The 2026 board of the Finnish Student Sports Federation (OLL) was elected at the General Assembly in Jyvaskyla.

The Assembly elected the 2026 Board of OLL with the new President being Martta Sopanen, a student of translational medicine at the University of Helsinki, who has also served on the board of the University’s student union.

She is joined by Vice Presidents Jenny Tynkkynen (sports-studies student, Haaga-Helia) and Matti Heikkila (Finnish-language student, University of Jyvaskyla).

The board also welcomes new members, Pekko Pirhonen (well-being coordinator, LUT University) and Rolands Jansons (student of Biomedical Engineering, Tampere University).

When comparing the 2026 board to this year’s composition, several changes have been introduced. Firstly, the new board will include one additional member. More significantly, the structure will shift from an acting board to a strategic board. In recent years, the president and both vice presidents have held full-time positions; however, beginning this year, only the president will serve full time. The vice presidents, along with the other board members, will transition to part-time roles, enabling them to continue their studies or professional careers alongside their work within the federation.

The Assembly issued a firm statement that the functional ability and physical fitness of higher-education students must be treated as a component of overall societal security. According to OLL, “an active lifestyle is not just a matter of individual well-being. It is a matter of national security.”  The statement notes that almost half of students do not achieve adequate physical activity levels, and that long hours of sedentary behaviour pose risks not only to personal health and study success, but to wider work-ability and crisis resilience.

As part of the General Assembly, the Finnish Student Sports Federation also awards two trophies each year.

The OLL Trophy is an annual prize awarded as recognition of work promoting university sports. This year, the OLL Trophy went to both the Laurea University of Applied Sciences and the Student Union of Laurea University of Applied Sciences Laureamko.

The Flame of the Year is a person with the joy and passion of student sports and selflessly uses their own time for the good of student sports and also inspires others to move and to exercise. This year's winner was the founder of a students’ martial arts club, Metropolia Martial Arts, Aleks Vaak.

For more information, please see: www.oll.fi