Here is a list of all the competitors for Battle of the Pole 2011.

KITTENS

LIONESSES

I’m 24 years old and live in Helsinki, Finland with my boyfriend. I was born in Oulu, Finland but moved to Helsinki in 2009 to study nursing. At the moment I am on a break from school to focus on working as a senior saleswoman in a small clothing shop. I’m outgoing and quite temperamental. I like things to be done without any delays in the process! I don’t like people who linger around and wait for someone else to do things for them. There is also another side of me—an empathetic and sensitive side. Where my boyfriend is sometimes the most annoying man in the world, but in the end, I’m always looking after him and making sure that he takes his keys with him when goes to work. I started pole dancing in Oulu where I took the basic course which included 10 exercises. It took almost two years for me start pole dancing again in Helsinki. I started training again in August and nowadays I go dancing 4 to 5 times a week.

2. Sebastian Strom

Sweden

Sebastian was born in the cold winter of 1981. He has been a computer geek ever since. The early years were dedicated to gaming, then came computer programming. Now working as lead developer at bokadirekt.se. The sessions in front of the computer screens were sometimes interrupted by less interesting stuff like football and television. And in the later years poker, salsa dancing and cooking. Threw out the furniture and bought an x-pole in June this year right after trying it at a friends house.

3. Eva Rut Hjaltadottir

4. Zenia Sauni Rosas

Sweden

I’m 21 years old and originally from Peru but I have lived and been 
raised here in Sweden since I was a toddler. About ten months 
ago I discovered pole dance and immediately fell in love with it. 
I haven’t competed in any pole dancing competitions before, but 
I really enjoy what I’m doing and I will do my very best to give a 
good performance. I’m currently studying fashion at SU, working 
at the family business and developing my pole dancing skills with 
the help of my wonderful pole dancing teachers. 

5. Milla Maaria Ojala

Finland

I'm 22 years old girl from Jyväskylä Finland. I study psychology in the 
University of Jyväskylä and work part-time in a small book store. I 
have always been very shy when it comes to gymnastics or sports. 
I'm still afraid of doing somersaults! I don't have a background of 
dancing lessons either, even though I danced a lot by myself when 
I was very little. I started pole dancing in september 2009 and fell in 
love with the sport immediately. There is something in the stability 
of the pole that makes me trust myself enough to do tricks I would 
have never imagined myself doing. I don't want to take pole dancing 
too seriously, the main thing for me in pole dancing is to have fun!

I began dancing when I was 5 years old with ballet and danced it for 6 years. Then I tried several things, like piano, basketball, gymnastics, free sport and running. Eventually I realized that I really wanted to dance. So I began again with ballet and added street, jazz, contemporary/modern and tap. I also tried flamenco, hip hop/ragga, afro dance and more. I am also interested in weight lifting at the gym and gymnastics again. And since February of this year I began pole dancing, but had to take the summer off due to an injury. In recent years I have worked with kids at different schools and as dance teacher. I have also worked as gymnast instructor. I feel that this pole dance competition will be an experience I need to feel that I have control of my life. Also I love to dance and difficult challenges, so here I am!

7. Herdis Jenssen

Norway

I am from a small place called Sander in Norway. I have two wonderful 
girls, ages 14 and 20. I started pole dancing in November 2009 at 
Sometimes Pole Studio in Oslo, Norway, where I have met some 
fantastic and warm people—I love you. I absolutely love this kind of 
sport, it tones your whole body, at the same time you are just having fun! 
I like to stay ins hape by pole dancing at the studio at least twice a week, 
and training by myself at home. I also like to go to the fitness studio and 
run on the treadmill. My interests  also include snowboarding in the 
wintertime, it gives me such a good feeling of being one with nature. In daily life, I work at 
Øvre Romerike Taxi, with all my great colleagues. This is me in a nut-shell:)

I am 22 years old and I live in Gävle, Sweden. My whole my life I have been devoted to sports and training, but recently I have started with something that has changed my life, dancing. It's been a little more then one year since I started and I'm obsessed! 

My main style is breakdance/streetdance and also some tricking. I've also recently started with Chinese pole and I love it! Otherwise I'm a really funny and down to earth guy. I'm probably the clown in the family as I love to make people laugh. I work part time at a youth center, a place where kids come to play after school, and also as a model/actor/dancer. And I love to play piano because It's so relaxing.

9. Sarah Plesner

1. Hege Grostad

Last year Hege competed in the Kittens category of Battle of the Pole, so this year she is really excited to be with the Lionesses! Hege started poledancing about 2 years ago, and has been teaching in the past year. What she loves about poledancing, is the contstant challenge and the rewarding feeling of finally mastering a move that seemed impossible at the first attempt.  She love the way pole dance allows acrobatic movements to be incorporated with elegant and sensual dance moves. When not being on the pole, Hege studies pedagogy at the University of Oslo.

2. Laura Gröhn

Finland

Laura has background in gymnastics. After that she tried everything from pole vault to tennis, but when she found pole dance ten years later, she was sold. Pole dance has everything she wants: acrobatics and dance. The best part in pole dance is that you can bring your own personal style to the performance. For Laura it's beautiful lines and moves, technique, a story behind the dance and the feeling that dance gives to the audience. She has competed in five competitions before. In international competitions Laura came fourth in both PoleArt 2009 and Battle of the pole 2010. She also won national competition called Tampere open showcase in 2010. Laura has also been teaching pole dance for a couple of years at Helsinki Rock the Pole studio. She does all this in addition to her full time work and university-studies.

3. Annamari Mursu

Finland

Annamari found pole dancing two and a half years ago and since then she has trained at Rock The Pole dance school in Helsinki. Annamari has always been keen into sports, but pole dance was her first dance hobby. She now teaches pole dance once a week and dances ballet, show, modern and jazz. Annamari's first competition was Battle Of the Pole 2010 and she won Kittens category. She also participated in Finnish National Championships 2010 and was 7th.

4. Malin Olsen

Norway

Malin Olsen is 26 years old from Oslo, Norway. She started pole dancing in the Summer of 2009 at Sometimes Pole Studio. She quickly became obsessed with pole dance and started practicing  with a friend and learned most of her moves from watching YouTube. She loves this sport more and more everyday for every challenge it gives her. Malin loves to dance and has a background in diffrent dance styles. She strives to use that when pole dancing. She was the first runner up Kitten in the Battle Of The Pole 2010 and is very exited to be in the Lionessse category this year!

5. Ewa Otulak
Denmark
Ewa Otulak is 30 and has 2.5 years of pole dance training. She 
competed in Battle of the Pole 2010 and came in 6th place and 
was the Winner of the title "Miss Fitness."

6. Miia Rytkönen

Finland

I started pole dancing three years ago and it was a love at first sight. Before pole dancing I wasn´t very athletic but nowadays I also do ashtanga yoga and rock climbing. I´ve also been teaching pole dancing for two and half years now and I´ve taken part in several competitions and events. This year I was second runner-up in the first Finnish National Championships and first runner-up in Battle of the Pole 2010!

7. Henriikka Roo

Finland

I’m 24 years old student from the Tampere University of Technology. I 
have been dancing ballet and other dance as a hobby since I was 
seven years old. Now I have been pole dancing since the summer of 
2008. My pole debut was at PoleVibes in March 2010 and after that I 
have been in  many competitions: 2nd place in Finnish Championship 
2010; PoleArt2010 Showcase performe; 5th place in European Championship 2010 
professional category; Finalist in The International Pole Championship in Tokyo 2010
I like to use my ballet technique and style also in my pole dancing. My aspiration is 
to create fluid and musical pole dance performances that are interesting, different 
and captivating. I also teach pole dancing at Studio Move at Tampere in Finland.

8. Anzhela Kulagina

Russia

Is 22 years old and have been dancing since she was 3 and pole dancing for almost 3 years. She can look back onto a classical ballet education. She has performed at "Second Cup of Pole Dance in Russia" and got 1st place in the nomination of Pole Fitness.

She was third on your last year championship "Battle of the pole 2010". She's gained second prize on the "Championship of Pole Dance in the central Federal district in Russia" in the artistic pole dance nomination. She also got 5th place this year at the Worlds championship that was held in Switzerland. Her whole experience in competing is 1 year long. She now performs and teaches pole dance in one of the largest pole dance schools in Moscow.