About SporttiStartti

Why is SporttiStartti needed and how does it work?

SporttiStartti is Monaliiku’s free and accessible physical activity and well-being programme for girls aged 9–18 with migrant backgrounds in Helsinki.

The programme offers a supported pathway from a first experience of sport towards more regular and personally meaningful physical activity. It aims to help every participant learn basic skills, recognise her strengths and make her own choices about how she wants to be active.

Further information and registration

Visit the dedicated registration pages to view the current groups, check the dates and register.

Why was SporttiStartti created?

SporttiStartti began in 2025. Through its work with girls and families, Monaliiku had identified that an interest in physical activity does not always lead to starting a hobby.

Participation can be made more difficult by:

• the cost of taking part

• limited information about available opportunities

• unfamiliar sports facilities and registration systems

• questions about equipment, clothing or travel

• uncertainty about personal skills or joining a new group

• families’ questions about the activities and their safety.

Several barriers can affect a girl at the same time. A free session does not solve everything if she does not know what will happen, what she should bring or whether she will feel welcome.

A survey conducted through Monaliiku’s Girls Can! project identified costs and limited information as particularly important barriers. The girls also said that enjoyment was their main reason for being physically active. The LIITU 2024 study and the City of Helsinki study on young people’s participation in organised activities also show that opportunities to participate vary according to gender, background, family resources and area of residence.

SporttiStartti does not regard migrant background as a problem. The programme focuses on the practical and social conditions that can make starting physical activity difficult.

Foundation of the model

SporttiStartti is based on the idea that regular participation requires three things: skills and confidence, a genuine opportunity to take part and a personal reason to continue.

How the SporttiStartti pathway works

1. Outreach and a welcoming start

Monaliiku reaches girls and families through its networks, direct communication and partner organisations. Before the activities begin, participants receive clear information about what will happen, where the group will meet and what they should bring.

2. Trying and learning

Participants practise in beginner-friendly groups. Longer sport blocks give them time to become familiar with the sport, the group and the instructor. They can learn basic skills without pressure to perform.

3. Skills, confidence and personal choices

Alongside physical activity, participants explore well-being, personal strengths and factors that influence participation. Girls can share what interests them, what feels difficult and what they would like to try next.

4. Information and support for families

Parents and guardians receive information about schedules, safety, clothing, equipment, costs and registration. Families can ask practical questions before the activities begin.

5. The next step

When a participant finds a sport she enjoys, Monaliiku can help her explore suitable opportunities to continue. The next step may be another SporttiStartti block, a municipal activity, a local sports club, another community activity or more independent physical activity.

The strength of SporttiStartti comes from connecting these stages. The programme creates a pathway between a first experience, learning, personal choice and possible continuation.

Participant feedback develops the programme

The first phase of SporttiStartti in 2025–2026 combined opportunities to try different sports with workshops on well-being, personal strengths and barriers to participation.

Participants asked for more time to practise each sport and support to continue an activity they enjoyed. Monaliiku used this feedback to develop the programme. In the current programme, many individual trial sessions have been replaced with sport blocks lasting several weeks.

The planned SporttiKamu model will also add peer support to the pathway. Girls who have progressed further in the programme may in the future encourage new participants and help them feel welcome. SporttiKamu peer supporters will work alongside professionals. They will not be responsible for instruction or safety.

Monaliiku’s expertise

Monaliiku has promoted the health, well-being and equal participation in physical activity of multicultural women and girls since 2009.

Monaliiku understands the questions families may have about costs, clothing, equipment, safety, schedules and unfamiliar sports. Its long experience in community work helps Monaliiku reach families, build trust and identify barriers to participation.

Sport-specific instructors are responsible for technical instruction. Monaliiku is responsible for reaching and welcoming participants, communicating with families, listening to participants and maintaining continuity between the different stages.

Safe and respectful participation

Participation in SporttiStartti must be safe, voluntary and respectful. Different starting levels, languages, clothing choices and ways of participating are respected.

Participants do not have to share personal experiences. Each participant decides what she wants to share. Photographs, videos and quotations are used only with appropriate consent. Refusing to be photographed does not affect participation.

SporttiStartti follows Monaliiku’s safer-space, non-discrimination and child safeguarding principles.

See SporttiStartti in practice