Adapted groups

Physical activities for all 

Adapted physical activity is a relatively new term used to refer to what was earlier called special sports. The city’s Sports Services has applied adapted physical activity for a couple of years now.  

Adapted physical activity refers to physical activity for people who require adaptation to participate in physical activity and sporting activities due to disability, illness, lowered functional ability or social situation. The target groups of adapted physical activity are, in particular, people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and 65-year-olds whose functional ability has lowered significantly due to age, disability or a chronic illness. 

Adapted physical activity is also sometimes referred to as sports for all.  

Sports for all is to be organised such that it can be engaged in by all regardless of, for example, gender, sexual identity, age, education, mother tongue, ethnic background, functional ability or wealth.” (Finnish Society of Sport Sciences)  

To sum up, we are all equally entitled to physical activity and capable of engaging in some kind of physical activity. 

Helsinki Sports Services offers diverse opportunities for guided adapted physical activity around the city, such as adaptive swimming schools, swimming schools for the hearing impaired and EasySport Erityiset activities provided at schools. For adults and elderly people, we offer adapted group exercise and water workouts, balance and strength training, water exercise for people with underlying neurological diseases and gym training and water exercise for mental health rehabilitees and people with hearing impairment or intellectual disability. Our professional sports instructors adapt the exercises and provide options to ensure that everyone gets to move according to their fitness level. You can also bring your assistant with you to all the groups. You can register any time for a class of a course that is not yet full at liikuntakauppa.hel.fi.

Adapted physical activities are organised in collaboration with organisations and clubs. City residents can participate in the courses without being members of the respective organisation or association. Some collaborative courses are subject to a course fee. You can register directly with the organisation in question.

The Find Your Club service lets you easily get involved in club activities. The service is maintained by the Finnish Paralympic Committee. It allows you to look for suitable local clubs to engage in diverse hobbies.

See all of the adapted sport groups for children by City of Helsinki here (in Finnish)

See all of the adapted sport groups for adults and seniors by City of Helsinki here (in Finnish)