For the uninitiated, novus is a table game that looks a bit like a cross between snooker, pool, checkers, hockey and backgammon – but it's a lot of fun in its own right, requiring plenty of skill and tactical acumen.
Representatives from six countries took part in the Madona tournament. The game has gained more popularity in Latvia in recent years and competitions are organized more and more often, so the problem of finding suitable premises for holding tournaments often arises.
In Madona, more than 240 participants from Latvia, USA, Great Britain, Estonia, Germany and Ukraine tested their novus skills over two days. Among them is American Latvian Vairis Dravnieks, who fell in love with novus as a child, growing up in Baldone, and now continues this tradition in his home country.
"In America, of course, it's not at the same level as here, but we, who live in the tip of New York, get together - there are about 15 of us who play regularly. We try to organize a small tournament every month," said the New Yorker.
Some of the players have been playing for several decades, others have only recently started to taste the game.
"All my life I have been involved in some kind of sport, but my age is probably such that I can't run anymore. Novus is excitement, adrenaline, precision," said veteran Juris, a member of the "Berģu snipers" team.
"My dad played novus with me, and I can say that I have been following along since I was a child," said Evelina, a participant from Valmiera.
"I saw on TikTok that people were playing novus, then our organizers started to form a team, and before that we played novus online and only got to the real tables after a while. I've been playing novus since March," revealed participant Ernests from Gulbene.
Some teams also pay attention to the visual image in the competition, but the sporting rules are the most important.
There are about nine rounds of the World Cup every year, with an average of 10 countries participating. There are currently around 500 active novus players in Latvia.
"More and more we have to face the positive problem that gyms start to get too small and we have to look for bigger ones, and as a result, sometimes we reach capacity. Then you have to start thinking about where we can be accepted, who can be allowed to participate in the competition," said Ainārs Pēčs, president of the Latvian Novus Federation.
Latvia is a novus powerhouse and secured both main trophies in Madona: Evelīna Sirmā won the women's individual competition, while Edvīns Žugs triumphed in the men's competition.
If you are interested to learn more about novus, the Latvians Online website has this handy translation of the rules while this website has a nice basic outline in English with instructional video (below).
