Lithuania won gold and silver, but only one team received bonuses / News
This summer, two youth national teams won European Championship medals for Lithuania, but only one of them will be awarded a monetary incentive.
The 20-year-olds won silver at the end of July, and the 18-year-olds brought the gold to Lithuania this week.
According to the sports law of the Republic of Lithuania, state bonuses for high-quality sports achievements are awarded only from the last youth group – the national team under the age of twenty.
There are three groups in total – young people (up to 16 years old), young people (up to 18 years old) and young people (up to 20 years old).
The 20-year-old European vice-champions secured an annual state scholarship of 840 euros per month (10,080 euros in total). It is awarded only to basketball players in accordance with Article 24, Paragraph 2, Clause 6.
Athletes are entitled to receive a state scholarship:
6) 1st-3rd place winners of the World Youth Championships, Youth Olympic Games, European Youth Championships, World and European Youth Disabled Championships – 20 basic social benefits.
in 2022 the size of one social benefit amounts to 42 euros.
The team was coached by Mindaugas Noreika, assisted by Saulius Kuzminskas and Simas Juraitis, physical training coach Ugnius Savickas and physiotherapist Justė Balevičiūtė worked in the staff.
The scholarship is guaranteed from the last match day of the tournament until the start of next year’s youth group competition.
The silver medal won by the boys is the first in the country’s boys’ basketball in five years. The girls’ generation, led by Juste Jocyte, won the second medal in three years – in 2019, they won the silver of the European 16-year-olds.
The dowry of the generation coached by Vilias Stanišauskas consists of all Lithuanian girls’ medals in the youth A division tournaments.
Against these girls, in 2006, the European sixteen-year-old bronze was won, and in 2008, – gold. They picked up victories in 1990-1991. representatives of generations Aurimė Rinkevičiūtė, Gabrielė Šulskė, Marina Solopova, Lina Pikčiute, Egle ŠventoraitėGiedrė Labuckienė and others.
Stanišauskas’ staff consisted of assistants Gytis Krugelevičius and Rima Daunienė, scout Nedas Pacevičius, physical training coach Edvinas Goris and physiotherapist Saulė Urbonė.
Gitanas Nausėda received the European champions at the presidency on Thursday, congratulated the girls on winning the historic trophy and repeated the iconic victory gesture.
“Wishing the girls to continue the victorious traditions of Lithuanian women’s basketball in the future, the President presented the national team captain and the most valuable player of the European Championship, Justa Jocytea, with the Lithuanian tricolor,” reads the press release of the presidency.
Representatives of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation (LKF) Vydas Gedvilas and Mindaugas Balčiūnas welcomed the 20-year-old and 18-year-old national teams at the airport with flowers.
“Of course, it would be great if every young man and woman received scholarships or incentives,” LKF General Director Balčiūnas told BasketNews. – But the legislators probably know how much money they can spend on such things. Whether we are happy or sad about it, not much changes.
This is true not only in basketball, but in all sports. Just like with rents – players have it, coaches don’t. It turns out that the coaches don’t get it and that’s it, although they might survive even more next time. But every time the athletes get better and feel more and more attention. I believe that when financial opportunities arise, the state will probably give to younger people as well.”
Mindaugas Balčiūnas and Vydas Gedvilas
photo Paulius Peleckis/BNS
Was it not considered to allocate from the budget of the federation?
“We mainly concentrate on improving the conditions of sports training so that the results are achievable,” continued Balčiūnas. – I really don’t think that this is the main motive for them (girls – author’s post) to receive a financial reward. The federation will provide 200 euros in sports goods manufacturer’s checks, small gifts from other sponsors. Well, the medal by itself makes basketball players forced. As members of the national team, medal winners, they will get contracts very soon at the age of eighteen, if they don’t already have them. Motivation comes through other means.”
According to the head of the LKF, the achievements of the youth national teams do not bring specific state grants to the federation. Recorded athletic performance is part of the overall evaluation on which the organization’s funding depends.
“According to the current trends, that part is decreasing,” said Balčiūnas. – There are other criteria, such as massiveness and the like. It’s not like we get half as much if the youngsters win the golds.
Well, when the men didn’t win and didn’t qualify for the Olympics, our funding dropped by 38 percent. There is still a lot of paradox in this situation.”
According to the decisions of August 5, 395 thousand was allocated to the federation from the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania. euros.
Before that, in 2021 according to the resolution of March 24, the grant provided for the organization amounted to 588 thousand. euros.
The total budget of the federation was projected to be around 3.5 million. euros.
LKF has provided funding for national team coaches, but according to Balčiūnas, it is not a significant amount.
“We discuss with the coaches how much we will pay for those few months, and for the results obtained, we are looking for more resources to add,” the general secretary of LKF told the BasketNews website. When they go to the national team, they try to get at least less.
But the coach of no one, neither youth nor men, even talks about such things. When we ask them about their motivations, it is primarily to become a coach. Financial reward is not emphasized.
That’s why the Lithuanian national team is important, that coaches who win medals get better contracts, and the same goes for the players.”
Justė Jocytė’s comment came back from the European Championship:
Viliaus Stanišauskas’ comment came back from the European Championship:
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