The Rīga Sports Night festival of active leisure and sports will take place for the 5th time this year on Friday, Sep-tember 11, from 4:00 PM to 2:00 AM in the centre of Rīga. Thematic zones and activities will be available along the city canal, at the Freedom Monument, and in the parks of the central part of the city. The central activity will be an Athlete Parade that will be held for the first time. Everyone is invited to come on down and learn all about the colourful diversity of sports.
Nearly 60 organisations have already confirmed their participation in the Rīga Sports Night festival. There will be the Federation of Sledding Sports in the park with a track, people will be able to test their skills at archery and modern heptathlon, and there will be cross-fit, boxing, parkour, street exercise and other types of activities. All of the organisa-tions are prepared to offer information about various types of sports, allow people to take part in training sessions, test professional equipment, and receive consultations and recommendations from specialists. Visitors will also be able to check out several Paralympic events, watch the “One Touch Cup” competition for university rowers, and try to set a new record in rowing a two-seat boat down the canal.
The Athlete Parade
The Athlete Parade will be held as the central event of this year’s festival with the support of the Citadele Bank. Organisers hope that this will be a new tradition for sports schools, sports clubs and federations and other sports organi-sations. We will congratulate those who exercise every day, praise professional athletes and veterans for their achieve-ments and inspiration, and set an example for those who are still looking for their type of sports and do not know how excellent this is. More than 30 sports clubs, schools and federations will take part in the parade, which will begin at 8:00 in Dome Square and proceed to the Freedom Monument.
Sports zones
From 4:00 until 11:00 PM, near the National Opera and at Bastejkalns Hill, there will be a sports exhibition. On both sides of the Bastejkalns bridge and along the way to Kronvalda Park, there will be activities titled “Live a Healthy Life” and “Bon Appetit with AS Ķekava.” At the Hall of Congresses, there will be activities for children who are taking part in the Sports Night Festival – orienteering, children’s cross-fit training and many other activities. Families will be invited to walk down the “Ford Family Sports Path.”
The “Citadele Central Square” will be at the foot of the Freedom Monument, and various activities will be held there from 4:00 PM on, starting with a strength competition for men. Sports clubs and federations will offer demonstra-tions, cheerleaders with a special Sports Night programme will entertain people, there will be freestyle basketball and football demonstrations, a warmup training session for the Nike Riga Run will be held, and from midnight until 2:00 AM, the activities will conclude with the 3rd Rīga Roller Disco.
For the first time at Sports Night: Demonstrations of Paralympic sports
The Latvian Paralympic Committee will take part in the Sports Night festival for the first time and in partnership with the Citadele Bank. At the Kronvalda Park, members of the Latvian Paralympic team will demonstrate seated vol-leyball and hold a micro tournament that will also involve the Paralympic women’s team from Russia, who are the European champions at seated volleyball at this time. There will be demonstrations of wheelchair basketball, and visitors will have a chance to try their hand at free throws from a wheelchair. Three-time Paralympic gold medallist Aigars Apinis will demonstrate shot put, and every visitor will have to a chance to try out the process from a specialised track and field chair. There will also be wheelchair fencing demonstrations offered by the young and talented athlete Poļina Rožkova. Paralympic horseback rider Rihards Snikus and Paralympic archery competitors Ieva Melle and Gints Jonasts will also be on hand.
There will be donation boxes at the Sports Night festival to collect financing for the Latvian Paralympic team for training so that they can represent Latvia at the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The motto for the fundraising drive will be “They Can. Can We?”
The project is being organised by the “For a Strong Latvia!” organisation with support from the Rīga City Council, the Rīga City Council Department of Education, Culture and Sports, and the Citadele Bank. Participation is free for federations and sports organisations.
More information can be found at www.sportanakts.lv and www.sportacentrs.com.