Article by Marja-Liisa Someroja and Maarit Rajamäki, with edits and translation by Varpu Wiens.
The Särestö Chamber Concerts Association started the Särestö Open fencing competition 27 years ago, in cooperation with the fencing club Ylioppilasmiekkailijat from Helsinki. Originally, the event included foil competitions and high quality concerts. Maarit Rajamäki, founder and artistic director of the Särestö Chamber Concerts, was responsible for organising the competitions for the first ten years. After that, the competition was organised by various Finnish fencing clubs in cooperation with each other. The competition grew international, attracting participants from all over the world, including the USA, France and Italy.
The competition was later changed from the Särestö Open to the Levi Open when the responsibility for the organisation was transferred solely to the fencing clubs. The Levi Open is known for the exoticism associated with Lapland, such as the Northern Lights and the cold of winter, which require creative solutions from the organisers. In Lapland, the organisation of the event has required imagination and creativity. Sometimes it was -40 °C below zero and everywhere static electricity was hissing, even the fencing equipment’s worked the way they did, and organizers had to come up with all sorts of tricks to ensure the correct operation of the equipment. The event has also contributed to the international networking of Finnish fencing and offered participants a unique experience in the scenery of Levi.
Welcome to join us in making new shared memories of the northernmost Arctic fencing competition!