Diana Zalupe was born in Riga, where as a young teenager she started her sports career in kayaking, showing remarkable results in women’s sports. D.Zalupe graduated from the Riga Food Industry Technical School (planner, economist) and the Academy of Sports Pedagogy of Latvia, obtaining a Master’s Degree. However, she developed her working career in sports in a very small town of Latvia called Limbazi. Since 1990, Diana Zalupe has been the headmaster of the Limbazi Regional Sports School. She was also the chairman of the board of the Olympic Center (OC) “Limbazi” for ten years. Diana Zalupe is the chairman of the board of the Board of Directors of Sports Educational Institutions of Latvia (LSIIDP), a vice-president and board member of the Canoe Federation of Latvia, as well as a member of the General Assembly of the Olympic Committee of Latvia. In addition, Diana Zalupe represents youth sports in the Council of Sports Federations of Latvia and the Olympic Unity of Latvia. In 2022, Diana Zalupe was nominated for the “Three Star Award 2022”, which is the highest possible award for inhabitants of Latvia for her significant contribution to the development of youth sports in Latvia.
Diana Zalupe is a highly significant figure in the youth sports of Latvia. She represents the interests of youth sports at the national level also in the Ministry of Education and Science together with representatives of the Sports Department, as well as in the National Sports Council of Latvia together with members of the Saeima (parliament form), ministers and the Prime Minister. LSIIDP board members, together with Diana Zalupe, ongoing participate in various state-level working groups. In 2012, on the initiative of D.Zalupe, the LSIIDP Youth Sports Fund was established, which since its establishment has supported the most talented Latvian youth athletes in three categories – international sport camps, international sport competitions, high-quality sports equipment.
D.Zalupe’s contribution to the youth sports of Latvia is underestimated not only at the national level, taking care of youth sports coaches’ salaries and appropriate working conditions. Working as the headmaster of the Limbazi Regional Sports School for more than 30 years, under the leadership of D.Zalupe, first USSR champions, later European champions, World champions, as well as Olympians with high prize-winning ranks have been trained. Since Limbazi is a small town in Latvia with approximately six thousand inhabitants, achievements of this magnitude are all the more priceless.
It is impossible to list all of Diana’s achievements, only the most visible and “biggest” ones are mentioned here. However, we cannot fail to mention, for example, the sports clothes and shoes that the sports school under Diana’s leadership provided for underprivileged young athletes, free lunches for the poor, free student accommodation at the sports school headquarters and much more others. Diana herself does not like to talk about it in public, and if you ask her to tell more about any of these cases, you will see that she rarely remembers them, because life goes on, new events and challenges come, which require her time and energy.
There may be many managers, but not all managers are leaders. Diana Zalupe is a Manager with the capital letter – a leader, an inspirer, a teacher and a charismatic person.

Project “Equal Opportunities in Sports Management” funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.