With the aim of ensuring the safety of children who take part in sports activities at the new ice hall of the town of Brocēni, the insurance stock company Balti has donated 20 modern and safe hockey helmets to the facility.  "Brocēni is one of the centres for sports in Latvia. The Saldus District can be proud of a rich history of sports, including hockey. It can also be proud of the development of sports today," said Vilnis Vecmanis, director of the Balta affiliate in Saldus. "During this year’s World Hockey Championship, many experts noted the extent to which the importance of regions is increasing in terms of training younger athletes. This is work that is already important for the future of Latvian hockey. We want our young and talented players to learn and improve their skills while they are safe and protected, and that’s why we decided on this gift for the Brocēni ice hall."
Hockey has been at a high level in Brocēni since the 1960s. In 1965, the Brocēni team won the Latvian championship. Famous and distinguished hockey players such as two of the three men called Harijs Vītoliņš have links to Brocēni, as does the well known trainer Ēvalds Grabovskis.  "There has always been hockey in Brocēni, there will always be hockey in Brocēni, and the traditions have been preserved. We have lots of plans. The next thing is to take part in the Latvian Youth Hockey Championship with two teams next year. In future, we hope to have a team that is for each age group," says Arnolds Vārpiņš, director of the ice hall in Brocēni. "It is very important for children to take part in sports, because this is a content-full and disciplining way of spending free time. Sports help children to be active and physically healthy, they help kids to grow up to be good people."
The new ice hall in Brocēni was opened on December 9 last year, thus continuing and developing sports traditions in town. The hall is on the site of the legendary ice rink where Latvian championships used to take place and Latvian champions trained. Among present-day stars one can mention Gunārs Suvorovs from Brocēni – he was on the Latvian U-18 hockey team this year. Nearly 100 students from the Brocēni Sports School take part in regular training sessions at the Brocēni ice hall. With local government support, general education schools also organise activities on the ice. The hall is the site of other important training sessions and games – veterans’ games, as well as the championship of the Latvian Youth League, for instance. We hope that these young players will achieve great heights in a safe way! | 
