The swimming season has begun!
The swimming season began on 15 June and will continue until the end of the summer. Now you can shed those clothes and take a dip!
The beaches of Helsinki are ready for swimmers. The water is warm enough to swim, even though outdoor temperatures at the start of the summer were somewhat disappointing. In June, water temperature at beaches reached as high as 21 °C, although during the Midsummer week it remained at around 13-17 °C.
“During the hot days of early June, as many as 300-400 swimmers visited the beach, which is average for us on a sunny day,” explains Reetta Auvinen, life guard at Aurinkolahti beach.
Of all the beaches, 13 are classified as major public beaches (“EU beaches”), which are visited daily by about 100 swimmers. The other 15 are small local beaches.
Helsinki’s beaches were inspected just before Midsummer for water quality, facilities, safety and tidiness. The water quality of all the beaches was good, and no blue-green algae was found on any of them.
Besides swimming, many of the beaches offer visitors an opportunity to play ball games such as basketball or beach volleyball. The larger beaches are supervised in all weather conditions.
“There are not that many visitors on a rainy day, but we still have to turn up for work. Each morning, the life guards ensure that life-saving equipment is in working order and measure the water temperature,” says Auvinen as she describes her work.
The City of Helsinki Environment Centre monitors the water quality of public beaches throughout the swimming season. The situation concerning blue-green algae and water quality can be checked on the Environment Centre’s website.
The water temperature and blue-green algae status of Munkkiniemi, Hietaniemi and Aurinkolahti beaches are measured and the information is uploaded onto the website, where visitors can check the situation before setting off for the beach.
If the water temperature seems on the low side, or it is raining, the enthusiastic swimmer need not make the trip and end up being disappointed. Swimmers at one of Helsinki’s outdoor pools, at Kumpula and Uimastadion, are not affected by adverse weather conditions. At these pools one can warm up in a sauna before taking a dip in the pool.
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Text: Riikka Hemmilä
Photo: City of Helsinki Picture Bank / Mika Lappalainen
Töölö sports hall
