On Wednesday afternoon, the XXIV edition of the "Abuelos Conejeros" Wooden Canary Ball Tournament kicked off, an event organized by the Island Sports Service of the Cabildo de Lanzarote and which will feature nearly 900 seniors from the seven municipalities and the island of La Graciosa this year.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Minister of Physical Activity and Sports, Juan Monzón; the mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León; and public representatives from the seven municipalities of the island.
The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, highlighted that "the enormous participation in this sporting event, with the involvement of all municipalities, demonstrates the vitality and enthusiasm of our elders and confirms that this tournament is already an island benchmark in the promotion of sport and health".
Betancort emphasized that "the Canarian ball is much more than a sport, it is part of our identity and a meeting point between generations," while wishing "all participants the best of luck and, above all, that they enjoy every game and every moment shared in this new edition."For his part, the Minister of Physical Activity and Sports, Juan Monzón, deeply thanked the city councils "for their close collaboration in making this event possible once again." "From the Insular Sports Service, we have a special fondness for this event, which each year brings together a growing number of the island's elders, thus demonstrating the importance of indigenous sports on our island," noted the minister, who also wanted to highlight "the commendable work carried out by the area's staff in recent weeks to tidy up the area and ensure that everything went smoothly."
The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León, congratulated Arrecife for hosting this new edition "and thus becoming hosts, every week until May, of nine hundred seniors from the islands of Lanzarote and La Graciosa". For the mayor, who congratulated the island councilor Juan Monzón for the good organization and massive participation of teams, he highlighted that this tournament, in addition to physical and sports activity, "allows our seniors to socialize every week in a good atmosphere of integration and camaraderie".
In this edition, the tournament will feature the participation of 147 teams from the seven municipalities of the island, as well as from the island of La Graciosa. The competition will be held on the courts set up in front of the Arrecife Civic Center, and will feature 75 women's teams each Wednesday, representing approximately 450 participants, and 72 men's teams, totaling around 432 participants. In total, the tournament will bring together around 882 seniors from the island.
