Draft:Ilves ry

Ilves ry (Finnish for "Lynx"; see ry) is a sports club based in Tampere, Finland. With over 5,500 members it is the largest sports club in Finland. The club offers programs in floorball, football, futsal, ice hockey, and ringette, with several teams representing the club in their respective Finnish Championship leagues, the highest level of national sport competition in Finland.

Overview
The Ilves programs for children and adolescents in floorball, football, and ringette have been designated as a Vihreä Tähtiseurat (Green Star Clubs) by the Finnish Olympic Committee. The designation identifies the programs as building particularly strong foundations in their respective sports while also providing platforms for youth to develop into top athletes within frameworks of increased support for both players and their families.

Inactive departments
The club has previously operated departments in American football, bandy, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, figure skating, handball, streetball, and volleyball. The Ilves cheerleading program became an independent organization, called Dream Team Cheerleading DTC ry, in ****.

History
Ilves was founded on 10 April 1931 by a group of 30 men and boys called together by Niilo Tammisalo at the lyceum in Tampere.

Floorball
Ilves' floorball (Finnish: salibandy) program was established in 1995.


 * 203 players, 12 teams
 * 177 clubs? (salibandykerhot)

Representative men's floorball team

 * Ilves men's representative team, Miesten 2. divisoona (Salibandyn 2-divisioonan Sisä-Suomen)

Football
Football (Finnish: jalkapallo) is Ilves' most popular sport with nearly 4,400 active players.

There are 702 players across Ilves’ 48 elite club teams. The teams span from boy’s and girl’s F-level Junioriedustus (Elite Juniors), for which 8 and 9 year olds are eligible, to the men’s and women’s representative teams, which both compete at the premier national level.

The Ilves Futis-Liiga (lit. 'Footy League') has been operating as a subsidiary of the club since 1975. It’s mission is to make recreation-level football accessible to hobbyists of all ages in the greater Tampere area. The league is divided into four geographic areas (North, West, South, and East) with each area further subdivided into 3 or 4 districts; there are thirteen districts in total. Teams in each district are organized by age; the youngest players begin at 5 years of age and the eldest players are eligible to play up to age 70. As of 2019, the Futis-Liiga had 3,695 players representing 309 teams.

Representative teams
The men's and women's representative football teams are operated by Ilves Edustus Osakeyhtiö (Oy), a limited company that is entirely owned by Ilves ry. Ilves Edustus Oy was formed in 2012 and has reported positive financial gains in every year of its operation.

Men's team
An Ilves' men's representative football team was first established with the founding of the club in 1931. The current iteration of the team was formed via merger with the men's representative teams of Ilves-Kissat and Tampellan Palloilijat in 1975. They first competed in the Veikkausliiga, Finland’s premier men’s football league, in 1979 and have most recently played in the league since 2015.

Ilves men’s representative football team has won one Finnish Championship, in 1983, and three Finnish Cup s, in 1979, 1990, and 2019.

Women's team
Tampereen Ilves (women's football) compete in the Kansallinen Liiga, Finland’s premier women’s football league, where their best finish was Finnish Championship silver in 2015.

Futsal

 * 91 players, 7 teams.

Futsal-Liiga team

 * Ilves FS, Futsal-Liiga:
 * Finnish Champion (8): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
 * SM Silver (3): 2002, 2006, 2009
 * SM Bronze (2): 2001, 2015
 * Winner of the Futsal Cup : 2006, 2010, 2011
 * Super Cup Winner : 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011

Naisten Futsal Liiga team

 * Ilves Futsal Naiset, Naisten Futsal Liiga
 * Finnish Champion: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
 * Winner of the Futsal Cup: 2014

Ice hockey

 * 751 players, 31 teams
 * collaborative clubs: Fortuna (Orivesi), Kisa-Eagles (Kangasala), Koillis-Pirkan Kiekko (Mänttä-Vilppula), Parkanon Kiekko (Parkano), Pirkkalan Pingviinit (Pirkkala), and Ruoksa (Ruovesi)

Naisten Liiga

 * Ilves Naiset, Naisten Liiga

Ilves men's hockey
Ilves had a subsidiary premiere-division men’s hockey team from the club’s founding in 1931 until ????. In ???? the men’s team created an independent organization, Ilves-Hockey Oy,. The club has maintained strong ties with the
 * Ilves, Liiga

Ringette

 * 6 teams (F, E, D, C, B Junior, and Women’s representive)
 * 150 players and coaching staff

Representative team

 * Representative team plays in the Ringeten SM-sarja, the premier league in Finnish ringette.