Daugavpils veterans top Latvia’s masters sports games among cities for second year

Daugavpils has won the city category of the Latvian Sports Veterans and Seniors Union (LSVS) games for the second year in a row, the city’s sports department said on Friday, 13 November. Daugavpils also topped the category at the 62nd games in 2025. Jelgava finished second and Riga third in both years.

How the games work

Every year the LSVS brings veteran athletes together for competitions in towns and municipalities across Latvia. This year’s 63rd games began in January with table tennis in Iecava and ended in October with a canoe slalom in Bauska. The tradition dates back to 1963 and the first games for rural sports veterans. Competitors are split into age groups: the youngest women’s group was 25+ in swimming and 30+ in volleyball.

In the overall standings a team scores as many points as its finishing place — one for first, two for second — and 50 for every event it misses, so the lowest total wins. The state cities form one group, other municipalities are split into two groups by population, and sports clubs have their own ranking. Daugavpils finished the season on 1,911 points.

Volleyball and five-a-side football

The Daugavpils women’s volleyball teams won medals in all five age groups they entered. In Koknese on 11 April the 40+ and 55+ teams won, and in Salaspils on 23 May the 45+ team beat Rīga Mix 3-0 to take first place while the 35+ team won bronze. In Salaspils on 11 July the 50+ team took silver.

In five-a-side football in Salaspils on 11 July, the Daugavpils 35+ team won all four of its games. The 45+ team also won its group, scoring eight goals in three games without conceding. In the 55+ group Daugavpils finished second behind the Salaspils municipality team.

A kettlebell record

The men’s 55+ volleyball team finished second in Salaspils, and in beach volleyball in Riga on 25 July the 50+ team beat Mārupe in three sets in the bronze-medal match. Daugavpils also took third place in the team rankings in swimming in Ķekava, shooting in Tukums and kettlebell lifting in Olaine, where the Daugavpils Kettlebell Fit club competed. There Margarita Budko set a Latvian record with 288 snatches of a 12 kg kettlebell, while Jekaterina Medvedeva won her category with 295 snatches of an 8 kg kettlebell.

The top three city teams will receive their trophies at the LSVS end-of-season event at 13:00 on Sunday, 6 December, at the Salaspils concert hall.

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