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CLUB HISTORY The Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club grew out of the Sampo Athletics Club, a Finnish based club established in 1951, which operated out of Sampo Hall. Sampo Hall, built in 1935, originally formed the base for a multi-sport facility which included sports where its members went on to achieve sporting honours in skiing, track and field, boxing and rhythmic gymnastics. However, over time the other sports slowly faded out while rhythmics continued to grow into a prominent sport in the Sudbury community. In the early 1960's, the popularity of Rhythmic Gymnastics began to grow under the direction of Maija Ceming due to the club opening its doors to the general public. With the sale of Sampo Hall in 1994, the Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club gym classes were moved to local school gymnasiums: Sudbury Secondary High School, Lockerby High School and Ecole St-Denis. The Club continues to practice in local school gyms and its gymnasts are trained by a talented group of coaches. The club performs at various functions throughout the Sudbury community, including the Finnish Grand Festival and the Santa Claus Parade. Gymnasts of the Sampo R G Club also participates in Provincial, National and World Gymnaestradas on a yearly basis. What began from Finnish roots, the Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics club is now a world renowned organization with its members coming from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. This page was last updated on August 8, 2000. Questions or comments can be sent to samporgc@yahoo.com. © Sampo Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. 2000. This site was designed by Gil Pharand.