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On Tuesday, 14 January, while meeting with the Latvian Olympic Committee (LOC) to discuss our country’s preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the members of the Sports Subcommittee of the Saeima also wished Latvia’s athletes endurance, success and a feeling of the Olympic spirit.

In answer to the question posed by Ivans Klementjevs, Chairman of the Subcommittee, on how the LOC is preparing for the Winter Olympics, Aldons Vrubļevskis, President of the LOC, stressed that the planning and preparation phases have already been completed, and only administrative tasks remain to ensure that on 31 January the first athletes will be able to leave for Sochi and prepare for their races. Since this will be the seventh Winter Olympics for Latvia, a certain degree of experience in preparing for the event has already been accumulated, Vrubļveskis said. 

After every Olympic Games, the return on investment for sports disciplines with the highest results is assessed; that is, the cost of attained Olympic medals is calculated. Ulrika Auniņa-Naumova, Director of the Sports and Youth Department of the Ministry of Education and Science, informed the MPs that since 2012, when preparations for these Winter Olympics were begun, the state has allocated over EUR 10 million for sports disciplines with the highest results to finance the Latvian Olympic team, the LOC and sports federations, as well as to pay allowances to our Olympic athletes.

When discussing the results that can be expected from Latvian athletes, Žoržs Tikmers, Secretary General of the LOC, expressed his conviction that all of our athletes will go to the Olympics fully prepared to perform at their best. Considering previous achievements, Latvia probably has its best chances in skeleton, bobsleigh and biathlon, Tikmers predicted.

However, when discussing the participation in the Winter Olympics of our paralympians, Daiga Dadzīte, President of the Latvian Paralympic Committee, said that the Committee lacks sufficient financing to make it possible for our athletes to qualify for the Winter Games. Additional financing of approximately EUR 100,000 would be necessary for the support of winter sports. Auniņa-Naumova stressed that although the current amount of financing given to the Committee is insufficient and there is a need to increase it in order for the paralympic movement to develop further, this is already the second year when financing has been increased.

Photos from the Subcommittee meeting are available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/saeima/sets/72157639752798906/with/11944900344/
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Saeima Press Service