This club from Finland's Pohjois-Savo region offers winter sports like cross-country and slalom skiing as well as athletics, gymnastics and weightlifting. Its ski jumping and Nordic Combined section is an important starting point for young and talented athletes before some go on to train at Puijon Hiihtoseura.
The juniors in Siilinjärvi are divided up into three groups: Mäkikoulu ("Hill School") teaches the first steps in ski jumping and cross-country skiing, Pikku Lentäjät ("Little Pilots") is a home for 5-10 year olds deepening their skills while Kuilun Kotkat ("Eagles of Kuilu") are the 11-16/18 year old athletes who want to compete on a more prefessional level. After that stage, SiiPo offers personal coaching with tests and training plans specifically created for single athletes. From 2010-2012, the club had the ability to hire Olympic Winter Games winner Jaakko Tallus as a coach together with Timo Leppänen. At the moment, SiiPo has got three coaches: former National Team ski jumper Kai Kovaljeff, Junior World Champion Joonas Ikonen and (unofficial WM woman) Heli Pomell, who is hired together as a partner-trainer with Puijon Hiihtoseura. The quite intensive training (4-5 times a week also for the young ones) takes place on the hills of Kuilu (K42 in winter; K21, K17 and K8 also in the summer) or Puijo, the surrounding ski tracks and at Kuopio-halli. The athletes go on training camps in Lahti, Vuokatti, Tampere, Kitee, Lieksa etc during the summer and take active part in competitions in the winter, for example the Lidl-Cup. During the past season, especially Juho Ojala and Vilma Meis were quite successful in this competition-series, which can be compared to e.g. the Deutscher Schüler Cup in Germany.