How did it start
How did it begin
It began in Finland
The beginnings of Nordic Walking date back to 1930, when the Finnish cross country skiers used nordic walking during the summer training. They used classical cross country skiing poles for nordic walking.
The first Nordic Walking poles started to be manufactured in 1996. Aki Karihtala (then the marketing director of the Exel brand and the current president of INWA) created an action plan for the promotion of this healing-sport activity all over the world. At that time, the international term for this type of walking – “Nordic Walking” was generally accepted and the first instructor courses were organized.
The beginnings of Nordic walking date back to the thirties of the 20th century
In 1966 Nordic walking was used for the first time at a physical training class at an elementary school. The lesson named „walking with skiing poles “was held by the Finnish pioneer of Nordic Walking Leena Jääskeläinen. Between 1968 – 1971 Leena acted as a professor at the University of Jyväskylä and incorporated Nordic Walking into the teaching curriculum. Between 1973 – 1991 Leena as the chief school supervisor at the Finnish Ministry of Education promoted the use of Nordic Walking at physical training classes and promoted it in interviews for several Finnish media. In 1987 – 1988 the first public tournaments were organized in Finland and Leena Jääskeläinen was joined by the director of the Finnish Association of Recreational Sport Mr. Tuomo Jantunen.