Red workers with white sails

Members at the Workers’ Sailing Club in Helsinki are busy with the autumn cleaning and putting boats in dry docks for the winter. Most are pensioners and identify as workers. There are also directors among the members, and in Finland, the two groups usually get along. Yet that was not always the case. 

Sailing was long considered to be a sport for rich people who had money, boats and spare time. Some might be surprised to hear that sailing can also be a “red” sport.

The Workers' Sailing Club has its harbour island next to the wealthy district of Brändö in eastern Helsinki. On the other side of the strait lies Brändö Sailors' club harbour. In the past, the sailing clubs competed for successful sailing talents. Now, things are much more peaceful.

The club also has a shipyard where it has been possible to build and repair boats since the start back in 2025. It has made it easier to manage the finances.

Together at work and play

Much of the sailing club’s activity is built on common voluntary work, known in both Swedish and Finnish as talko. The talko spirit is prevalent throughout workers’ sports. 

This is also something which is highlighted by Pekka Paatinen, Reidar Studnitzkij and Markku Vähäniemi as they take a break from cleaning boats. Not that they are in any rush. They are all retired and spend a lot of time with their boats.

Pekka Paatinen, Reidar Studnitzkij and Markku Vähäniemi say they do not talk much politics, but the ideology is still important.

They work together a lot in the spring and autumn and make the world a better place by enjoying a few beers during breaks. There are fewer and fewer trips out to sea, even though it's right nearby, explains Pekka Paatinen, a retired electrician.

His wife considered the club’s ideology so important that they chose this specific sailing club. Other workers have chosen the club because it is close to where they live in East Helsinki.

Civil War accelerated competition

The beginning of the Finnish workers’ sports movement was dramatic. A new organisation was needed after the bloody 1918 Civil War. Anyone who had supported the Reds – and survived – was excluded from the old sports clubs. The main association of Finnish sports supported the Whites. The conflict continued even though the war had ended.

This was also the beginning of political competition in sports. At the start, workers’ sports were not allowed to represent Finland at the Olympic Games. As late as the 1970s, you could find double sports clubs everywhere in Finland.

It created competition which now is considered to be healthy, leading to improved sporting achievements. Sports activities were also organised in workplaces.

Progress disappeared

The workers’ sports clubs had success in sports like boxing, bandy, swimming, football and athletics. But the “winning culture” has disappeared. Finland took no medals at all during the Summer Olympics in Paris – the worst achievement ever. 

Today, the Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation has 800 member clubs, but it has nearly completely stopped training and competitive activities. It focuses on youth and fitness sports instead. 

Their new vision is to focus on exercise for all, regardless of gender, age, economic situation, ethnic background or sexual orientation. 

Still a need for workers’ sports?

The Workers’ Sports Federation has been funded by the state, but some now ask whether there is still a need for sports organisations based on class and political convictions. With the new centre-right government, the state support is also under threat.

“Today, it feels outdated to talk about a working class, we no longer have this large group of people working in production,” says Henrika Backlund, Secretary General at Finlands Svenska Idrott SFI – an umbrella sports association for Swedish-speaking sports federations in Finland and Åland. She nevertheless sees workers’ sports as a valuable ideal in a historical context.

“There is a great need for someone to speak for the vulnerable in sports,” says Henrika Backlund. Organisations that make sport affordable for all families with activities everyone is welcome to participate in. Yet she believes the Finnish Workers' Sports Federation no longer represents this and has got stuck in a different century.

Sara Sirkiä has run the club restaurant at the Worker's Sailing Club for a long time. It is important for cohesion and the club economy.

Henrika Backlund herself is active in the workers’ sports organisation, as a member of a cycling club in her hometown in the west of the Uusimaa region. 

“I love this club. The atmosphere is so genuine, a spirit money can’t buy. Everyone is welcome and has equal worth, and we all gather around the sport and pull in the same direction.”

But she takes part because she enjoys the camaraderie, cooperation and cycling. She is not drawn in by “the realities of the factory floor”. 

Politically anchored

Sport in Finland is strongly politically anchored. The National Coalition Party and their supporters control the major central sports organisation and the Olympic Committee, Backlund points out.

“We need a counterforce that can speak for the poor and vulnerable, all kinds of minorities. This is where the Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation could be stronger and be the opposition they always have been,” says Henrika Backlund.

She underlines that this is often reflected in whose interests are represented and whose agendas are being pushed forward, and it is not those of the vulnerable. 

Finnish sports seem to revolve around politics and power struggles, often neglecting the best interests of individual sports, says Henrika Backlund.

The Finnish Workers’ Sports Federation has a general assembly in 2025, where it will have to address these issues. There is already an emphasis on political independence, even though the name for now remains tied to the workers.