Silence, Expectations, and the Seasonal Rhythms of Skruv’s Outdoor Life

Text: Kaj Ahlsved

Eduardo Galeano’s book Soccer in Sun and Shadow contains a famous passage about silence and places for sporting activities: “Have you ever entered an empty stadium? Try it. Stand in the middle of the field and listen. There is nothing less empty than an empty stadium. There is nothing less mute than stands bereft of spectators.”

Although he refers to the enormous football stadiums of South America and how silent they become without the sounds of a crowd, Galeano’s reasoning came to mind when, during my listening walks, I passed by Skruv’s sports field and camping area.

The sports field and Skruv IF’s facilities are located by lake Badsjön, next to the newly built camping area. The local fishing club runs the camping area; trout fishing is also possible in the man-made Laxsjön lake. The sports field, with its grass pitch and running tracks, is deserted and empty, just like the padel- and tennis courts, and the multi-arena, all of which are waiting for better – as in warmer, summerlike – conditions for outdoor activities. Today, the multi-arenas’ artificial turf remains unused, but according to locals, young football enthusiasts have recently played football there.

Through the windows, you can see people exercising in Skruvs IF’s gym. If you listen carefully while walking along Gåsamålavägen, you can hear the pulsating music from the gym, though the well-insulated building mostly dampens the sound, covering it with the continuous whirring of the ventilation and/or heat pumps.

This suggests that some of Skruv’s residents’ sports activities, along with their associated sounds, have, to some extent, moved indoors. Therefore, a seasonal rhythm strongly shapes the quiet soundscape outside the facilities.

Despite the lack of distinct sounds, the place is not silent and mute. For those willing to listen, it reveals which sounds are absent and associated activities. These are the expected sounds hinted at by the deserted outdoor facilities. The prevailing silence could be defined as the absence of expected sounds. As soon as the weather allows it, the place will once again be filled with the sounds of track and field athletes, padel players, children swimming in the lake, and campers from near and far.

One day in February, the silence at the Camping area and sports ground is mainly broken by people walking along the marked trails around the lake, the sound of cars driving to the gym, possible winter bathers at Laxsjön’s jetty, as well as the cheerful exclamations and lively conversations of the boule players (the game of boule is also called pétanque) every Tuesday and Thursday morning. The ice on lake Badsjön is too thin for skating, but the increasingly mild winters have allowed boule to be played almost year-round.

What makes the place feel “silent” and “mute” is thus the expectations related to the cultural spaces. The same feelings can be sensed at, for example, silent school playgrounds in summertime. These temporally unused places don’t sadden me like the lack of sounds and activities at the snow-free sledding slope I passed on the way here. The sounds will return to these outdoor sporting facilities in due time. The quiet sledding slopes tell a different story.

Big plans are in place for Skruv. The Vision Skruv project, now in its funding phase, aims to make the area – and with it, the entire village of Skruv – a hub for sports, wellness, and health. New activities bring new rhythms and sounds. At this stage, however, these are only anticipated sounds, with their sources in a plausible future.