· The Monte Real Yacht Club organizes from March 29 to April 3 with the sponsorship of Cenor the most important event of national children’s sailing
· There will be two days of preparation and four days of competition that will bring together 150 boys and girls from 10 autonomous communities in the Galician fishing village
· Galicia is the region that will bring the most athletes into the fray, followed by Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Valencian Community
The fishing village of Baiona (Galicia) will host the Spanish Optimist Championship – Cenor Trophy, the most important event for national children’s sailing in 2021 at Easter. The Royal Spanish Sailing Federation has delegated the organization of the competition to the historic Monte Real Yacht Club, from March 29 to April 3.
The event, which will be held thanks to the sponsorship of the Cenor Group and with the collaboration of the Royal Galician Sailing Federation and the Spanish Association of the International Optimist Class (AECIO), will include two days of preparation and four days of competition, which will meet in Baiona to 150 boys and girls from 10 autonomous communities.
Galicia will be the autonomy that puts the most sailors into contention, since to the 19 summoned by qualifying ranking, another 3 athletes will be added that the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation grants to the Galician community as organizer of the event. Thanks to this concession, the Galician team closed with a total of 22 contenders for the title.
They are followed in number of sailors by Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands and the Community of Valencia, who will attend the national competition with 20 athletes each. Catalonia will compete with 19, Murcia with 11, the Basque Country and Cantabria with 6 each, and Madrid with 4.
There will be a total of 150 boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 15 who will compete for four days for the titles of best U16 and U13 athlete in the male and female categories. Within the framework of this championship, the Spanish Autonomy Championship will also compete, which will reward the community with the best results in the Optimist class.
In the official presentation of the event, held this morning in Baiona, the vice president of the Monte Real Yacht Club, Alejandro Retolaza, described the championship as «one more step in the objective of Monte Real to promote grassroots sailing, where it is – he said- the future of this sport” . Retolaza recalled when the club held the first Galician Optimist championship, in 1970: “Of the 17 children who participated in that edition we went to 120 last year, in the Optimist Galician; and this year we will have 150 in the national. Definitely -he assured- an evolution for which we feel very proud” .
The celebration of the Spanish Optimist Championship 2021 will be possible thanks to the sponsorship of the Galician appliance and technology group Cenor, which has maintained a firm commitment to sport for years. Its general director, Javier González, assured that “This event is one of the proposals to which we could not say no for several reasons: because it is in Baiona, because returning to the MRCYB after many years is a satisfaction and because children and sport is something that generates us great enthusiasm ” . “It is a pride for Cenor -he said- appear on this poster, and that our brand linked to sport be recognized” .
Framed in times of COVID, the Spanish Optimist Championship 2021 – Cenor Trophy will have an extensive security protocol that will include measures for both the competition in the water and for the moments on land. Each community will have its reserved space so as not to mix with the rest and the traditional inaugural team parade will not be held. In addition, temperature controls will be carried out at the entrances to the club and the use of a mask, which is not mandatory in the water because it is sailed alone, but will be required on land and when approaching the port and other vessels.
Regarding the sports development of the competition, the championship will include 2 days of preparation, on Monday 29 and Tuesday 30 March, for registration and measurements. The following three days, Wednesday March 31, Thursday April 1 and Friday April 2, will be devoted to a qualifying series from which the sailors who will compete in the final series on Saturday April 3 will come out.
Each day will include a maximum of 3 tests, so, if all of them can be held, the national team would reveal its winners after 12 scoring rounds. On the last day of competition, Saturday April 3, the award ceremony for the winners will also be held, starting at six in the afternoon in the gardens of the Monte Real Club de Yates.
As a recreational-tourist complement to the competition, the sailors will be able to participate in a dramatized track race through the streets of Baiona. A tour that, with the aim of solving a riddle, will allow you to discover the ins and outs of discovery, to figures as prominent as Diego Carmona, Vasco Gallego, Isabel la Católica or Pinzón; and places like the Church of Santa María, the Monolito de la Arribada, the nuns’ fountain or the Pinta caravel, among others.
OTHER DECLARATIONS OF THE OFFICIAL PRESENTATION
“For us it has been, is and always will be a pleasure to work side by side with this club, and in the times we are experiencing, the events at Monte Real are a guarantee of quality and safety. What we are looking for is that all the people who come to visit us and participate in this regatta also get to know us a little more and, above all, our history”
Carlos Gómez, Mayor of Bayonne
“We want to praise Cenor’s commitment to sporting events and sports. Companies are essential for the development of these events, especially in times like the one we are living in, since betting on sport is betting on health. Baiona is a very active town and the MRCYB has shown in the last year that it is capable of organizing events in exceptional circumstances”
Gorka Gómez, sports deputy of the Pontevedra Provincial Council
“The MRCYB is always a guarantee for its organizational capacity and for the great work they do. For the Xeral Secretariat for Sport, sailing is a sport with a lot of presence and we are in a modality that is the door to start, to grow. Galicia offers the possibility of sailing all year round and we want to lay all the foundations so that Galicians continue to enjoy it”
Daniel Benavides, provincial head of sports of the Xunta de Galicia
“It is an important championship for Galicia and to which we will come with our sailors from the Galician team. We hope that very good conditions can be enjoyed and that Galicia obtains great results”
Manuel Villaverde, president of the Royal Galician Sailing Federation
“From the club we like that sports events are linked to another form of participation, so that the kids have a good time and it is a complete experience for them and not just a regatta. How could it be otherwise, we will have a strict prevention protocol for Covid-19 and we hope, as always, that there is a good wind and that everything goes normally «
Ignacio Sánchez Otaegui, Commodore of the Monte Real Yacht Club
OPTIMIST SPANISH CHAMPIONSHIP 2021 · CENOR TROPHY
MONDAY, MARCH 29
10:00 – 19:00> Regatta office. Procedures and controls
TUESDAY, MARCH 30
10:00 – 19:00> Regatta office. Procedures and controls
19:30> Coaches and team managers meeting
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31 THURSDAY, APRIL 1 FRIDAY, APRIL 2
11:00> The tests in the water begin
SATURDAY, APRIL 3
11:00> The tests in the water begin
18:00> Awards
