For the first time, Levi resort in Finland hosted a suopunki throwing championship on the last Saturday of August. Suopunki is a traditional rope used in reindeer herding to catch reindeer. More than one hundred participants from Finland, Sweden and Norway took part in the competition, YLE News reports.
A traditional rope as sporting equipment
Suopunki is a traditional throwing rope used to catch reindeer, including during their separation. At the competition, participants threw the suopunki loop over moving poles that served as targets.
Ellen Anne Sara from Inari won the women’s competition. She has been throwing suopunki since childhood because her family keeps reindeer. According to Sara, this type of competition is already very popular in Norway and attracts many participants. She believes it may soon become better known beyond reindeer-herding communities.
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Interest from tourists and participants
The competition’s organizer, tourism entrepreneur Janne Honkanen, said the event is intended to bring Finns and Sámi people together and introduce people to the traditional culture of reindeer herding. In his opinion, suopunki throwing could also interest foreign tourists who want to learn about the culture.
Participant Johan Daniel Eira from Kautokeino, Norway, noted that the result depends not only on skill but also on luck. According to him, weather and wind also affect performance. Czech participant Jan Habart, who held a suopunki for the first time on the day before the tournament, said he believed the sport should become Olympic.
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