Ilves ry
Tampereen Ilves
Pronunciation
  • IPA: [ˈilʋes]
Named afterEurasian lynx
Established10 April 1931; 93 years ago (1931-04-10)
FounderNiilo Tammisalo
TypeSports club
HeadquartersRieväkatu 12
33540 Tampere
Finland
Fields
Membership (2019)
5,637
Chairperson
Kari Pansio
Vice Chairs
Jarmo Huhtala
Jukka Hirsimäki
SubsidiariesFC Ilves
Ilves FS
Ilves Naiset
AffiliationsIlves-Hockey Oy
WebsiteOfficial website

Ilves ry (pronounced [ˈilʋes]; Finnish for "Lynx"; see ry) is a sports club based in Tampere, Finland. With over 5,500 members it is the largest sports club in Finland.[1][2] The club offers programs in floorball, football, futsal, ice hockey, and ringette, with several teams representing the club in their respective Finnish Championship leagues, the highest level of national sport competition in Finland.

Overview

edit

The Ilves programs for children and adolescents in floorball, football, and ringette have been designated as a Vihreä Tähtiseurat (Green Star Clubs) by the Finnish Olympic Committee. The designation identifies the programs as building particularly strong foundations in their respective sports while also providing platforms for youth to develop into top athletes within frameworks of increased support for both players and their families.[3]

Inactive departments

edit

The club has previously operated departments in American football, bandy, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, figure skating, handball, streetball, and volleyball. The Ilves cheerleading program became an independent organization, called Dream Team Cheerleading DTC ry, in ****.

History

edit

Ilves was founded on 10 April 1931 by a group of 30 men and boys called together by Niilo Tammisalo at the lyceum in Tampere.

Floorball

edit

Ilves' floorball (Finnish: salibandy) program was established in 1995.

  • 203 players, 12 teams[4]
  • 177 clubs? (salibandykerhot)

Representative men's floorball team

edit
  • Ilves men's representative team, Miesten 2. divisoona (Salibandyn 2-divisioonan Sisä-Suomen)[5]

Football

edit

Football (Finnish: jalkapallo) is Ilves' most popular sport with nearly 4,400 active players as of 2019.

There are 702 players across Ilves’ 48 elite club teams. The teams span from boy’s and girl’s F-level Junioriedustus (Elite Juniors), for which 8 and 9 year olds are eligible, to the men’s and women’s representative teams, which both compete at the premier national level.

The Ilves Futis-Liiga (lit.'Footy League') has been operating as a subsidiary of the club since 1975. It’s mission is to make recreation-level football accessible to hobbyists of all ages in the greater Tampere area. The league is divided into four geographic areas (North, West, South, and East) with each area further subdivided into 3 or 4 districts; there are thirteen districts in total.[6] Teams in each district are organized by age; the youngest players begin at 5 years of age and the eldest players are eligible to play up to age 70. As of 2019, the Futis-Liiga had 3,695 players representing 309 teams.[7]

Representative teams

edit

The men's and women's representative football teams are operated by Ilves Edustus Osakeyhtiö (Oy), a limited company that is entirely owned by Ilves ry. Ilves Edustus Oy was formed in 2012 and has reported positive financial gains in every year of its operation.[8]

Men's team

edit

An Ilves' men's representative football team was first established with the founding of the club in 1931. The current iteration of the team was formed via merger with the men's representative teams of Ilves-Kissat and Tampellan Palloilijat in 1975. They first competed in the Veikkausliiga, Finland’s premier men’s football league, in 1979 and have most recently played in the league since 2015.[9]

Ilves men’s representative football team has won one Finnish Championship, in 1983, and three Finnish Cups, in 1979, 1990, and 2019.[10][11]

Women's team

edit

Ilves' women’s representative football team [fi] compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, Finland’s premier women’s football league, where their best finish was Finnish Championship silver in 2015.[12][13]

Futsal

edit
  • 91 players, 7 teams.

Futsal-Liiga team

edit
  • Ilves FS, Futsal-Liiga:
    • Finnish Champion (8): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
    • SM Silver (3): 2002, 2006, 2009
    • SM Bronze (2): 2001, 2015
    • Winner of the Futsal Cup : 2006, 2010, 2011
    • Super Cup Winner : 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011

Naisten Futsal Liiga team

edit
  • Ilves Futsal Naiset, Naisten Futsal Liiga
    • Finnish Champion: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
    • Winner of the Futsal Cup: 2014

Ice hockey

edit

Naisten Liiga

edit

Ilves men's hockey

edit

Ilves had a subsidiary premiere-division men’s hockey team from the club’s founding in 1931 until ????. In ???? the men’s team created an independent organization, Ilves-Hockey Oy, . The club has maintained strong ties with the

Ringette

edit
  • 6 teams (F, E, D, C, B Junior, and Women’s representive)
  • 150 players and coaching staff

Representative team

edit
  • Representative team plays in the Ringeten SM-sarja, the premier league in Finnish ringette.[14]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Seuraesite | Ilves ry". ilvesry.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Ilves ry (Homepage)". Ilves ry. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Tähtiseurat - seurojen laatuohjelma" [Star Clubs - a club quality assessment program] (in Finnish). Finnish Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Jäsenistö | Ilves ry". ilvesry.fi. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Alueelliset sarjat: Sisä-Suomen miesten 2. divisioona" [Regional Series: Central Finland Men's 2nd Division] (in Finnish). Finnish Floorball Federation. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  6. ^ "Ilves ry: Jalkapallo - Futis-Liigan aluejako" [Ilves ry: Football - Futis-Liiga divisions]. ilvesfutisliiga.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Ilves ry: Jalkapallo - Futis-Liiga". ilvesfutisliiga.fi. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  8. ^ Ruissalo, Pekka. "Vai ettei jalkapallo ole kannattavaa liiketoimintaa? – Ilves Edustus teki historiansa parhaan taloudellisen tuloksen". Tamperelainen (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Ilves Jalkapallo" (in Finnish). Ilves Edustus Oy. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  10. ^ Pietarinen, Heikki (13 December 2018). "Finland - List of League First Level Tables". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Finland: Tampereen Ilves - Trophies". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  12. ^ "Ilves Jalkapallo - Naiset". Ilveksen Naiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Finland: Naisten Liiga - Ilves Tampere". Soccerway. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Naisten Ykkössarja". Suomen Kaukalopallo- ja Ringetteliitto ry. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
edit