- When one of Finland’s largest and most successful badminton clubs refreshes its brand identity, it takes a big team of volunteers to make it happen. The work has been guided by the club’s core values — community, courage, and human‑centredness — and the result will hopefully make these visible to both current and future members, emphasizes Tapion Sulka’s Executive Director Tarja Arkio.
In renewing the brand identity, special attention was paid to the fact that of the club’s more than 700 members, about 450 are under 18 years old. The club’s communications committee took on a major and responsible role in the process, and the bold first drafts by social‑media communicators Lumia Schmidt and Sara Sundelin gave the project a dynamic start. Various stages of the process involved both the club’s board and external design and consulting support. The club’s summer employee Alicia Gras was responsible for updating the club’s materials.
Tapion Sulka’s original, freehand‑drawn feather has been simplified and complemented with several feathers — symbolizing the club’s sense of community and human‑centred approach. The traditional, also hand‑drawn club name has been modernized with a slightly lighter font and given space around it — room to act boldly, in line with the club’s values.
The new logo and brand identity were unveiled at the club’s 66th anniversary celebration on August 25. The club is updating its website, social‑media accounts, and the look of the Esport hall to match the new brand. At the same time, the club shirt was redesigned in collaboration with its long‑time partner FZ FORZA, now part of Sports Group Denmark. The new club shirts can be ordered from the website at a campaign price until September 15, after which they will be available at the regular price. A hoodie, pants, and competition shirt have also been selected from FZ FORZA’s new collection.
Order here: https://tapionsulka.myclub.fi/flow/events/11444114
Welcome to Tapion Sulka's Six Week Badminton Courses!
For families we offer Family Badminton (4-6 year old child + adult) on Thursdays (price 90€) and for adults Beginner courses on Fridays (price 110€)!
The course includes six (6) training sessions at Esport Center, coaching, court rental, and shuttlecocks.
An excellent 4-hour camp for badminton enthusiasts born in 2015 and younger in Matinkylä, Espoo on Saturday, March 14!
The CJS Camp (CityJunnuSulkis) is an event created as a continuation of the super popular CJS tournaments for young badminton players in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The camp brings together juniors and coaches from several clubs to practice and play badminton together for one morning/early afternoon. We warmly recommend all players who have participated in CJS tournaments, as well as brand-new beginners, to join the camp! The goal is to make these camps a regularly recurring event several times per season in the future.
March Camp Details:
The long-running CJS tournaments are a great way to try competing in a relaxed environment and to play as evenly matched games as possible against new opponents outside your own training group. The tournaments do not require a license and last approximately 4 hours on Saturday mornings/early afternoons, making participation easy and low-threshold. Three tournaments are held in the autumn and three in the spring.
On-site registration takes place from 9:00 to 9:30 AM, and the tournament begins at 10:00 AM. The venue for the tournaments is Talihalli in Helsinki (Huopalahdentie 28, 00350 Helsinki).
The remaining CJS tournaments this spring are on April 18 and May 23.
The event kicks off at 10:00 a.m at Esport Center with a double tournament and you can come to warm up already at 9.30 am. The tournament is open to players of all ages and skill levels. It is free of charge and serves as a substitute for one ranking competition. Points from this tournament will not affect the ranking list.
Participants are required to bring their own shuttles, but they can also be purchased from the event organizers. The tournament will be played in pools, ensuring multiple matches for all pairs. Each pair will also get one or more follow-up matches. The most important part is to have fun and enjoy playing games together!
Please register before Thursday 11.12. at 15.00 via this link: https://forms.gle/EJxvsm8coz6z5qna9. Both you and your partner must register for the event! Unfortunately, it is not possible to register without a partner, and it will not be possible to register at the hall on Saturday. We have added levels (competitive and hobby) and age to the registration form to allow players to challenge opponents of their own level. At the request of the players, we are updating the names of those who have registered with this news, so please mark your name on the registration form if you do not want your name to appear (names will be removed after this event).
The tournament includes a costume competition, with a prize for the best team outfit. For example, your outfit can be Christmas-themed.
If you have any questions, please contact: an.cong@hotmail.com
See you at the pre-Christmas event!
Juniors' Team and Skill competition is arriving again in November! On Saturday, November 15, 2025, hopefully a large group of young badminton enthusiasts will gather at Esport Center to compete as teams against other clubs and teams both on the badminton court and in various skill challenges.
In the Skill and Team Competition, a badminton team competition is played, as well as the "Taitokisa"= Skill competition, which includes a skills course and a badminton quiz. The competitions are separate and both are contested as teams. Almost all the age groups have separate hobby category and competitive category, meaning that players of all levels are welcome to the event! At the end of the day, all participants will receive a participation award, and the best performing teams will be awarded with team trophies. The event has always been extremely popular, a unique place for juniors to experience team play in badminton and spend a fun day with their club mates.
The following categories are played in the competition:
U9 (2017 born and younger)
U11, Hobby and Competitive categories (2015 & 2016)
U13, Hobby and Competitive categories (2013 & 2014)
U15, Hobby and Competitive categories(2011 & 2012)
Those participating in the competitive categories need a license, which can be bought through Suomisport. U9 category and hobby categories doesn't require a license. Hobby categories are very suitable for players who have been to less or no competitions, the level is moderate there. Having fun, learning new things and meeting new friends is more important than winning. Entry fee for U9 category is 10€ and for other categories 25€.
Registration for the competition happens through your own club. Ask your club's coach who will assemble the teams for your club (Tapion Sulka players registrations to Nella by email at nella@tapionsulka.fi). If your club cannot find a team for the junior's age group, it is recommended to contact other clubs if you could join their team. This is how it has been done for many years with players coming from smaller clubs, we try to get everyone into the competition who wants to join! Hopefully your coach can help you with this, or you can contact other clubs yourself.
During the day, lunch is available at the hall. Lunch must be booked in advance when registering! Chicken pasta + salad and bread are available, for €9. Allergies special dietaries are taken into account.
Summary of the important details
When: On Saturday 15.11.2025
Where: Esport Center, Koivu-Mankkaan tie 3, Espoo
What: Season's best junior event
How: Registrations through your own club. Remember to book lunch if you wish
For who: All juniors born in 2011 after, for all the experienced competitors, novice competitors and also hobby players
See you there!
Here you can check the atmosphere of the 2020 and 2018 competitions:
Tapion Sulka has been steadily moving towards the future, developing both its coaching expertise and a strong, community-driven club culture. The club’s strategy is grounded in a humane, learning-oriented approach that combines high-performance sports with lifelong physical activity. The role of the new executive director is central to leading and developing this overall vision – with the responsibility of turning strategic goals into concrete actions in everyday operations and ensuring that the club continues to grow as a strong, influential, and sustainable force in Finnish badminton.
The recruitment process for a new executive director, conducted over the spring, has now been completed. The application round was highly competitive, with over 40 qualified candidates applying for the position. After two rounds of interviews, Tarja Arkio was selected for the role.
We’ll get to know Tarja better as the new season begins, but here’s a message from her as we head into summer:
"I’m truly excited to join Tapion Sulka on its journey. The club has a strong drive to grow and lead the way in Finnish badminton, and I believe we’ll achieve a lot together. And the foundation we’re building on is something to respect: for 65 years, this local Espoo-based club has not only offered high-quality activities for badminton enthusiasts, but also helped Finnish players reach the top level internationally. See you at the hall!"
The club’s development work continues with an even stronger focus on coaching
Tapion Sulka aims to become a forerunner in Finnish badminton – both in its club culture and coaching. In recent years, we have invested significantly in developing our coaching expertise and systems. Our coaches have participated in developing their expertise at university level as well as in national and international coaching programs. Throughout the season, we have also regularly organized coaches’ meetings and book clubs to support the professional development of our session coaches. Additionally, we actively use MIELI ry’s “Young Mind in Sports” materials to support the mental wellbeing of our young players.
We have refined our coaching philosophy by placing the athlete’s own learning at the center. Based on ecological dynamics theory, our training emphasizes the development of game understanding – helping players learn to read the game by observing their environment and making tactically sound decisions in response to in-game opportunities (affordances).
With these themes in mind, we look forward to continuing the work in the fall – but in the meantime, let’s enjoy some ice cream, sunshine, and well-earned summer days. See you back at the hall in August!
