65 Degrees North - News and views from Oulu

Where To Swim In Oulu

By Nina Lah

Friday, 27 April 2007

Having got herself a number of Oulu massages, 65DegreesNorth’s Nina Lah tries Oulu’s swimming pools for size.

Photo Ouka

If you haven’t heard about the Finnish traditional ice-hole swimming you definitely will if you stick around long enough. But most Finns still prefer slightly warmer conditions of indoor swimming-pools.

’Raksila’ swimming hall is designed for everybody, whether you want to really exercise or just relax. There is a 50 metre long pool divided into two parts with eight tracks, a smaller pool for children with a water slide and a multifunctional pool with massage points, powerful bursts of water. There is also a training pool for those learning to swim.

The temperatures of the pools vary from 26.5 in the big pool to 30 °C in the multi-functional pool.

Photo by Nina Lah

There are also diving boards which visitors can use if the swimming supervisor is informed of it in advance. They even have special jumping times at the weekend. Every day, there are several water gymnastics routines offered, ranging in difficulty level. If you want to try out how it feels to walk in water you can also borrow a belt to do exactly that.

Besides the swimming pools, the hall also has multiple exercise facilities including a gym, boxing, martial arts and dance facilities and a Cafe. Since Oulu swimming hall is very popular it can get quite crowded. According to Jenni Okkonen, who is in charge of customer service, the best time for swimming without bigger crowds is usually early mornings between 7.00 and 10.00 and before 16.00. It costs €4.20 to go swimming and there are various discounts as well as a saving if you buy a family ticket. Also, if you don’t have all the things you need for a good swim there is a small store selling everything from swimming glasses to all kind of helping products for children to learn how to swim.

One interesting fact about Oulu swimming hall is that from December 2006 on it is possible to see how many people are in the swimming hall with a help of Otos statistic measuring system. There are pictures of the swimming pools that updates every ten seconds. You can also read about different capacity statistics of daily and weekly number of visitors and an estimate of visitors for the next day.

Photo Ouka

Raati’s swimming hall offers special times for women’s aerobics in the afternoon. Besides the pool, Raati has a smaller gym and sauna. I decided to go there on a Sunday, expecting there would not be too many people. As with most Finnish pools, the changing room is communal and you must take a shower before going to the pool. Finnish public saunas reflect this idea. You are not allowed to go in with your swimming suit on or your towel. All you need is a small towel to sit on.

Photo by Nina Lah

The swimming pool is usually divided into lanes of which some are marked as taken, even though a lot of the times they are empty. On that Sunday two lanes were reserved for “water walking” and maybe ten women were slowly moving up and down the pool. My friend and I decided to take over one free lane and for about half an hour the swimming was perfect. But after that one very slow lady decided to join our lane and our swim was over. So if you want to have some peaceful swimming on Sunday I suggest coming before 10.00am.

Besides the 25 metre long pool there is also a small swimming pool for children. The temperature in the bigger one is 27.5 °C, which is perfect for swimming. The hall is open from Monday to Friday from 6.15 - 20.45 and on weekends from 9.00 - 16.45. Note that you have to go out from the swimming pool 20 minutes before closing.

Photo by Nina Lah

Prices in Raati swimming hall are a bit lower than in the previous one. Adult ticket costs 3 €, 15 tickets cost 38, 40 €. For those with discounts one time ticket is 1, 50 € and 15 tickets cost 17 €. When the time is reserved by the University the students pay only 1 € in both swimming halls.

‘Eden’ is the only Spa in Oulu. Since this is not your normal swimming hall the prices are higher. Eden is not meant for active swimming but more for relaxing. Besides the normal Finnish sauna, visitors can sweat in the exotic Turkish steam sauna or Roman-Irish sauna for both men and women.

The temperatures in the swimming pools vary from 30°C to 32°C. The outside pool is 27 °C.

In the pool there are two water slides, water massaging points, waves and a water current river. You can also visit their solarium or order a massage.

Opening hours are from 10.00 to 21.00 and the price for adults is 14 €, 8 € for discounted groups or 31 € for a families of four. Since Eden is a part of a hotel it has many more facilities to offer such as a restaurant, special face and body treatments and everything else that comes along with a hotel.

So whether you want an energetic swim or just to relax and wind down in the water Oulu has plenty of swimming pools to offer, varying in their prices and in their facilities.

Information

1. Oulu swimming hall, Pikkukankaantie 3, Oulu, tel. (08) 558 48100

For exact times go to the following web page: http://www.ouka.fi/liikunta/liikpalv/vesij.html

2. Raatti swimming hall, Raatinsaari, Oulu, tel. (08) 558 48120

http://www.ouka.fi/liikunta/k_ajat/ka_uimah.html#ouh

3. Eden (Tropical spa), Vellamontie 10, Nallikari, tel. (08) 550 4100

http://www.holidayclub.fi/portal/english/spa_hotels/holiday_club_oulu