Riga Hosts the Most Sporty Weekend

On Saturday, 9 September, Riga’s annual active leisure and sports event, “Riga Sports Night”, took place on the 11 November Embankment and in the square by the Museum of the Occupation. During the event, Riga residents and city guests could enjoy active leisure, learn about various sports, try them out and even take part in competitions.

The seventh “Riga Sports Night” was officially opened at 4:00 p.m. on the 11 November Embankment, where participants in the “Live Healthy!” and “Sports Expo” zones awaited Riga residents and city guests to introduce them to the latest developments and current issues in healthy living, as well as to involve them in sporting challenges and competitions.

Meanwhile, in the square by the Museum of the Occupation, interested visitors had the opportunity to watch two exciting competitions – the superfinal of the “Betsafe Latvian Strongman Championship”, where Artis Plivda celebrated a convincing victory, becoming the strongest strongman of 2017, and the international “Wadex Luxury” drone competition, in which ten participants took part. This competition was also a round of the ‘’HOBIzone Drone Racing League’’, so the field included not only all of Latvia’s strongest competitors, but also representatives of Estonia.
The participants competed with drones weighing no more than 150 grams; at the same time, they were powerful enough to provide the spectators with thrilling battles. The LED lighting installed along the track added a special atmosphere to the night competition, making it especially spectacular.
The fastest pilots were able to complete a lap in just over 10 seconds, but in competition mode they had to complete 5 laps, with 4 drones taking to the track simultaneously.
Estonian representative Roman Elma finished just outside the finalists. Tomass Pētersons of Latvia took the victory in the final. The second place went to Estonian Mēlis Vāns, the third to Kārlis Gross, and the fourth to Āris Muitnieks, report the competition organisers, “Drone Racing Latvia”.

There was considerable interest among families, as nearly 500 families completed the “LDz Family Sports Trail” and, in gratitude for their interest and willingness to take part in sports, received small gifts prepared by the sponsors.

This year, the active leisure and sports event allowed visitors to discover many new and exciting things, with more than 40 organisations from the worlds of sport and other fields taking part.

The active leisure and sports event concluded at midnight, when the baton for the day spent in a sporting spirit was taken over by the organisers of “We Run Riga”, who at 10:00 p.m., not far from the Stone Bridge , awaited the 5KM distance runners at the starting line.

“Riga Sports Night 2017” is presented by the Riga City Council’s Department of Education, Culture and Sports in cooperation with the association “Event Agency”.  Supported by Bino.lv., “Betsafe Sports”, “Bosch”, “Lux Express”, “One4Event”, “Wadex Luxury” and AS “Rīgas Dzirnavnieks”. Safety partner: “Hear. See. Live.” Information partner: “Inbox.lv”.