On June 17th of this year, we celebrated two years in the government of Teguise since taking office in 2023. All the enthusiasm and excitement with which I arrived at the Department of Sports were somewhat clouded when I was able to see, firsthand, the state in which the department was. I was confronted with the sad reality, a department practically broken, immersed in a complicated situation due to the labor stabilization situation it was in, without a clear roadmap in the work, issues that had to be resolved quickly to be able to start working as it should.
Despite everything, since we arrived at the government of Teguise, we have worked tirelessly. In 2024, one of the priority objectives revolved around the Municipal Sports Schools, to which we paid a more than deserved tribute in the publication "History of Sports in Teguise." In the aforementioned publication, we worked on information about the clubs and the most outstanding personalities in the history of sports in the municipality. It has been a pleasure to document the history of sports in Teguise, and, in addition, that exhaustive review served to confirm the needs they had, the first step to provide them with the sports supplies that we are acquiring for each and every one of the sports facilities in Teguise. This is the largest purchase of sports supplies that the city council has carried out in more than a decade. We have also increased, after two five-year periods without doing so in Teguise, the subsidies for the Sports Schools, going from 320,000 to 400,000 euros. Another item that has been increased is that of sports projects with the modification of attending in that same item to high-level athletes who, before this decision, was not contemplated. We have endowed it with an amount close to 80,000 euros.
I want to highlight the beneficial inter-institutional collaboration because the good relations with the Government of the Canary Islands have allowed us to fix two uncovered courts that were falling to pieces on La Laguna street and Panama street in Costa Teguise. Right now they are in contracting and ready to be put out to tender with an amount of approximately half a million euros. to fix these two courts that are falling to pieces.
Another issue, announced with great fanfare in the previous legislature despite not having specified it, was the acquisition of defibrillators in sports facilities. We are going to make them a reality because the file for the contracting of new defibrillators is already finalized. In the same health line, I would like to highlight that I managed to get the staff of the Department of Sports, together with other departments of the council, to be trained in basic life support with the collaboration of the Security and Emergency Consortium of Lanzarote. What pleases me the most is that, thanks to that learning, we were able to save a life in the sports facility of Tahiche where a player from a veterans team suffered a cardiac arrest.
The Department of Sports has given more than clear signs of efficiency by hosting regional events such as the Canary Islands Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship. The Cabildo of Lanzarote did not have facilities and Teguise more than complied. Inclusive sport has taken relevance in our municipality in recent months thanks to the visit of the Baloncesto Sin Límites Plátano de Canarias championship or the soccer day DiSAFÍO: The value of inclusive sport.
Teguise has also been the scene of novel tests. For the first time in Spain, a championship was held on the Hyrox path as was The Fitness Race Lanzarote. I would also like to highlight swimming events, the Font Vella Lanzarote International Marathon or the Famara Total Trail, one of the longest-running trail events in Lanzarote and the Canary Islands with ten years behind it.
Of considerable importance has also been everything related to the monitoring of various municipal sports facilities. And in the coming months, the result of the tender for the service of monitors in sports spaces in Teguise, Tahiche, Costa Teguise, La Graciosa and Tao will be seen. Also highlight the implementation of guidelines for the good service and use of the different rooms or the improvement in the access control of users, the opening and closing of the facilities. Everything adds up so that our neighbors can enjoy a sports offer in the municipality of higher quality.
In addition to Sports, I had the honor of assuming the councilorship of Citizen Participation where we have worked, hand in hand, with the socio-cultural and civic centers of Teguise, carrying out various coaching workshops. Also highlight the initiative of active participation on the island of La Graciosa with the aim of revitalizing the eighth island with activities related to the theater. Another gratifying activity we did in the Secondary education centers. It was a success to encourage students to, through literature and caricature, expose their demands and the needs they consider our municipality has, especially Costa Teguise.
I have special affection for the efforts we made so that the students of Teguise could visit the Parliament of the Canary Islands. I am sure that knowing firsthand the space where all the important decisions are made in our community is something they will remember for a long time.
Finally, I want to publicly thank the support and the excellent predisposition to work and consensus of the mayor of Teguise, Olivia Duque, as well as the rest of the government group. It has been very easy to work, side by side, with other departments, regardless of whether it was in the hands of the Canarian Coalition. This is the case of departments such as Contracting, Civic Centers or Youth. Thank you to all my colleagues for making it so easy and contributing to the improvement of the sports landscape in the municipality of Teguise. Undoubtedly, we will continue working very hard so that everything continues to improve. It was and is our commitment to the residents of Teguise and La Graciosa.
Alejandro Ramírez Doblado, Councilor for Sports and Citizen Participation of the Teguise City Council.