Alavuden Peli-Veikot
Finnish multi-sport club with notable junior hockey program.
Alavuden Peli-Veikot (APV) is a sports club based in Alavus, Finland, founded in 1953 as a specialty football club. It is traditionally regarded as the first such club established in rural Finland. The club now fields teams in football, futsal, ice hockey, and pesäpallo, with its representative ice hockey teams competing in the men's II-divisioona and women's Naisten Mestis.
Quick Facts
- Formation
- 19 April 1953
- Founder
- Armas Korpela
- Membership
- 1,100
- Leader
- Timo Raisio
- Board of directors
- Jari Helander
- Ismo Hoskari
- Hanna Lassila
- Michael Ojala
- Päivi Paalanen
- Jari Sippola
- Kari Visavalta
- Affiliations
- Alajärven Ankkurit (Superpesis)
Facts from the source article.
History
Football reached Alavus from Vaasa and Tampere, first played at Jokivarren School in 1908. By the 1940s informal games occurred in local pastures and hayfields. Alavuden Urheilijat organized the first official football division in Alavus, with initial games in 1947. Interest in a specialty club existed early but economic issues delayed it until the municipality acquired the central sports field. The founding meeting of Alavuden Peli-Veikot took place at 1 pm on 19 April 1953 at the Kyntäjän Cooperative. Armas Korpela, then football chairman of Alavuden Urheilijat, invited former players via newspaper announcements and posters. The meeting minutes recorded 22 attendees, though contemporary accounts describe a crowd extending down the stairs. Anselm Anttila represented the Football Association of Finland. Alavuden Urheilijat donated all its kits, balls, and equipment to the new club. APV joined the Football Association of Finland on 18 May 1953 and was registered on 14 September 1953. The club supported a community-funded skating rink project, with donations from Urmas Seppä, his wife, pharmacist Hannes Leinonen, Mr. Hakkola of Hakkola Sawmill, and Nepa Sinkkonen, who converted a truck engine into a water pump for ice resurfacing. The rink closed after several years due to unsustainable operating costs.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey became part of APV's program in 1964. The men's representative team plays in the Keskimaan lohko of the II-divisioona and won the regional championship in 2012–13, reaching the Suomi-sarja qualifiers without promotion. APV's junior program produced Kärpät forward and Olympic bronze medalist Saila Saari, goaltender Pekka Tuokkola, coach Tuomas Tuokkola, defenceman Lauri Taipalus, and rally driver Jari-Matti Latvala.
More in Ice Hockey Teams in Finland
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