Related Research Articles
Riga is the capital, primate, and the largest city of Latvia. Home to 605,802 inhabitants, the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 860,142. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.
Artūrs Irbe is a Latvian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender. Born during the Soviet era, Irbe played for various Soviet league teams and the Soviet Union national team before moving to North America in 1991. Irbe played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, and Carolina Hurricanes. In 2004 Irbe returned to Europe to play until he retired in 2007. He has served as a goaltending coach with Dinamo Riga, the Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres, as well as internationally with the Latvia men's national ice hockey team. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2010.
Helmuts Balderis-Sildedzis is a former Latvian professional ice hockey player. He played on the right wing and participated at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where the Soviet team unexpectedly lost to the United States. He played part of a single season in the National Hockey League after being drafted in 1989 by the Minnesota North Stars, becoming the oldest player to be drafted by an NHL team at the age of 36. In 1998, he was inducted into International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame.
Sportin Latvia includes basketball, football, ice hockey, athletics (track), rugby, tennis, cycling, and others. Ice hockey is the most popular of the Latvian sports and is closely followed by basketball. Some of Latvia’s most notable athletes include hockey player Sandis Ozoliņš, football player Māris Verpakovskis, olympic javelin thrower Jānis Lūsis, two-time Olympic BMX champion Maris Strombergs, and basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis. The national sport of Latvia is ice hockey.
Dinamo Riga was a Soviet ice hockey club, based in Riga, Latvia. It was founded in 1946 and disestablished in 1995 as Pārdaugava Rīga. In 1949 to 1963 Dinamo Riga was joined with Daugava sports society which was sponsored by Riga's factories VEF and then RVR.
Georgijs Pujacs is a Latvian ice hockey defenceman who currently plays for Dresdner Eislöwen of the DEL2.
Daugava National Stadium is a multifunctional stadium in Riga, Latvia, which was first opened in 1927. It holds football and athletics competitions. Since 1992 the Daugava Stadium has been designated as a sports facility of national importance. It is owned by the Government of Latvia.
FK Metta is a professional Latvian football club in Riga. As of 2012 they play in the Latvian Higher League. Metta play their home games at Daugava Stadium. Until June 2018, their home venue was the Riga Hanza Secondary School Stadium.
The Sports Clubs of the Armed Forces, Physical Culture and Sports Association of the Soviet Armed Forces, also called the Sports Clubs of the Soviet Ministry of Defense or simply Armed Forces or Army were a system of departmental sports clubs and one of the largest sports societies in the USSR.
Alfons Jēgers was a Latvian football and hockey player. He is recognized by the USSR for his achievements in both sports, receiving the title of Master of Sports in 1950 and Merited Master of Sports in 1951 for ice hockey and football, respectively.
Karlis Arvīds Jurgens was a Latvian footballer, ice hockey, basketball and bandy player who play played for Latvia national teams in all four of these sports. He was one of the best all-around Latvian sportsmen.
The Soviet Hockey Championship was the highest level ice hockey league in the Soviet Union, running from 1946 to 1992. Before the 1940s the game of ice hockey was not cultivated in Russia, instead the more popular form of hockey was bandy. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the league was temporarily renamed the CIS Championship in 1992. This organization was the direct predecessor of the International Hockey League, and subsequent Russian Superleague (RSL) and current Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
The Sverdlovsk plane crash of 5 January 1950 killed all 19 persons on board, including almost the entire ice hockey team of the Soviet Air Forces – 11 players, as well as a team doctor and a masseur. The team was on board a twin-engined Lisunov Li-2 transport aircraft, a licensed Soviet-built version of the DC-3, heading to a match against Dzerzhinets Chelyabinsk. Due to poor weather at Chelyabinsk, the flight diverted to Sverdlovsk. The crew attempted four approaches but during the fifth approach to Koltsovo Airport the aircraft crashed near the airport in a heavy snowstorm with strong winds.
VVS Moscow was a Soviet sports club representing the Soviet Air Force. Among the sports the club participated in were football, ice hockey, basketball, and volleyball. They won the Soviet national basketball league championship in 1952, as well as the Soviet national volleyball league championship in 1952, and the Soviet national ice hockey league championship three times, in the years 1951, 1952, and 1953 following the 1950 Sverdlovsk Air Disaster.
Kirovs Lipmans is a Latvian business person and former ice hockey executive. He served as president of the Latvian Ice Hockey Federation from 1994 to 1995, and from 1998 to 2016; was a member of the Latvian Olympic Committee executive, and sat on International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) committees. He oversaw the increase of artificial ice hockey rinks in Latvia from three to seventeen, and the Latvia men's national team qualify for the top tier of the World Championships then play in four consecutive Olympic hockey tournaments. Lipmans oversaw the construction of Arena Riga for the hosting the 2006 IIHF World Championship, and Latvia was awarded co-hosting duties for the 2021 IIHF World Championship at the end of his presidency.
HK Zemgale/LBTU is a Latvian professional ice hockey team that plays in the Latvian Hockey Higher League. The team is based in Jelgava and play their home games at the Jelgava Ice hall.
Dzidra Uztupe-Karamiševa was a Latvian basketball player and coach. During her career Uztupe-Karamiševa won three FIBA European Champions Cups and four Soviet League titles. She represented the Soviet Union national team and won four EuroBasket tournaments.
Ice hockey in Latvia is the most popular sport in the country. The first hockey match on Latvian soil took place on February 15, 1909, with two teams facing Union and Strēlnieka Dārzs. However, it took another 20 years to supplant the popular sport of Bandy.
The 1946 Soviet football championship was the 14th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union and the 8th among teams of sports societies and factories. Among the worst teams of the top tier before the World War II, CDKA Moscow won the championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the first time.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Harijs Mellups" (in Latvian). Nacionālā enciklopēdija . Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- 1 2 "Vēsture" [History] (in Latvian). Latvian Football Federation . Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- 1 2 Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com
- 1 2 "Neatkāpjamies" [Let's not back down] (in Latvian). Latvijas hokeja vēsture. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ↑ "LATVIJAS HOKEJAM 85!" [85 FOR LATVIAN HOCKEY!] (in Latvian). Latvian Ice Hockey Federation. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ↑ "Mazi, bet ņipri" [Small, but lively]. Sporto.lv. February 2021. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
