Kontiolahti Sport Club was established in 1956 under the name "Niemen Veto". In the beginning, the club's sports included athletics, biathlon, orienteering and shooting. Athletics was later left out and the club specialised in the three other areas. At first the club attracted only adult male sport enthusiasts, because there were no organised youth activities. Some help with the coaching was provided by the Finnish Armed Forces.
In the beginning, juniors could not take part in biathlon because of the high-pressure rifle used in the early days. When the small-bore rifle became the official competition rifle in 1978, juniors could also take part in the sport. With the result four boys took part in district championships. Junior biathlon had thus begun in Kontiolahti.
The two other areas, orienteering and shooting were not forgotten either. National competitions as well as district championships were organised annually. Success in every sport was good, especially in team competitions and relays.
The club changed its name for the first time in 1982, when it became "Kontiorannan Urheilijat". It was located close to a military base, so the name was changed in order to make the sports club widely known as one next to the military base of Kontioranta. From the club's view, being close to the base was an advantage and co-operation was smooth.
At first, auxiliary activities were scarce. The club drew money by organising dance events in Uuro and from competitions' participation fees. During the 80's PR-activities came to existence after releasing the first calendar of events. Since then, also commercial advertising signs have also appeared to the biahtlon stadium.
According to our former president, Jyrki Norismaa, and our former treasurer, Eino Päivinen, the spirit of voluntary workers has always been good and highly appreciated.
A couple of years after changing the club's name to Kontiorannan Urheilijat, it was time to change it again. This time we wanted the name to express the municipality where the club comes from, so the name was changed to "Kontiolahden Urheilijat" (Kontiolahti Sport Club). |
