Europe’s largest children’s and youth hockey tournament “Riga Hockey Cup” begins in Riga

Europe’s largest children’s and youth hockey tournament, “Riga Hockey Cup” begins in Riga

🔥 From April 3 to May 3, Europe’s largest children’s and youth hockey tournament “Riga Hockey Cup” will take place in Riga. This marks the 20th year of the tournament, during which a record number of participants will compete over five weeks – more than 300 teams with 6,000 players from 24 countries, across age groups from U9 to U18. In total, 1,181 games will be played during the five-week period.

🏟️ The “Riga Hockey Cup” tournament will take place simultaneously in nine ice arenas: Inbox, Volvo SC, Kurbads, Daugava, Mogo, Ozo, Jelgava, Mārupe, and Akropole. Main tournament games will be played every Friday and Saturday, while playoff and final games will take place on Sundays. All games are free to attend in person, and the full schedule is available on the tournament website: www.rhc.lv. Meanwhile, games will also be broadcast live worldwide at www.rigahockeycup.tv.

Jānis Jansons, General Manager of Riga Hockey Cup: “For 20 years, Riga in spring has been a gathering place for the new generation of hockey players. Over the years, Riga Hockey Cup has become the largest children’s and youth hockey tournament in Europe, and possibly also the most popular, as evidenced by the record number of teams, the wide range of participating countries, and nearly 5,000 accompanying supporters. This year, teams will participate not only from Europe, but also from Canada, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and even Japan and the United Arab Emirates!

The tournament’s growth has been successful thanks to purposeful work and long-term support from the Riga Municipality. We are excited that in the coming years we will continue to develop the tournament, promote youth sports development, and strengthen Riga’s recognition in the international sports environment!“

🚀 New level in youth tournaments in Europe
In the anniversary year, the event organizers, together with tournament partners, are setting a new quality standard for youth hockey tournaments by providing unprecedented solutions in terms of safety and future development.

🛡️ Child safety
Child safety is the top priority of the tournament. This year, for the first time, all participants will be provided with Balcia JUNIOR accident insurance. It covers compensation in case of injuries, medical and hospital expenses, or disability resulting from participation in training sessions and competitions. This ensures an additional sense of security and financial support for all participants and their parents in case of health issues arising from risks. This opportunity is provided by the insurance technology company Balcia Insurance SE.

🌍 Player recognition at the international level
Starting this year, the “Riga Hockey Cup” has entered into a partnership with Elite Prospects, aimed at strengthening youth hockey development and increasing international recognition for young players. The Riga Hockey Cup will become one of the first youth hockey tournaments in Europe to be integrated into the Elite Prospects system – the world’s leading and most trusted hockey database. The 2026 tournament will serve as an important adaptation year for this partnership, allowing future integration of game results into the Elite Prospects system, ensuring transparency, reliability of results, and long-term added value for more than 5,000 participants annually.

This collaboration will present young players participating in the Riga Hockey Cup the opportunity to build reliable, professional-level player profiles. In the future, with support from the Elite Prospects system, players will be able to track their development over time and professionally present themselves to scouts, hockey clubs, and organizations worldwide.

The 2026 Riga Hockey Cup is supported in its development by the Riga City Council, Balcia, Inchcape Motors Latvia and Ford, Bauer Hockey, Lido and radio EHR.