11 Oct 2012 at 20:25 | Published by: Hans | Views: 14500 | News search

Oskari Vihervaara plays for Finland in EC in Porto  (Photo by Hans Bergström 2012)

The Finnish National Team player Oskari Vihervaara will change his club from his current Finnish club Manse RG to the Swedish elitserien club Tantogården. There he will join an already talented international team with star players such as Gustav Björnberg, Kosti Raesola, Markus Berger, Erik Tiekstra and Jan Strandberg.

Minigolfnews got the opportunity to ask some quick questions to Oskari.

HB: When will this change take effect?

OV: First of all I wan't to say hi to my mother and my father!! Hi momma!! Hi pappa!!!

Change will take effect most likely the first competition (the flights are already booked) I'll play in a Tanto shirt will be the Swedish Cup in Asarum in January 2013.

HB: What was the reason for the change of club?

OV: Having won 7 team gold medals in the FC's in my time, being the EC representive club from Finland in 2009-2011, I have to closure one chapter as a player, and start another chapter as a coach with Manse RG. It really hurts but I think my job in this club is done for now. I can finally move on but, with Manse strongly on my money and my mind.

I've wanted to play in Elitserien for a long time. I think the idea has been in the back of my head for the last 3 years or so. And now that I'm finally gonna take this step I'm looking forward for it. Thrilled about it. Excited. It's a challenge and you need challenges to develop yourself as a player so right now it's really refreshing to feel actually quite anxious and uncertain about the upcoming season. Tabula rasa, I feel like a beginner again.

Of course Elitserien offers harder matches and better players than Finland. And I think the league system which we play really rarely in Finland, team vs team match, is something that I was born to play in. Everything about it starting from the emotional side to the psychological side. Out of all playing systems I've played, I think the team vs team match is the toughest if you fail. Only for that reason I love it.

HB: Tanto now has a quite international team. What is your oppionion about this development in Minigolf?

OV: It's a bit controversial. I like it because foreign players can make a league more competetive. On the other hand good players who go abroad to Sweden or Germany for example, are hard to replace in their national circles. For me that's the hardest part because I'm afraid that my absence makes Finnish minigolf circles less competetive. On the other hand it gives a chance for new talent to rise.

But I think internationality is a natural step in a development of a sport. Think of any sports. As the skill level rises and people start taking the game serious, internationality kicks in. My most important opinion, opinion number #1 however is that you, yes YOU need to follow the Elitserien next season and figure out yourself what I mean.

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