Vaasan Sport Naiset were a women's

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in Finland. They played in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, on the west coast of Finland, at the Vaasan Sähkö Areena. Founded in 1983, the team most recently played in the

Naisten Liiga The Kansallinen Liiga ('National League') is the premier division of women's football in Finland. It was previously called the Jalkapallon naisten SM-sarja ('Women's Football Finnish Championship Series') during 1974 to 2006 and the Naisten Lii ...

from the 2018–19 season until being

relegated In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

at the conclusion of the 2021–22 season . The team was dissolved following relegation.

History

The women’s representative team of Vaasan Sport debuted in the Naisten SM-sarja, predecessor of the Naisten Liiga, in the 1983–84 season. Sport quickly established themselves as a competitive team, finishing in the top half of the league during their first five seasons and achieving Finnish Championship bronze in 1986. The 1988–89 season was the first time the team finished in the bottom of the league, ranking seventh of eight teams. Following the disappointing season, the team was financially

. Vaasan Sport gained promotion to the SM-sarja in 1993 but the team struggled with the high level of competition and finished in last place. They were able to stave off relegation in the 1993–94 qualifiers but were unable to do so in the following season and were relegated to the Naisten I-divisioona (renamed Naisten Mestis in 2012) in 1995. In the following two decades, Vaasan Sport played in either the second-tier I-divisioona or third-tier Naisten II-divisioona (renamed Naisten Suomi-sarja in 2003). The team spent at least seven consecutive seasons in the Suomi-sarja prior to their return to the Mestis in the 2015–16 season. The return to Mestis marked a positive shift in the performance of the team and they continued to markedly improve over the ensuing seasons, culminating in their promotion to the Naisten Liiga for the 2018–19 season.

Players and personnel

2021–22 roster

Coaching staff and team personnel * Head coach: Susanne Uppgård * Assistant coach: Juhani Sarilo * Goaltending coach: Jonathan Iilahti * Goaltending coach: Vesa Perkiö * Team manager: Leena Kuusisto * Equipment managers: Jani Kuusisto & Mika Myllyniemi

Team captaincy history

* Susanne Uppgård, 2015–2016 * Elina Ojala, 2016–2020 * Pauliina Suoniemi, 2020–2022

Head coaches

* Ove Kvist, 2013–2017 * Mika Nummi, 2017–2019 * Marko Haapala, 2019–1 December 2020 * Susanne Uppgård, 1 December 2020–2022

Team honours

Finnish Championship

* Naisten SM-sarja Third Place ''(1)'': 1986

Notable alumni

Years active with Sport listed alongside players' names. *

Sari Krooks Sari Kristiina Krooks (born 2 February 1968 in Vaasa) is a Finland, Finnish retired ice hockey player. She played on the women's ice hockey team for Finland at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and won a bronze medal. References External links

* ...

, 1983–1989 & 1993–94 * Hanna Hakala, 1986–1988 * Tiina Suominen, 1986–1988 * Ida Kuoppala, 2017–2019

References

External links

*Team information and statistics fro
Eliteprospects.com
an
Official site
(in Finnish) * * Naisten Liiga (ice hockey) teams Sport in Vaasa 1983 establishments in Finland {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaasan Sport Naiset