Activating students in the municipalities and counties

Exercise promotes physical wellbeing and mental health and improves and maintains the ability to study, creating a solid foundation for good work ability and maintaining it. Exercise is a key part of preventive and rehabilitative healthcare, and investing in it reduces the costs of medical treatment.

Most exercise services used by students are provided by municipalities and university sports. Wellbeing services counties pay an important role in the development of regional exercise policies and, for example, the coordination of exercise counselling.

Good exercise facilities for students also benefit all local residents. Exercise facilities and the community spirit they create increase wellbeing and help students integrate with other students and also with the area after graduation.

We at the Finnish Student Sports Federation consider it important that councillors both in the wellbeing services counties and municipalities recognise the importance of exercise for wellbeing. We are offering councillors four solutions to promote an active lifestyle of not only students but also all other residents.

Solution 1: Making student exercise a strategic target

The wellbeing services counties and municipalities should include students in their strategies and plans for exercise promotion as a separate group alongside children and young people. Special attention should be paid to those who do not exercise enough. Student organisations should be involved when drawing up strategies and plans. Wellbeing reports and strategic assessments should include metrics about the levels of exercise done by students.

Solution 2: Local exercise part of functional city

Municipalities should build areas in the city that enable exercise by bike or on foot. This not only means pedestrian and bicycle traffic but also convenient park-and-ride arrangements and bicycle racks, inexpensive city bikes, better accessibility and well-times snow clearance and gritting.

Outdoor gyms should be built near campuses and other key locations based on the wishes of the local residents. Municipalities should work together on the construction of the above with student housing foundations, higher education institutions and student organisations. Students access to recreational routes should be ensured with good public transport and pedestrian and bicycle connections.

Solution 3: Student exercise at low cost

In the context of municipal exercise services, students should be considered a low-income group, helping them to do exercise by means of students discounts. In addition to discounts, students should be introduced to the services with annual sports vouchers. Municipalities should also make their sports facilities available to students at low cost or for free at reasonable times of the day.

Solution 4: Better service chain for exercise counselling

Wellbeing services counties should develop their service chains with student health care and university sports services to enable students quick access to exercise counselling provided by municipalities and wellbeing services counties. Wellbeing services counties and municipalities should introduce a mini intervention model to discuss the importance of exercise.