Riga Technical University Conference and Sports Centre «Ronīši»

In 1958, when the Riga Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was renovated, the idea arose to create a sports and recreation camps, as well as a health camps for students, where after sessions they could relax and compete in various sports. RPI was one of the first Latvian higher education institutions to establish such bases. For the first time, the article summarizes and describes the development of the Riga Technical University (RTU) Conference and Sports centre «Ronīši» from the 1960s to the present day.


Introduction
Riga Technical University Conference and Sports Centre «Ronīši» has become one of the largest and most important conference and sports centres owned by the University, located in Klapkalnciems -Engure Municipality, Engure Parish, on the shores of the Gulf of Riga.
The 6.4-hectare area is formed by a hollow with sand dunes, which are overgrown with pines typical of seaside villages. 100 m away is a river, 250 m -the sea. In the hollow there are 45 Finnish-type summer houses, which were manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s in the Smiltene branch of the experimentally mechanical production association «Progress» (1972-1978; later -in the household accessories factory «Smiltene» (1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)). Around them, in the highest places of the territory, there are 21st century buildings. RTU Conference and Sports Centre «Ronīši» also has a sports field, two conference buildings, a cafe,  In 1987, at the request of the RPI administration, the development project of «Ronīši» was worked out in diploma thesis by Daiga Dudare, a student of the Department of Architecture and Urban Planning of the RPI Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering [8]. Aivars Andžāns, a graduate of the RTU Faculty of Architecture (2000) in the mid-1990s, worked out a new development project for «Ronīši» [9].
In the study year 2018/2019, the second year students of the Institute of Design Technologies (IDT) of the RTU Faculty of Materials Science and Applied Chemistry developed a vision for the improvement of «Ronīši» summer houses. Students Gerda Laumane, Ginta Možvillo and Līva Miķelsone won the first place and recognition. From the beginning, the students arranged the territory of «Ronīši» in the summer during construction works and practice, creating a place for sports, recreation, health, seminars and conferences not only for themselves, but also for the teaching staff, management and other guests of the university.

RPI Sports and Recreation Camps in the 1960s
Sport has been a great honour since the founding of RP / RPI and later after its renewal. Students went to several summer and winter sports camps, which the institute rented. In 1961, at the RPI Trade Union Conference, it was decided that the institute needed its own sports facilities [10]. The first RTU sports building was the inflatable RPI Sports Hall in Ķīpsala, which was opened in 1974 (approximate location -the intersection of the current Paula Valdena Street and Zunda Embankment; the location of the hall was more on Zunda Embankment) [11].
RPI continued to rent other premises and camps necessary for sports activities in various places in Latvia both in summer and winter. For example, in 1961, a sports and recreation camp was established in the territory of the boarding school of the Ventspils District Stiklu Auxiliary School as a tent town [12]. In the winter of the same year, RPI students started playing sports and had a long rest in Ērgļi (in the territory of Rūdolfs Blaumanis Memorial Museum «Braki»). «Braki» became the permanent winter sports and recreation camp of the institute in 1965. In later years it was also used as a summer recreation base [1; p. 614]. The 1966 summer camp took place in the already mentioned Ērgļi [13]. In the summer of 1962, a tent town was established near Carnikava, in the territory of the agricultural Artel «Ādaži» [12].
The decision to establish own sports and recreation caps also had an economic justification -RPI, renting 18 gyms in different seasons, in the academic year 1968/1969 paid 60 thousand rubles [14]. The land of the «Ronīši» territory was officially acquired in the second half of the 1960s, when RPI was allocated land for the establishment of sports and recreation camps. In 1969, under the leadership of SPCO architect Anda Bērziņa, an RPI student recreation camp project was developed. According to the project, recreational buildings and cottages were to be built for the leisure and sports needs of 350 students, teachers and staff of the institute [15]. This year, RCD / RCC built and commissioned the centralized water supply [16]. In July of the same year, students arrived for the first time in Kalpkalnciems, RPI recreation camp by the sea. Led by experienced builders, 60 students took part in the construction of the camp, continuing the construction work started in April. In addition to the existing buildings, two Finnish-type summer houses [15] continued to be built, each for about 10 people. They were planned to use as residential houses not only in the summer. Students arrived at the recreation camp in summer in two shifts of 24 days, starting in July. The first shift students had to hurry to set up a canteen (300 sq. m.), which could also be used as a club in their free time. The vacationers lived in tents. The Institute's Department of Physical Education and Sports, the Trade Union Organization and the Rectorate worked to improve and expand the construction of students' summer and winter recreational sports facilities. In addition to volleyball and badminton, which were played on home pitches, it was possible to go on boat trips at sea [16]. There were also fields for basketball and mini football, covered with a rubberized rubber cover. In the spring of next year, it was planned to build roads as well as buildings for student mass events, where one could play various sports and board games, engage in artistic activities, read books, watch TV shows and movies, provide facilities for students' sanitary and hygienic needs, including showers, laundry, ironing, etc. [15].

«Ronīši» in the 1970s
RCD / RCC, SPCO and RPI students continued the construction of «Ronīši». Support was also provided by DOSAAF (Voluntary Association for the Promotion of the Army, Aviation and Marine (Russian: Добровольное общество содействия армии, авиации и флотa, ДОСААФ)). SPCO worked with architecture enthusiasts -the already mentioned A. Bērziņa and Lilija Saško together with 180 students [17]. At the beginning 1970s, the name «Ronīši» also appeared. In an interview with the newspaper «Dzimtenes Balss», Gunārs Krastiņš, a senior lecturer at the RPI Department of Sports, said that «the name was coined by a colleague who worked on the improvement of the territory and said that holidaymakers will be able to sleep at the base as «seals» [18]». Aivars Andruškins (1955-2020), the former manager of «Ronīši», had confirmed this story, pointing out that the name of the sports and recreation base was legally given by Jānis Lujāns , then Vice-Rector for Maintenance of RPI. Then, also in 1970, the side of the highway at the RPI Sports and Recreation Camp was decorated with the sign «RPI Summer Recreation Camp «Ronīši»» [19].
The students started living in the holiday camp from 6 July. The summer recreation camp «Ronīši» operated in two shifts: the firstfrom 6 to 29 July, the second -from 3 to 26 August [20]. Each student had to pay 15-18 rubles to the local committee of the institute for the 24 days spent in the camp. Students had the opportunity to berry and mushroom in the surrounding forest, as well as participate in berry and mushrooming competitions. They lived in tents made in Poland. They were sewn from a very durable, chemical-impregnated fabric and had received excellent reviews in Arctic glaciers and mountain tops, jungles and deserts. The large sports equipment foreign trade association «Universal» supplied tents to many countries around the world [21].  Turning along the asphalt road in the territory of Klapkalnciems, some single-storey buildings stood between the pines and to the left of them a lot of tents of various colours. About 90 RPI students could stay in «Ronīši» in one shift in the summer of 1972. Some of them were first-and second-year students who studied production internships and participated in the construction of holiday homes [22].
In 1972, four Finnish-type summer houses were installed in «Ronīši», thanks to the students' working capacity and the RPI Maintenance Servi ce. They were put on point-based foundations. Each house had two isolated rooms with loggias. The houses did not have facilities, showers and kitchens. Students could cook or buy ready-made food in the canteen as well as cook in the open air. The showers were shared, located in the area. In 1973, 18 Finnish-type summer houses manufactured in Smiltene, a badminton court, a basketball court, a tennis court, a handball court, a sewage pump house, a canteen, facilities, laundries, showers and laundry facilities, and parking lots were built in «Ronīši». In the same year, in the first phase of construction, it was planned to equip a volleyball court and build 27 more Finnish-type summer houses, a winter building (on the first floor -a canteen, on the second floor -living rooms), a sauna with a built-in kiosk. Later, in the second phase, the existing construction territory was to be supplemented with an administrative building, a medical centre, a guard's house, spectator stands, an enclosed gym (30 x 18 m and 7 m high), a winter building (on two floors with living rooms) and sheds for board games. All projects were coordinated with the RPI Vice-Rector for Administrative and Economic Work Vilnis Grīviņš. Project was designed and developed by Gundega Lināre, chief engineer of the project -A. Krūmiņš, group leader A. Avots [23].
In the summer of 1973, almost 100 students were able to stay in summer houses in a small pine area with asphalt paths. It was planned to start building a sauna. There were also planned good winter houses [24]. In the summers, students worked for four weeks on the improvement of the territories belonging to the institute, i. e. in the «Ronīši» [25].
In 1974, a laboratory was set up in «Ronīši» to monitor the athletes' ability to work after various classes [26]. As A. Andruškins recalls, many students' mental and physical abilities were very low after the summer exam session [27]. In contrast, when the students left the holiday camp, the laboratory tests showed very good results. All physical activities in the camp took place under the supervision of doctors. Jānis Ozoliņš worked as a camp doctor for many years. Jānis Strazdiņš for one year (from 1975 to 1990 J. Strazdiņš was the chief narcologist at the Ministry of Health of the Latvian SSR, from 1991 to 1993 -the chief freelance narcologist at the Ministry of Welfare of Latvia).
In 1975, it was planned to design a new canteen, because the existing one was too small for the needs of students. In the same year, two prefabricated Finnish saunas were installed in «Ronīši», following the request of RPI Vice-Rector for Economic and Administrative Work Uldis Grabovskis (see Figure 11) to the Tukums District Executive Committee [23]. Continuing the development of «Ronīši», the 1978 inventory plan included 48 Finnish-type summer houses manufactured in Smiltene, a canteen, gyms with a residential house, a veranda with an outbuildinga guard's house, a veranda with an outbuilding -a medical centre and two saunas [23]. In later years, the guard's house was transformed into an administration building and a medical centre into a warehouse.          Orlovskis -the first from the right -at one of the summer house in «Ronīši» and the longest-serving commander Biruta Ašmane (1980s).

«Ronīši» in the 1980s
At the beginning of the 1980s, 280 students could relax in «Ronīši» at the same time. The main organizer of «Ronīši» public events was G. Krastiņš. The stay and meals cost 15 rubles a month, the remaining 40 rubles were covered by the RPI Trade Union. At the beginning of the 1980s, in the territory of «Ronīši» there was a canteen, a sports field, a play pavilion, two saunas (one with a swimming pool), etc. buildings. The camp also had all the sports equipment necessary for studentsvolleyball and basketball balls, badminton equipment, water skis and boats [18].
In 1984, 45 Finnish-type summer houses (two rooms with a separate entrance in each house) were made available to students at «Ronīši» [29]. A reservoir was built in 1989 (there were seven other local treatment plants and other small treatment plants in the «Ronīši» sewerage system). It was planned to build a rehabilitation centre in the following years [30]. In the 1980s, «Ronīši» gained a new neighbour. Next to the «Ronīši» territory, a sports and recreation camp for students was planned to be established by the State University of Latvia (SUL), to which the state granted land in 1979. In 1980, SUL asked RPI SPCO to develop an individual project for its sports and recreation camp, taking into account that the allocated land has a forest and dunes that must be preserved. The design assignment included 20 wooden two-room buildings, a public building, administration rooms, a medical canter, a library, a board game pavilion, a physiotherapy complex with a sauna, water treatment rooms and a laundry room, sports fields and sanitary facilities. It was planned that 320 students could be accommodated in the area. The project was to run until 1985. The design and coordination works took a long time, and only in 1986 did the representatives of SUL bring the first four prefabricated summer houses. Meanwhile, the places for the houses were overgrown with pine trees and they were transferred to the ownership of RPI. They were installed in the territory of «Ronīši» at the highest points of the relief. In the same year, under the leadership of P. Orlovskis, electricity was installed for the new houses, as well as paths to them were built.  At the beginning of the 1990s, two new houses called «līvānietes» were built in «Ronīši». These were prefabricated residential buildings made in the Līvāni Wooden House Factory. The production of these houses began after the Swedish Prefabricated Wooden Panel House Company «Kährs Maskiner AB» and the USSR signed an agreement worth 22.5 million Swedish kronor in August 1973 for the supply of technology and equipment for a prefabricated wooden house factory in Līvāni. The factory produced three models -«5M», «5MP» and «Kompakt» -buildings. The name is derived from the place of manufacture and production. In the mid-1990s, a third «līvāniete» was built. After the restoration of Latvia's independence, the ownership of the land also changed, and in 1997 the heirs of the land of the «Ronīši» territory Oskars Visvaldis Freijs and Leonīds Juris Freijs donated this land to Riga Technical University. According to the assessment of the State Land Service, the cadastral value of the land property to be donated was 26 145 lats [31; p. 192]. In 1997, on the basis of a gift agreement, a plot of land with an area of 0.13 ha was separated, which remained the property of the Freiji family. According to the inventory, in 1998 «Ronīši» had an old canteen built in 1969, a canteen designed by I. Strautmanis built in 1988, which also served as a club, a commandant's house, which served as a medical centre, guard's house, basketball court, showers with facilities, a sauna, four summer houses obtained from the SUL in 1986, three houses made in the Līvāni Wooden House Factory, two winter houses and 42 (three houses had burned down) Finnish-type summer houses manufactured in Smiltene [9]. As in the whole of Latvia, larger construction works in «Ronīši» resumed only in the late 1990s. In 1999, a log house was built in «Ronīši» according to the design of architect Aleksandrs Voļatovskis, which was intended for administration, but later turned into a summer residential building. In 2020, this building was renovated and adapted to the needs of the administration. The function selected for the building corresponds to the location. It is the first building that visitors of «Ronīši» see when entering camp's territory. In accordance with the improvement of «Ronīši», the facilities and showers had to be renovated. They were rebuilt in 2000. The works were performed by the company Ltd. «Polaks» [9].   In 2001, Land Register Certificate of «Ronīši» listed 63 buildings: two canteens, two one-storey residential buildings, a maintenance building, 48 Finnish-type one-storey residential summer houses, two saunas, four auxiliary buildings, a water pump building and facilities. In 2003, one Finnish-type summer house was improved, with showers, facilities and a kitchen. These works were performed according to the project of the architect Jānis Stūris [9]. This type of improvement was intended for several summer houses, but only one was implemented.  In 2011, the project was implemented. In addition to the five family cottages envisaged in the project (marked in yellow in the illustration; see Figure 41), two more cottages of the same type were built [9]. Each has a kitchen, bedroom, shower, bathroom and loggia. In contrast, a further 11 cottages (red and purple in the illustration; see Figure 41) and holiday cottages with shared kitchens and showers (brown in the illustration; see Figure 41) were built with slightly different layouts and sizes [32]. At the beginning of 2000, a land called «Krieviņi» was purchased next to the «Ronīši» territory. In this area, there was a small, widely glazed frame construction house. This building is used for various meetings and seminars.        In 2017, a children's playground was built next to the sports field in «Ronīši». In the same year, the territory of «Ronīši» was expanded by purchasing a territory of 0.34 ha, which was located in the neighbourhood and belonged to a private person. It was known as «Mežronīši». In 2018, one of the Finnish-type summer houses manufactured in Smiltene was rebuilt into a shared kitchen, which can be used by the residents of the nearby summer houses.

The Life of «Ronīši» Over the Time
«Ronīši» has always been not only a place for employees and students, but also a place for various public events, which are actively taking place even today. One of the earliest events that took place in «Ronīši» was the sports games for teachers and employees of the Baltic Technical Universities (BTU).
From the end of the 1970s to the 1990s, Neptune's Day was celebrated in «Ronīši» in connection with the Fishermen's Day in Klapkalnciems.
Aleksandrs Veiss (1918-1985), a long-time rector of RPI , founded the RPI Employees' Health Day in «Ronīši» in 1982, which took place regularly every spring, and teams of students and teachers from many faculties took part in various sports games and events [27].
At the end of the 1980s, RPI Sports Club and RPI Students Club organized collective recreation events for the families of the institute's employees with children and grandchildren in «Ronīši». Later, these activities were organized in regular children's camps. Yoga classes were led by choreographer and dancer Ilze Zariņa, and psychology by Irēna Larionova. In later years, not only sports and dance events were organized in the camps, but also erudition games. After 2000, Inese Krūma (married Zemture), Laura Gāže, Inita Grīnberga joined the children's camp organizing team. To make the camps more interesting, the composition of teachers was changed every year [34].
Since the beginning of the 1990s, summer creative seminars in the format of RTU choir and dancers' camp have been organized under the leadership of the director of RTU Students Club (now RTU Culture Centre) Asja Visocka. Later, participants of RTU Student Theatre also participated in these seminars. They were organized by actress Indra Burkovska. From 1997 to 2004, a competition for young Latvian road users was hold in «Ronīši», organized by the Road Traffic Safety Directorate.
Long-term resident of «Ronīši» RTU Rector Academician I. Knēts said about «Ronīši»: ««Ronīši» -it is the sea, the sun and the wind. «Ronīši» -it is freedom, movement and sports. «Ronīši» -it is a thrilling pine forest and an unforgettable beach. «Ronīši» -these are memories of a fantastic rest. If someone has not spent a week in the summer in «Ronīši», he has not seen much from the glorious nature of Latvia» [9].