Sauna Promoter of the Year
The Swedish Sauna Academy presents the Sauna Promoter of the Year award to people and venues that have raised and spread knowledge of sauna culture.
Sauna Promoter of the Year 2023–2024
During the National Sauna Day 2024 the Sauna Academy took the opportunity to honour the Sauna Promoter of the Year, who this year was Kiruna resident Tommy Rauhala, founder of the Facebook page Bastufolket, which in a short time gained nearly 27,000 followers. In autumn 2023 Tommy Rauhala and his partner made a journey through Sweden – Sauna Tour 2023 – with their mobile sauna on a trailer, and the members of Bastufolket got to vote on where they would stop and heat up the sauna. "This was completely in line with the Sauna Academy's work: to spread interest in sauna bathing! With the enthusiasm and love of sauna culture that Tommy Rauhala has shown, he is an obvious and worthy recipient of our award," says chairman Sven-Erik Bucht. "This was an unexpected and great honour," Tommy Rauhala said on stage, also mentioning how much he enjoys taking part in the celebration at Kukkolaforsen. "I finally made it here; it's a journey that's been in the works for many years!"
Sauna Promoter of the Year 2021
While the autumn winds howled and the rain lashed down, the Sauna Promoter of the Year was honoured by the Swedish Sauna Academy for the first time. The recipient was Arctic Bath in Harads. "The Swedish Sauna Academy exists to raise and spread knowledge of sauna culture. Establishing the Sauna Promoter of the Year award is another way for us to do exactly this," says chairman Sven-Erik Bucht. Together with part of the board he was present in Harads to present the award to Arctic Bath, which opened in 2020 and, like many others in the visitor industry, was hit hard by the pandemic. "In fact we had chosen Arctic Bath as recipient even before the pandemic broke out, but then everything was postponed and the facility is actually even more deserving of its award. Not least, the architecture of Arctic Bath is both bold and innovative and connects so well to the log-driving culture along the river," says the Academy's permanent secretary Svante Spolander.
The citation for Sauna Promoter of the Year 2021: With determination, courage and innovative design, Arctic Bath in Harads put the sauna on the world map from the moment it opened. The Swedish Sauna Academy therefore wishes to honour Arctic Bath with the Sauna Promoter of the Year 2021 award.
