Applying for Bookings

Singular practice and competitive bookings are applied for via the booking service at least 72 hours before the desired time slot. Bookings made less than 72 hours before the booking can be inquired via email at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@ouka.fi, but it is not guaranteed that these inquiries will be processed in time. Please note that a booking application does not equal a booked session. A separate confirmation is always sent via email about granted, confirmed bookings.

You can find the instructions on how to make a booking application for badminton courts (in Finnish) and tennis courts (in Finnish).

The following principles of distributing sessions apply to all exercise facilities and bookings managed by the Bookings Unit of the Sport Services.  

General Principles and Hierarchy Concerning Distributing Seasonal Bookings

1. Sport Services's own activities 
2. Bookings for independent exercisers in indoor facilities that are open to public use 
3. Sports clubs, associations, and courses from Oulu that organize exercise activities  
4. Hobby groups of Oulu-based children, youth, and those over 65 years old, and Oulu’s daycare centres, schools and other educational institutions. 
5. Other Oulu-based hobby groups and commercial exercise groups 
6. Sports clubs from outside of Oulu 
7. Other exercise groups 

Oulu-based corporations that are involved in national competition activities are included in the Oulu-based sport clubs category in booking distribution. 

Factors that Influence Booking Distribution and Hierarchy 

• Applicant's league tier and protocols
• Extent of youth activities, number of athletes and clubs 
• Conditions demanded by the sport (size or height of the courts, facilities etc.) 
• Utilization rate (fulfilment of earlier seasonal bookings), attendance per session 
• Hierarchy prepared by the sport association. For those who fall under multiple sport associations, a hierarchy will be established during booking distribution. 
• Bookings for children and youth will primarily take place before 21.00 
• Accessibility and regionality 
• Facilities built specifically for the use of youth (Heinäpää Football Arena and Linnanmaa Ice Hall) prioritize those under 18 years old 
• Grounds for booking distribution for exercise groups outside sport club activities are: size of the groups, benefits of the activity and the possibility of pursuing the activity elsewhere. 
• The facility's purpose of use and specifics might influence the hierarchy.

Singular Bookings that Bypass Other Activities 

The Sport Services reserves the right to temporarily cancel individual sessions in favor of large events or competition activities. Such singular bookings include: 

• Events organized by the Sport Services or events that the city of Oulu has significantly participated in organizing.
• Large commercial events and other events significant to the city of Oulu 
• International matches, approved league matches, and large competitive events that are included in the facility’s sport catalogue. 

Booking Distribution and Planning 

Sport Services distribute bookings in order of application and according to aforementioned distribution principles. If needed, the Sport Services will arrange a meeting where the booking plan is presented to the main users, and they are provided a chance to comment on the plan. 

Booking Distribution Complies to the Following Principles

• The exercise session is only meant for the purposes of the club that applied for the booking or for other members of the organization. 
• Booking distribution defines the session length on a seasonal, weekly, and daily level specific to the facility. A confirmation message will be sent to those granted a booking.

Updated 7.10.2019. Altering rights reserved. 

Terms of use apply to all bookings managed by the Sport Services Bookings Unit. 

• A confirmation message is sent for all distributed bookings, the message declares the time and place of the booking. The distributed booking is considered accepted unless it is canceled according to following terms. 
• When applying for and accepting bookings, the customer pledges to the following terms and the facility’s regulations. Neglecting the terms can lead to cancelation of the booking. 
• Additionally, sport clubs and exercise groups from Oulu pledge to follow ethical principles issued by the Club Advisory Committee on the utilization of Oulu’s exercise facilities. 

Payment 

A group that has been granted a booking is obligated to pay a charge according to the current price list. If the charge is not paid by its due date, the Sport Services reserves the right to collect the payment and cancel the booking. The city of Oulu Sport Services reserves the right to not grant additional bookings if the customer has unpaid booking charges from earlier exercise facility bookings. 

If a booking remains unused without being cancelled within the cancellation period (see cancelling a booking), a payment according to the current price list is charged. This payment includes uncancelled training, competition, and match bookings for even those over 65 years or under 18 years of age.

If match or competition activities take place on booked sessions, they will be charged according to competition prices.  

Sport Services' charges are sent to organizations and associations to the address found via the Business Information System (YTJ), therefore, please make sure that your information is registered accurately. https://www.ytj.fi/ 

User of the booking 

A booking or a part of the booking must not be handed to a third party or transferred to any other group within the club or organization than the group declared in the application. This applies especially to free of charge sessions for those under 18 years old, transferring such sessions to those over 18 years old is strictly forbidden. 

For larger groups, the Sport Services distributes bookings as a single collection to the sport club or other association, which then distributes the sessions to individual groups itself. In these cases, the Sport Services obliges the association to report the groups using the bookings. This obligation to report is a condition for being granted bookings.  

A responsible adult must be present during all sessions. The person responsible takes care of obtaining the required keys and key codes and looks after them according to the facility’s agreements and regulations. They must not be handed to third parties. 

Use of facilities and equipment 

Possible dressing rooms and showers are at your use during sessions, unless otherwise instructed. If a booked event requires other spaces to be closed, the group making the booking can be charged for the closed spaces.  

The dressing rooms and showers must be exited within 30 minutes after the session ends, or according to the regulations of the facility and its opening hours. 

The user of the session is required to accommodate their activities according to the facility, meaning that they must only practice activities that suit the facility. The user can utilize basic equipment in the space, such as apparatuses, mats, nets, and goals. Specific use of equipment must be agreed on together with the facility staff. Equipment must be used appropriately and returned to the right places. Report all broken equipment immediately to the facility staff. The user is liable to compensate any damage caused by them.

Comply with the booking times and ensure that the space is empty before the next session begins. Some competitive events can be exceptions due to a competition/match needing to be finished before closing the event.

As a rule, alarm systems are active during opening times, and the user is responsible for both their intentional and unintentional use and expenses.  

The staff’s instructions and regulations are to be followed at the facilities. The user is responsible for ensuring that all doors are locked in facilities where there are no staff present. The user is responsible for making sure that no unauthorized people enter or loiter inside the facilities. The facilities must be left in a clean and appropriate condition. If the user causes need for additional cleaning, the cleaning will be charged from the user. The user is obligated to report anything abnormal to the facility staff. 

If the field or weather conditions require repair or maintenance work between sessions, the area must be free of users during the repair.

Individual exercise bookings need to be cancelled 72 hours before the session. Individual competitive or match bookings need to be cancelled 7 days before the session. Larger events need to be cancelled 14 days before the event (or by any other predetermined time). Users reserve the right to cancel their bookings in the Timmi service or via email at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@ouka.fi within the cancellation period.  

Cancelling a booking of a swimming pool must be done via email at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@ouka.fi

Seasonal bookings in school and daycare exercise gyms need to be cancelled within one month after the booking begins, or they will be charged according to the current price list. Individual bookings in school and daycare exercise gyms cannot be cancelled in the Timmi service (except Hiukkavaara Community Centre, Kastelli Community Centre, and Rajakylä School Exercise Gym), individual booking cancelations can be made via email at liikuntapaikkavaraukset@ouka.fi. 

Staff of Sport Services, schools, and daycares reserve the right to cancel bookings temporarily. Those who have lost their bookings do not have the right to compensation for the lost booking. 

If a booking remains unused for three consecutive times without appropriate notice, Sport Services reserves the right to cancel the seasonal booking. 

The ethical principles in the utilization of Oulu’s exercise facilities by sports clubs 

The following principles have been approved together by Oulu’s sports clubs and the City of Oulu Sport Services. The contracting parties are the City of Oulu’s Club Advisory Committee (Oulun kaupungin seuraneuvottelukunta) on behalf of the sports clubs and Oulu Sport Services.  

The purpose of the principles is to agree on ground rules about scheduling and attending training sessions as well as conduct in the exercise facilities. The following principles are attached and confirmed by signature on all training contracts and all contracting parties commit to following them. 

Their purpose is to establish for all clubs, regardless of the sport, an equal possibility to schedule and attend sessions at exercise facilities owned/managed by the City of Oulu in accordance with confirmed principles and expenses at the given time.  

Scheduling, booking, and cancelling sessions 

1. We promise to declare in the application the sizes and amounts of the training groups, required exercise facilities, and equipment in as much detail as is possible at the time of application. 
2. We promise to report all possible changes in the groups to the Sport Services immediately as they become known to us. 
3. We will update information together with the Sport Services in accordance with mutual principles. 
4. We will inform the Sport Services of all unused sessions as well as sessions that are left unused by other groups if discovered.  

The use of exercise facilities and behavior 

1. We promise and make sure that all athletes and coaches promise to follow the specified rules of each training space as they are presented to them. 
2. We promise to take care of all keys, keycards, keycodes etc. that are supplied. Discovered misuses or lost keys will be reported immediately to the person who has supplied them. We will return all unrequired keys etc. immediately when they are no longer needed. We recognize that a key code is comparable to a key and careful consideration should be used when distributing it. The official holder of the key code is responsible for the session.
3. We will take care of the cleanliness of the exercise facilities and other spaces that we have used so that they are left in the same or in better condition as they were before use.  
4. We will make sure that all lights, showers etc. are turned off. 
5. We will report all discovered defects or flaws in the facilities or equipment we have used immediately. We promise to compensate all damage to the facilities and equipment that has been caused by us, by misuse or by any other means than deterioration and normal use.  
6. We will make sure that unauthorized people will not use the facilities during sessions. 
7. A person in charge who is at least 18 years of age must be present on behalf of the club (the person can be a coach, guardian or other club official) The person in charge will also be the last to leave the premises.
8. We are committed to ensuring that our coaches and instructors follow the principles of fair sports in activities that take place in the facilities.

Accepting these principles is required to schedule bookings in the City of Oulu’s exercise facilities. The sports club pledges and makes sure that all of the club’s personnel, coaches, guardians, and athletes are aware and committed to following these principles. We accept that our scheduled sessions can be cancelled partially or entirely if these ethical principles are not followed.  

The ethical principles have been updated on 31.5.2023.