Finns blow the biggest and longest...glass

Keijo Kopra from Finland creates a sphere as he competes in the Iittala Cup glass-blowing competition June 7, 2008.

IITTALA, Finland (Reuters Life!) - Juggling a giant ball of molten glass is all in a day's work for masters at the finals of the Iittala Cup glass-blowing championships.

Some 32 participants from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Hungary took part in Saturday's Cup in the northern Finnish town of Iittala, which has been organised by the Finnish design company of the same name every two years since 1984.

Finn Keijo Kopra, who won the cup after three rounds of blowing and twisting, said four hours of training each day in the past few weeks has finally paid off.

"hat we really wanted was to keep the trophy here in Finland -- it won't ever go to Sweden again," said the 54-year-old, who has worked for Iittala for the past 40 years, referring to the friendly yet fierce competition in most things between the neighbouring countries.

There are three parts to the competition: in the first, participants blow a plate, in the second, a cylinder and in the third, a ball. On each round their goal is to make it as big as they can within a six minute time frame.

This was the 14th time Kopra participated in the event and he has won the Cup twice before. But it was the first time ever winner has won all three of the rounds.

His plate was 61.2 cm (24.09 inches) wide, the cylinder was 281.8 cm long and the diameter of his ball was 53.7 centimetres.

But he said it was the juggling of the honey-like glass mass and blowing just the right amount that made it work.

"It's all about technique," he said of twisting the 1,100 degrees Celsius hot molten mixture of sand and ingredients.

Most of the participants were Iittala's own glass-blowers and have trained for years to become masters of the art. All say knowing the substance and technique were key skills, but a sense of rhythm and concentration were crucial as well.

"Usually people at first blow too hard and are not consistent -- after a while you just figure it out, you know how to make it work," said Tero Valimaa, another contestant and a second-generation glass-blower.

Iittala, some 120 km (74.56 miles) northwest of Helsinki, has become synonymous with Finnish glass design since the company launched its glass factory in the town in 1881.

Today, most of its people are employed by the factory, others support the profession like the several hundreds who attended the all-day event.

BLOWS DIFFER

The competition, once a test in glass craftsmanship between Finland and its western neighbour, was extended this year to include contestants from other countries as well.

Only a few of the seven participants from Hungary made it to the second round and none to the final. All said it really made them realise how different glass-blowing techniques in each country can be.

"The glass used here cools down faster, so you have to be able to blow and form the form much quicker than we are used to back home," said Zsolt Toth, adding that the five hours of training they received the day before the competition did not suffice at all.

Despite the competitive disadvantage, he would like to come back in two years time.

"We wanted to test our skills as we are experts in the field back in Hungary -- this could prove a great experience should we ever need to find a job elsewhere," he said, adding that the glass business was a dying profession back home.

Among the 32 participants, only two were women, and Alma Jantunen, who so far had been the only female contestant, said the physical strength could have had something to do with it.

"I know that I can never win -- blowing the big ball, it means that you have to blow very hard and need to have big lungs," said the petite 35-year old.

"I've been blowing glass for the last 14 years, and at the end of the day, just competing is enough."