Pond hockey for climate action – Nitor sponsors Save Pond Hockey tournament again

Save Pond Hockey tournament is a communal event for Nitor. Nitor joined as a sponsor and entered the tournament with its own team in 2019. Pond hockey, or shinny, is an informal type of hockey played on outdoor ice rinks or frozen natural bodies of water.

In a typical year, people would come with the families to cheer the Nitor Goats to victory. It’s a fun event to go to, and wear your team jersey! Whether we win or lose is secondary to the most important goal: having fun together and raising awareness about climate change. 

Photo: Marko Seuranen Photography

We play with serious intentions but a relaxed attitude. We had the Finnish national team coach Jukka Jalonen speak to Nitoreans on our strategy day: the whole team sat there absorbing every word. We train on occasion, mostly on outside rinks. We’ve compiled our own playlist, GOATS to the Fame, consisting of the most clichéd ice hockey anthems.

For me, pond hockey has been a life-long hobby. Growing up, we played pond hockey with classmates on the ice rink of Porolahti school in Roihuvuori, a neighbourhood in eastern Helsinki. Through my mother’s work back in the day, we sometimes had access to Jokerit ice-hockey team games. The rivalry between the two Helsinki teams, Jokerit and HIFK, was heated. I lived and breathed ice hockey in those days, even though I could not claim to be a proper player. Later through my children's hobbies, I found myself in a ringette team with other adult rookie players. I’ve been a part of Nitor’s team, Nitor Goats, since the beginning. 

Many Nitoreans have fond memories of playing pond hockey growing up. That is why we want to be a part of the movement against climate change. The evidence is there, as the graphs above demonstrate. We want our children to be able to enjoy playing on natural ice in the future as well.

Our team has, give or take a few, 20 players depending on the year. As grave as the topic is, as a team, our goal is to have fun, and we have an open-door policy: if you can skate, you’re welcome to join us! We have people of varied backgrounds involved. One of our players has managed to slide the puck behind NHL goalkeeper Tuukka Rask back in the day. Another one tried the same with Finnish women’s team goalkeeper Noora Räty but she would not succumb to the event. My career highlight is learning to stop before hitting the boards! We’re also very talented at postgame speculations that take place during Nitor’s social events. 

Apart from having something fun to do with your colleagues, Save Pond Hockey has an important message on climate change. Raising funds to save our winters is something we as a company want to support. Climate and sustainability are important matters for Nitor. We develop sustainable digital services which can be further developed and thus have a longer life cycle. We also examine our impact on the environment and strive to minimise negative impacts. In addition, we support different sustainability-driven organisations and events, such as Save Pond Hockey.

Save Pond Hockey was established by pond hockey players in Helsinki to unite and mobilize the global hockey community against climate change and to that end, organize tournaments. Half of profits from the tournaments are donated to local climate action projects. The first Save Pond Hockey tournament took place in Helsinki in 2015.

The next tournament, circumstances willing, will be played at Brahe sports field in Helsinki on February 11, 2023.