From 21 to 23 July, Ventspils will host the 11th annual “Ghetto Games Festival” of street sports and culture. The event will bring together athletes, amateurs and other extreme sports enthusiasts of many levels in Ventspils – the largest alternative sports and street culture event in the Baltics, informs the portal balticevents.info.
This year’s festival programme will include: Latvian Inline Cup, skateboard, scooter, BMX, table hockey competitions, as well as all traditional Ghetto Games events – Ghetto Games, Ghetto Football, Ghetto Floorball, Ghetto Dance, Ghetto Fight and Freestyle Battle. There will be various activities for families with children, many shows, competitions and a three-day Ghetto Food Festival, where foodies can indulge their taste buds with a wide range of food and drinks – pizzas, kebabs, pancakes, coffees, burgers, ice creams, waffles and much more.
Latvian Inline Cup on 21 and 22 July will determine Latvian champions in freestyle roller skating, as well as the best Baltic and European riders will compete for prize money in the Open class together with Latvian athletes. Latvian U14, U18, Ladies and Open Championships. 21 July, U14, U18 and 22 July, Ladies and Open class with participation of foreign guests. The expected guests are from Estonia, Poland, Germany, France, Israel, Australia. The Inline Cup will take place at the Ventspils Skatepark, where there will also be skateboarding competitions for amateurs, BMX Park competitions, scooter competitions with foreign guests.
The Ghetto Football tournament will be special because every game in the tournament is played according to special rules. The classic Ghetto Football rules are supplemented with different conditions, for example, if the ball is thrown between the legs of the opponent, the player must leave the pitch. The games will take place on 22 July.
The Ghetto Fight programme will take place on 21 and 22 July and will be organised as a fight festival, with a varied programme of fights and other sporting activities. There will be activities such as Mass-Wrestling, Bench Press, Grappling Tournament, Kickboxing Tournament, Kickboxing Seminar, Grappling Seminar, UFC Tournament (PlayStation), Power Punch, Power Relay and Chessboxing.
On the evening of 21 July, the Ghetto Games Freestyle Battle will take place. As every year, the Freestyle Battle will bring together the strongest spontaneous rhyme makers to compete for the top prize. Freestyle Battle is one of the most popular events of the festival, and not only because rap is the hottest music genre of the moment. Audiences are amazed by the participants’ virtuoso ability to invent events and stories in rhyme on the spot, and to present them in a funny way that is understandable to young and old alike. An added value of the event is the fact that no swear words are used during the battles, so the event is friendly to all audiences.
Basketball or Ghetto Basket will be the final of the Baltic League, which will take place over two days on 22 and 23 July. Group matches on 22 July and the Playoffs on 23 July. The Baltic League finals will be played between the winners of the 5 tournaments and the top 10 teams in the overall standings. So far, two teams have already qualified for the finals – Mantinga (Lithuania) and Scanweld (Estonia). The winning team will receive tickets to the World Tour in Lausanne. Of course, there will also be Ghetto Basket tournaments in the U11, U13, U15, U17, Open and Lady groups.
On 23 July, one of the biggest Hip Hop dance competitions will take place during the Ghetto Games festival. Dancers will compete for the title of “Ghetto Dance” Best Dancer. The competition will be held in two categories “Hip-Hop” and “All styles” in a one-on-one format. There will be groups for beginners, children and an OPEN group. The competition will be judged by the world-class dance winner Ben from Germany.
On 23 July, the Ghetto Floorball programme will consist of 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 tournaments in the U12, U14, U16, U19 and 20+ groups, as well as 3-on-3 games with goalkeepers and bullpens.
Please note that photography and/or filming may be carried out during the event to ensure visibility, publicity and promotion of the Ghetto Games. By attending the event, you agree that you may be photographed and filmed.
Entrance is absolutely free for spectators. Information about the event and the programme will be updated. More information is available on the official Ghetto Games website www.ghetto.lv.
