In order to improve Latvia's achievements in sport, scientists from Riga Stradins University (RSU), Riga Technical University (RTU), University of Latvia, RTU Liepāja Academy and Latvian Academy of Sport Pedagogy have launched a nationwide research project «Innovations, Methodologies and Recommendations for the Development and Management of the Sports Sector in Latvia». The project aims to improve the assessment of equipment required in technical sports and to develop methods for monitoring athletes' functional abilities and health and promoting training efficiency.
The project is implemented under the national research programme «Sport».
It involves an interdisciplinary research team of more than 80 people with expertise in sports science, computer science, biology, physics, medicine and engineering. In addition, it will involve a wide range of sports stakeholders - not only athletes, coaches, parents of children and young people, but also professionals working in the field of athlete health monitoring, such as sports physicians, doctors, physiotherapists, etc., sports managers and policy makers.
The project plans activities in separate working groups. One of them is Sports Technology Development, which will focus on the development of technologies and tools to test and improve the material properties of equipment needed for technical sports. The planned activities build on RTU's previous work on tribology, metrology and slip properties for various mechanical engineering components and their summaries, including for rhenium sports. RTU also plans to develop composite materials for sports equipment construction, aerodynamic simulation and optimisation.
Research methods and knowledge base in health and sport sciences will also be developed, focusing on athletes' health, functional abilities, training methodologies and approaches to improve performance in three target groups: athletes involved in adapted and grassroots sport, and children and young people involved in sport. In turn, the development of the monitoring of the sport sector will analyse the main statistical indicators of sport development and develop a tool for the collection and use of sport statistics, as well as a classification of sport infrastructure and criteria for the evaluation of sport infrastructure, preparing recommendations for the planning and management of sport infrastructure in Latvia.
The project has attracted state budget funding of almost EUR 4.2 million through the open call for proposals for the national research programme «Sport» announced by the Latvian Council of Science.
The project will run until the end of 2026.
