You are from Latvia, is Basketball popular there?

Yes, Basketball is one of the most popular sports in Latvia along with Ice Hockey, Beach Volleyball and Track and Field Athletics.

When did you start playing Basketball?

In school I played lots of sports including volleyball, basketball, football, skiing, gymnastic, track and field athletics, table tennis and something similar to dodgeball. I started to love basketball when I was 5 or 6 years old, watching NBA games on TV. My favorite player was John Starks from the New York Knicks.

At that time, I played basketball almost every day with my friends outside because there wasn't a basketball court in town where I lived. At age 15 I moved to Liepaja City and there I attended and played for Liepaja Basketball school. This is the same Basketball school that Kristaps Porzingis attended, who now plays in the NBA for the New York Knicks!

What teams did you play for in Latvia?

When I was 18 I began studying at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education in Riga, the Latvian capital city. Whilst there I played basketball for the 1st team. One year we played in the LBL (Latvian Basketball League) pro basketball league. Also I played for many others teams in amateur leagues.

You’ve also coached for a club back home?

After 5 years I graduated the Academy with a Sport Teacher and Basketball Coach Bachelor's degree and moved back to Liepaja City where I started working as a Basketball coach in Liepaja's Basketball School. I worked with boys aged 6 to 18. This Basketball school is huge with more than 10 basketball coaches and over 400 players. Practices were in 8 different basketball courts.

I also worked as a manager for Pro men’s basketball team Liepajas Lauvas (Liepaja Lions). My working day started at 8am and went on till 9pm, sometimes even after midnight. Their home court is Liepaja's Olympic Center which is a huge sport complex with 4 basketball courts, 2 gyms, swimming pools, SPA and over 3000 spectator seats.

Would you like to get back into coaching?

Right now I'm enjoying playing for Bucs but maybe I will when I can't play anymore.

Are there leagues like the Somerset league in Latvia?

Yes, there are many leagues like the Somerset League. In every city there are local competitions with at least 8 teams. Of course in Latvia, there is also the LBL, National League 2 and League 3. So, basketball is very popular in Latvia and there are many people who love the game. In the amateur leagues there are more strong teams than in the UK. More hard games, more technical players.

Is there much difference in the style of Basketball between the UK and Latvia?

There isn’t a big difference in style of Basketball between the UK and Latvia. I can compare only amateur leagues because I haven’t seen any Pro games in the UK (but I would like to!). The biggest difference in amateur leagues are the courts. In Latvia they are bigger, better equipped and have more spectator seats.

It sounds like the facilities there are fantastic, where does the funding for Basketball come from?

In Latvia, pro basketball support comes from sponsors and also from each team’s city government. There are two big teams in Latvia, (Ventspils and VEF-Riga) with budgets over 2 million euros per season. The other teams have budgets around 0.1 — 0.2 million euro’s.

Do Basketball games in Latvia get a lot of spectators?

Regular season games get a couple of hundreds spectators. During play-offs there are a lot more, probably over a thousand. There is a big difference between basketball supporters in Latvia and other European countries like Serbia, Greece and Spain. In these countries basketball is like a religion!

How did you find out about the Somerset league?

When I first came to the UK I missed basketball a lot. A few times with friends, we booked a court and played for fun. After a couple of months, I started to find some teams in the area online. Also, I emailed England Basketball who gave me Gary Carter’s information. Gary and I met for coffee and talked about life and basketball. I told him about my experience as a coach, player and a referee and he arranged for me to start refereeing in the Somerset league. Gary helped me a lot, I’m very grateful to him!

I got involved with Bridgwater Bucs by sending a message through Facebook. Rich Anderson replied, inviting me to practice and then I started playing for them. I like this team, the players are really friendly and funny.

Finally, can you tell us about Liepajas, what’s it like?

Liepaja is on South west coast, by the Baltic sea. It is a perfect place in summer time. Nice beach, hot weather, lovely people. At the beach there are some nice coffee shops and bars. Every evening over the sea there is the most beautiful sunset in the world and there are parties that go on till sunrise.

In the summer many professional sport teams come to Liepaja for summer camp. There is a track and field stadium just 100m from the beach and of course the amazing Olympic Centre with many options for everyone. One day I would like to invite Bucs to Liepaja to do summer camp. That would be perfect. Prepare for the new season and spend time in a perfect place.

That sounds great Igors, thanks for taking the time to answer some questions!