2. A wide range of sports and gymnastics activities

In the early 20th century, skiing was a popular sport in the winter and athletics in the summer. Ski jumping, wrestling, boxing, football, biking, rowing, swimming and handball were also popular activities. The popularity of some sports faded and new forms of sports emerged.

After the war, basketball and table tennis were eagerly played, and orienteering also became a popular sport. In the early 1950s, handball was a popular sport, but its popularity diminished over time. Instead, in the 1960s, basketball became the number one sport and remained popular for a long time. Basketball games were also organised between the deaf and the hearing. HERO's basketball team won several championships in competitions held by the members of the Deaf Sports Association.

Orienteering was first practised by the youth club of the Helsinki Deaf Club. HERO included the sport in its competition programme and organised annual inter-member and national orienteering competitions. In the 1950s, this popular sport was driven forward by Uolevi Saarikko, who succeeded in both domestic and foreign competitions.

In 1969, volleyball was included in the club’s activities. Women were also involved. Like the basketball team, the volleyball team won several medals at the World Championships and played friendly matches against teams from different countries. From the 1970s to the 1990s, the women’s volleyball team played several friendly matches and participated in the Nordic Championships and World Championships. In 1988, the team won a silver medal at the Nordic Championships.

The women of the club had already been involved in swimming, athletics and orienteering in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1961, they won a gold medal in the team gymnastics at the Summer Deaflympics in Helsinki.

In the 1970s and 1980s, windsurfing and slalom became popular sports. They were also practised by the members of HERO. The members succeeded well in slalom at the Finnish and Nordic Championships. Floorball was a popular sport in the 1990s. HERO won several Finnish men's floorball championships. Some HERO members also competed in hearing teams. Futsal became the new favourite sport after floorball. HERO’s players have also been involved in deaf national futsal teams.

Among the deaf, enthusiasm for hockey was ignited in the 1990s. Deaf players competed in hearing junior ice hockey teams across the country. Finland was able to assemble its own ice hockey team for the Winter Deaflympics in 1995. The European Winter Sports Championships in 2000 demonstrated that Finland is a leading European country in ice hockey. That is when the Finnish deaf national hockey team, Deaf Lions, won the European Championship. The Deaf Lions won the World Championship in 2009. Many HERO members have played for the national team.

Over the years, the focus on exercise at HERO has shifted from individual sports to team sports. The interests and attitudes of young people have tended to influence the popularity of each sport.