The WMA2009 Podium

A stylish podium for the World Masters Athletics Championships 2009

Next summer, the winners of the World Masters Athletics Championships will arise at the podium, which is designed and created as a co-operation project with the Institute of Design from the Lahti University of Applied Sciences. The second year students Isko Lappalainen and Ilkka Kelaranta designed the podium together, in which the surrounding buildings have been taken into consideration.

At the beginning of the project, Kelaranta and Lappalainen familiarized themselves with the spirit and soul of the World Masters Athletics Competitions and the competition venues.
- We wanted to bring the same kind of multilayer design to the podium that is used at the end of Ski Museum – building, says Ilkka Kelaranta, who studies industrial design. The podium will be placed in the Sport Centre between the buildings so that the ski jumping hills can be seen on the background.
In the opinion of the other designer, Isko Lappalainen, one of the starting points of the designing process was indeed to take the surrounding buildings into consideration.

- The podium and the back screen will be made out of aspen, explains Lappalainen, who studies to become a furniture designer. Lappalainen, who is originally from Mikkeli, has already studied a degree in carpenting.

Building friendships through volunteer work

The process for recruiting volunteers for World Masters Athletics Championships has livened up towards spring. The married couple Sirkka and Raimo Savinen has been a regular part of the volunteer groups in various sport events arranged in Lahti over the past years.

- It is nice to be a part of a group and do work that is needful and helpful, tells Raimo Savinen, who is working as a storage worker. The Savinens, who are engaged in many projects, only worry about not having as much time to visit their cottage as before. 
Sirkka has previously worked in catering, and tells she buys all the necessary products from inexpensive places.

- In addition, we have got to know very nice people, and some of them have even become our good friends, with who we visit each other, says Sirkka cheerfully.