included Jiri Nurmi, Jani Winterhalter, Samuel Sipinen, Olli Torkkel and Eero Lampén. On the women’s side, Annette Rajala has achieved success.

The EsTT women’s gymnastics team won the European Championship gold medal in Athens in 1995 and the European bronze medal in 1994. Under the guidance of their coach Tiina Tapionlinna, the EsTT gymnastics team of the new millennium has won several Finnish medals and has represented Finland in major competitions.

The club’s competitive groups include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, TeamGym, trampoline gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics, other activities include adult gymnastics, baby aerobics, ballet, trick school and a special group for members with development problems, Ponnari. EsTT also organizes a variety of sports camps for school-age children during summer and ski holidays.

Over the years, the club has grown to become a diverse gymnastics club in Espoo. Annually there are approximately 2000 gymnasts and about 70-80 coaches and instructors at EsTT.

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