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We bet you haven't heard of this sport before
Enter the world of Pesäpallo with their beautiful venues, sponsor-filled uniforms, and get to know their inventor who has played in two Olympics + read the hot news from this week.
Pre-match briefing
Tervetuloa takaisin, which is ‘welcome back’ in Finnish. Why Finnish you might ask? Well, this week’s sport, kit, athlete AND venue of the week are all from Finland! Hope you enjoy learning a bit more about this exciting sport.
Scout’s Overview
📡 🚨 Weekly Sports Radar: Pesäpallo
This Finnish twist on baseball is a fast-paced game that has earned the title of Finland's national sport. Created in the early 1900s by Finnish athlete Lauri, the idea was sparked after he attended what he considered a “lacklustre” baseball game in America.
Unlike the traditional diamond-shaped baseball fields in the US, the Finnish version is played on a long, narrow arena. Instead of running counter-clockwise to score, players dash in a zigzag pattern, with each run covering progressively longer distances. Read more about the other differences between Baseball and Pesäpallosa here.
The Superpesis is the highest level of the Finnish pesäpallo league system which is contested by 13 clubs in men's league and 12 clubs in women's league.
Athlete of the week: Lauri Pihkala | Venue of the week: Hiukka Stadium |
 Credit: Wikimedia Commons |  Credit: Anders Portman |
Not only did this black-and-white image guy (Lauri) invent Pesäpallo, but he was an influential sports coach, writer, and champion track and field athlete who set multiple national records on the track while representing Finland at two Olympics. Yeah, he was THAT guy even before we were born. | Also known as Marjex Stadium for sponsorship reasons, this is a Pesäpallo stadium located in Sotkamo, Finland. Since its opening in 1946, it has been the home field of the Sotkamon Jymy, a Superpesis team. |
🧤 Fit Check: Sotkamon Jymy
No, we have no clue how many sponsors they have but it seems quite common (in Pesäpallo) to have sponsor-filled uniforms. This is Sotkamon Jymy’s uniform, a team that was founded in 1909, and has won the men's Finnish Pesäpallo Championship (Superpesis) 20 times! Insaneeeeeeee!
From the bench
🗞️ In case you were injured:
Six German track cyclists have been seriously injured after an 89-year-old drove a car head-on into the group
In even worse news, a father was killed when accidentally struck by a hammer during a hammer throw event in Colorado. Rest in Peace.
A massive wreck at the Daytona Speedway took out the majority of cars at the start of the Mazda Cup race
🎯 In over-time:
Even though environmental safety is increasing rapidly, the last thing I expected to see was this sewage-powered motorcar
Teenage snowboarder Hiroto Ogiwara landed a historic first-ever 2340 despite having a fractured arm
📊 Analyst’s corner:
Naomi Girma's $1.1 million transfer to Chelsea shattered the previous record of $788,000 by 39.4%, marking the third time Chelsea has broken the women's football transfer fee record in just four years
Pesäpallo is the second-biggest summer sport in Finland, right after football, and overall the fourth-most popular team sport. Pesäpallo has over 18,000 registered players
Kiitos.
(“Thank you” in Finish).
As usual, if you enjoyed reading The Gameplan, please consider forwarding it to your friends & family!!!!
Signing out,
Wahaab (brother #1)
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