SPORTS SERVICES

Merikarvia offers a wide range of sports services. The municipality invests in the well-being of its residents and tourists by offering a wide range of different forms of exercise in nature, indoor, outdoor and water sports.

Exercise and lifestyle guidance for adults

Inactivity, poor fitness and being overweight significantly increase the risk of developing diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Inactivity can also lead to premature death. Adopting an active lifestyle requires long-term work and often external help and motivation.

MerikarviaThe municipality offers free exercise and lifestyle guidance to its residents who are not exercising enough for their health.

The client relationship lasts about a year. During this time, the focus is mainly on exercise advice, discussing nutritional habits and the impact of sleep and recovery on everyday functioning.

The guidance begins with a baseline assessment and getting to know each other. The first weeks and months are individual guidance, where the client and the counselor work together to find, among other things, pleasant exercise methods and an everyday rhythm for the client, in small steps.

The counselor's job is to guide, advise, and encourage the client throughout their entire membership, as well as monitor progress in adopting healthy lifestyles.

The goal is that after the customer relationship ends, the customer no longer needs individual guidance and has adopted exercise and healthy lifestyles as part of their everyday life.

If you feel that exercise and lifestyle counseling could be beneficial for you, please get in touch. You can contact the exercise counselor directly by phone or by filling out the contact request found behind the link, and the counselor will contact you.

Contact request for exercise and lifestyle guidance

For more information, please contact your municipality's physical education instructor.

Physical activity and lifestyle guidance for children and families Merikarvialla

According to statistics, approximately 2% of Finnish boys and approximately 6% of girls aged 27-16 are overweight. Being overweight in a child poses a major health risk to the child's growth and development. Therefore, the causes of a child's overweight should be addressed as early as possible. The most common causes of a child's overweight are the family's eating and exercise habits, which is why the family's everyday activities and management should be examined as a whole.

MerikarviaThe municipality wants to promote the well-being of children in their early years by offering children and their families free physical activity and lifestyle guidance. The aim of the guidance is to create healthy everyday routines for the child that support the child's growth and development. The guidance involves in-depth consideration of the child's and family's physical activity and nutritional habits, screen time, and rest. The guidance is individual and the aim is to find ways to promote the child's well-being that are suitable for each child and family, taking into account the family's life situation and resources.

The guidance begins with a meeting with the child and guardian, where the initial situation is explored and mapped out. At the beginning, goals are jointly drawn up with the child and guardian, aiming to achieve new routines in everyday life at the child's pace. In the future, the meetings can be individual meetings with the child and the family, for example in connection with school or day care. The number and duration of the guidance meetings are adjusted according to the situation of each child and family, as well as the goals. The aim is to keep physical activity and lifestyle guidance as face-to-face meetings, but remote meetings are also possible if necessary.

In guidance, changes are made through joy without putting too much strain on the family. Achieving changes requires time and repetition. In the best case, the whole family benefits from the child's physical activity and lifestyle guidance.

Together, let's create the opportunity for your child to adopt healthy lifestyles!

If you feel that physical activity and lifestyle guidance for children and families with children could be beneficial for you, please get in touch. You can contact the physical activity instructor directly or fill out the contact request found behind the link.

Contact request for exercise and lifestyle guidance

For more information, please contact your municipality's physical education instructor.

MerikarviaThe municipality has a wide range of opportunities for physical activity. Guided exercise groups can be found at the municipal leisure service, Merikarvia-Organized by Siikainen Community College, sports clubs and private operators, widely for different target groups and those interested in different sports.

You can find the supervised groups and lesson descriptions for the fall 2026 physical education program via the link below.

Physical activity guided groups and lesson descriptions

If you need help finding a physical activity, you can contact the municipal physical education instructor at 0447246330.

What is a web scale?

Verkkopuntari is a program developed by the Satakunta Heart Association to support permanent lifestyle changes and weight management. The main themes are nutrition, exercise, resources and rest.

You have access to online course material, self-monitoring, and exercise and link tips for a year.

The program begins with a 12-week guided phase, followed by a maintenance phase. During the guided phase, you have the opportunity to receive online guidance from a lifestyle guidance professional.

The activity is focused online, but may include an agreed number of face-to-face meetings with your instructor.

You need an internet connection and a device (computer, tablet or phone) to participate.

You can find more information about the online weight scale at the link below.

Additional information: Enni Aaltonen 0447246330, enni.aaltonen@merikarvia,fi. 

WATER SHOP CAMPAIGN 1.-31.10.2026

MerikarviaThe Finnish Sports and Recreation Department will organize the Vesitsemppi aquatic exercise campaign for the first time in October 2026. The sports services want to encourage everyone to engage in effective and well-being-promoting aquatic exercise. The campaign is aimed at exercisers of all ages and levels, and the target group for applied exercise has also been taken into account.

You can find the campaign series at the link below. For more detailed instructions on how to participate, please contact the swimming pool staff.

Water Champion campaign series

For more information about the campaign, please contact the swimming pool staff or physical education instructor Enni Aaltonen at 044 7246 330 or by email at enni.aaltonen@merikarvia.fi.

MOVING THROUGHOUT THE YEAR CAMPAIGNS

MerikarviaThe municipality is participating in a three-campaign package organized by Liiku ry. The package includes the LiikU in winter, LiikU challenge cycling and LiikU in autumn campaigns.

The campaigns encourage people of all ages and levels to exercise all year round. Merikarvia belongs to the ranking of municipalities with fewer than 5000 inhabitants, where they compete against other participating municipalities.

You can find more information about the campaigns and the municipal ranking at the link below.

Autumn Exercise campaign

The campaign will be held between May 1.9 and June 30.11.

The aim of the campaign is to challenge and motivate you to get moving, so you can participate in the campaign according to your own mileage goals. The forms of exercise include various outdoor sports in the autumn; frisbee golf, walking, Nordic walking, running, cycling, mountain biking, canoeing, hiking, roller skiing and skating, swimming and orienteering. The campaign also takes into account applied exercise, so it is suitable for everyone, regardless of age or level.

Kilometers are recorded either on the mobile recording platform or on the results recording slips available from the Rysä leisure centre. The results recording slips must be returned to the Rysä cashier no later than 1.12 December so that your kilometers can be recorded in the overall results.

Learn more about the campaign and mobile registration instructions via the links below.

Campaign contact person Enni Aaltonen, enni.aaltonen@merikarvia.fi, 044 7246330

Swimming schools

Leisure center in Rysä MerikarviaSwimming schools for children are organized in the swimming hall during the summer after school. The swimming schools for summer 2027 will be published during spring 2027.

Swimming school requirements:

Elementary swimming schools:
– no requirements
– aimed at around 4-7 years old

Elementary and advanced swimming schools:
– dare to dive
– already knows how to float
– already knows a little bit about mole and basic backstroke
– can survive in the shallow end of a large pool

Technical swimming schools:
– 50-meter continuous swimming
– readiness to practice the techniques of different swimming sports
– readiness to perform swimming cues
– can also survive in the deep end of a large pool

InBody body composition measurement

The Rysä Leisure Centre's sports services offer the option of an InBody body composition measurement. The measurement provides a variety of information about body composition, such as muscle mass, fat mass and fluid balance. It is suitable for monitoring your own well-being and training, for example.

Tariff:

• One-time measurement €35
• Three-measurement package €80

In the three-measurement package, you can decide the measurement interval according to your own goals and needs.

It is also possible to purchase a gift certificate for the InBody measurement, which is suitable as a wellness gift, for example.

For more information and to make an appointment, call 044 7246330/ Enni Aaltonen or enni.aaltonen@merikarvia.fi