Thousands Instead of Hundreds

21.12.1971 (Pionieris)

A quarter of a century has passed. Today, Dzidra is sorting through her diplomas from her youth, which mark the beginning of her sports career. But the language of the diplomas is dry.

But even more eloquent are the cups and medals won, which are placed in a showcase in the house on Gorkija Street, where there live two Honored Masters of Sports of our republic - Dzidra and Aleksandrs Karamiševis.

About the first school Spartakiad — Dzidra Karamisheva tries to remember. —- At that time I was studying in Pārdaugava, at Riga Secondary School No. 5. Together with the girls from the school, we won the Spartakiad in volleyball, basketball and relay race. I received my fourth winner's diploma as a high jumper. When I was awarded, I was presented with a copy of Andrejs Pumpurs' Latvian folk epic "Lāčplēsis" along with my diploma. So my sports career began in secondary school No. 5 and the students in Spartakiad. 

The students especially loved playing basketball in the narrow hall of the Pārdaugava school. The hall is very small, that's why there were only three players on each of the class basketball teams. Dzidra's team had invented very interesting names for themselves (after Kipling) - one on a white jersey - "Riki", the other - "Tiki", the third - "Tavi", Dzidra was "Riki".

And then began Dzidra Karamsheva's journey. From the republican school team to the Latvian adult and USSR women's basketball team. Our outstanding basketball master has played in Brazil, the Korean Democratic People's Republic, the USA, France, England, Yugoslavia and many other countries.

Pārdaugava school "Riki" won four European championship gold medals, but at the world championships in Rio de Janeiro, the USSR team with Dzidra Karamishev suffered its only loss against the US team and won silver medals. Now she is the coach of the famous Riga TTT basketball team. A lifelong friendship was formed with basketball. 

Flipping through the pages of the history of the republic's student Spartakiad, we see that our famous cyclists Dzintars Lācis and Ringolds Kalnenieks began their sports careers with great success already during their school years. The current coach of «Dinamo» Tālivaldis Budēvics has achieved good success in athletics.

Not all the names of the most outstanding athletes can be found in the lists of winners of the republican school Spartakiad. Also, the four-time European champion in javelin throwing Jānis Lūsis initially looked for his talent in the high jump during his school years. And he didn't find it either... It turned out that Jānis Lūsis had a greater talent in javelin throwing, and already during his school years he parted ways with the high jump sector.

That was not the case with Mexico City Olympic participant Helen Ring. She remained faithful to running and long jumping, although at the 1961 school games, Helen only finished 18th in the 100-meter distance. Strongman Artūrs Sliede won the shot put at the school games that same year, but in recent years he has retrained as a weightlifter, and the heavy bar has brought him much greater success than the much lighter shot put.

Our most notable table tennis players Dzintra Lūkina, Zigismunds Kalniņš, Uldis Eglītis, artistic gymnasts Agita Rītiņa, Diāna Urbāne, and representatives of many other sports also won their first victories at the school sports competitions.

School Spartakiad - a forge of young sports masters. In the Olympic year, very exciting Spartakiad competitions will take place for the students of our republic. Already on January 4, chess players will start the competition in Baldone. Until the summer, biathletes, cross-country and alpine skiers, cyclists, basketball players, volleyball players and football players, shooters, sports and artistic gymnasts, fencers and swimmers, tennis players, kayakers and canoeists, track and field athletes, boys in freestyle and classical wrestling will still compete in the final competitions of the 25th school Spartakiad of the republic. The final competitions of the school Spartakiad of the republic will be held in various cities of the republic - in Riga, Alūksne, Daugavpils, Sigulda, Jurmala, Kuldīga, Saldus, Brocēni, Baldone, Liepāja, Ogre, Limbaži, Murjāņi.

Only a hundred people participated in the first Spartakiads for schoolchildren, but now the view of the Spartakiad participants

extends into many thousands.

A. SPARS