Sportbuddy activities for children and young people

• To motivate, encourage and support children to take up a sport. 
• To prevent exclusion by increasing participation in hobbies and creating positive experiences of being part of a group. 
• To provide children with a positive perception and experiences of hobbies and physical activity as well as to help them understand their importance for their overall well-being. 
• To support and encourage guardians to increase their child’s participation in hobbies. The sportbuddy activities emphasise the role of guardians and, when needed, provide them with guidance in matters relating to their child’s hobbies. 
• To raise awareness of the recreational opportunities in the neighbourhood. 

The activities are organised during the school day, for example, during breaks and in the mornings and afternoons right around school hours. The sportbuddies organise a variety of groups, hobby clinics, experiments and events.

In the 2023–2024 school year, the activities are organised at Lehtikuusen koulu, Rajakylän koulu and Martinlaakson koulu.
The activities can be joined by contacting the school’s sportbuddy (firstname.lastname@vantaa.fi):

• Tomi Hyvönen (Martinlaakson koulu)
• Nico Valve, Veera Pulkkinen (Lehtikuusen koulu and Rajakylän koulu)

The activities organised outside of school hours provide individual support for children who are looking for a hobby. The sportbuddies will accompany the children in the activities that they are interested in. Depending on the hobby, the activity may be either individual or group-based.

The sportbuddy activities organised outside of school hours are open to all comprehensive school pupils in Vantaa. The activities can be joined by contacting the school nurse, social worker, psychologist or teachers.