The discussion "The Young Athlete in Latvia: How Sustainable is Our System?" will take place on 28 March 2025, from 13:30 to 15:00 at the Pharmaceutical Education and Research Centre (21 Konsula iela) as part of RSU Research Week 2025. The event is organised by the IMRSportsLV team as part of the Sports project of the National Research Program "Innovations, Methodologies, and Recommendations for the Development and Governance of the Sports Sector in Latvia".

Latvia's sports system faces significant challenges—funding for sports school coaches has remained unchanged since 2014, the education and workload regulations for coaches require improvement, and the physical and mental health of young athletes continues to deteriorate. Can the current system ensure sustainable sports development? What steps are necessary to provide stable funding for coaches and opportunities for them to enhance their education? How to ensure effective long-term physical and mental health of athletes - children and young people?

Key topics for discussion

• The sustainability of sports school funding and necessary reforms
• Improving coach education and professional development opportunities
• The effectiveness of young athletes' health monitoring systems
• Collaboration between sports schools and researchers, and data integration in training processes

Panelists

• Edgars Pukinskis – Advisor to the Prime Minister, responsible for development and change management in cross-sectoral matters, primarily related to education, sports, health, and business environment development. Former Secretary General and Head of Administration at the Latvian Football Federation;
• Juris Zīvarts – Senior Consultant at the Office of the State Secretary, Ministry of Education and Science;
• Diāna Zaļupe – Chair of the Latvian Sports Education Institutions Directors’ Council;
• Normunds Vārpa, Ph.D. – Researcher in the National Research Program “Sports” IMRSportsLV project;
• Baiba Norīte-Lapsiņa, Director, Children's Clinical University Hospital Sports Medicine Centre;
• Representative from the Latvian Olympic Committee.

Please note that the list of participants may be subject to change.

The discussion will be moderated by Rihards Ginters, Strategy Director at Magic & Wit Consulting, an active basketball player since the age of six, former member of Latvia’s youth national teams, currently representing the RSU basketball team.

Participation

• To participate in person (the lobby at 21 Konsula iela), register for Research Week 2025,
  • select the Knowledge for Use in Practice conference and the Sport Science, Sport Medicine and Rehabilitation section.
• You can also watch the event online (without registering) on Facebook, and on the event's page.

Who should attend?

Coaches, sports school directors, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of Latvian sports are invited to join the discussion. Let's work together to find solutions and build a sustainable sports system for both coaches and young athletes!

The project “Innovations, Methodology, and Recommendations for the Development and Management of the Sports Sector in Latvia” No. VPP-IZM-Sports-2023/1-0001) is implemented by scientists from Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU), including RSU Latvian Academy of Sport Education together with researchers from the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University, including RTU Liepāja, and receives funding from the state budget as a result of the open competition of the National Research Programme (NRP) Sports announced by the Latvian Council of Science.

The National Research Programme is a public research programme commissioned to carry out scientific research in a priority area of national interest, with the aim of generating new knowledge, skills and innovations. It supports both high-quality basic research and policy makers by providing research-based recommendations for policy development.

The Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for the implementation of the Sport 2023-2026 programme. The Latvian Science Council organises and implements the programme's call for projects, providing international external expertise in project evaluation.