Aivars Balbek: Lifetime BMX Achievement Award

At the celebratory award ceremony “Latvijas Riteņvhāšeħa gada balva”, which will take place on January 13, the manager and judge of Jelgava BMX club “Mītavas kumeļi” Aivars Balbeks will receive the award for his lifetime contribution to Latvian cycling.

“When I found out, I was shocked, because it was a completely unexpected surprise. But when I understood it, it was genuine joy that I had been appreciated,” says A. Balbek.

As informed by the Latvian Cycling Federation, the award will be given to A. Balbek in appreciation of his long-term contribution to the development of BMX at the national level. “The always positive Aivars turned to BMX cycling in 1994, when his son Uldas started to become an athlete in this sport. Aivars’ first and only club is “Mītavas Kumeļi”. He became the chairman and president of the club’s board in 2005 and still holds this position. The club “Mītavas Kumeļi” has won the title of Latvian club champion three times in the last five years. During this period alone, also 25 Latvian championship titles in the international circuit, 35 European championship titles have been achieved. In the last five years, “Mītava’s colts” have been represented by hundreds of athletes, including Kristens Krieger, who competed in the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Aivars became more involved in Latvian BMX life from 1998, when he started his career as a judge. He still goes to BMX competitions not only to follow the athletes of his club, but also to act as a judge. For example, in 2025, Aivars also refereed the European Championship held in Valmiera.

Aivars manages the club “Mītavas kumeļi” together with his son Uldi, who works as a coach. Every year, the club also organizes a BMX competition in Jelgava, which is a stage of the Latvian Cup, participates in the city’s festive procession of Jelgava and is involved in other activities organized by the city and the Jelgava Sports Service Center.