Auseklis Order (Strength athletics), approved by the Federation of Athleticism and Bodybuilding of Latvia in 2009.
The order is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of power athletics in Latvia and the World (1890) and the 30th anniversary of the restoration of the Latvian Championships in bodybuilding and classical bench press (1981).
The order is awarded to sports leaders and competing athletes for outstanding personal achievements and contribution to the development of power athletics in Latvia.
The order design includes:
– Latvian national star “Auseklis”
– disk weight
– dumbbell
– the inscription “Latvija”
– the year of the beginning of power athletics in Latvia and the World – 1890
On the reverse side of the order, its serial number is engraved, as well as the name and surname of the cavalier.
Design – Oleg Burinsky
Production – Boris Ischenko
Material – silver and enamel
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ORDER – WHAT IS IT?
An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic royal house or organisation to a recipient, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes worn by recipients.
Modern honour systems of state orders and dynastic orders emerged from the culture of orders of chivalry of the Middle Ages, which in turn emerged from the Catholic religious orders.
Orders began to be created ad hoc and in a more courtly nature. Some were merely honorary and gradually the badges of these orders (i.e. the association) began to be known informally as orders. As a result, the modern distinction between orders and decorations or insignia has become somewhat blurred. While some orders today retain the original notion of being an association or society of individuals, others make no distinction and an “order” may even be the name of a decoration.
Most historic chivalric orders imply a membership in a group, typically a confraternity. In a few exclusive European orders, membership is or was also limited in number. Decorations seldom have such limitations. Orders often come in multiple classes, including knights and dames in imitation of the original chivalric orders.
* P.S. The Order of Auseklis is a democratic award and does not divide its cavalier into “important” and “simple”.