The Sports Gala
The Association of Sports Journalists of Las Palmas celebrated its Christmas dinner and the XIII Sports Gala at the Hotel Santa Catalina de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The double event was presided over by the general director of Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, Álvaro Pérez Domínguez; Óscar Hernández Suárez, Minister of Sports of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria; Roque Díaz Fuentes, Councilor for Sports of the City Council of Las Palmas and José Manuel Suárez, president of the Association of Sports Journalists of Las Palmas. The award winners, along with around 200 members and sponsors of the APDLP, filled the Palmeras Hall of the emblematic Gran Canaria hotel.
The annual Christmas dinner opened an evening in which the best current athletes met authentic legends of sports and sports journalism in the Canary Islands. After the desserts, the awards ceremony began, presented by Víctor Melián, head of sports at Onda 0 Radio, and Armando Vallejo, editor-in-chief of Sports at Televisión Canaria.
The quadruple blind medalist Enhamed Mohamed Yahdih, was the first to collect his well-deserved award as the winner of the award for Male Individual Sports Achievement. The young Gran Canarian climbed to the top of the podium 4 times at the last Paralympics in Beijing.
The award for Female Individual Achievement had double winners, Paola Tirados is one of the best synchronized swimming swimmers in the world, and without a doubt, the best Canarian swimmer of all time. Tirados won a silver medal in Beijing. Thais Henríquez shared the award with her four golds at the Eindhoven World Championship, gold at the Beijing pre-Olympic, success culminating with the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.
UD Villa de Santa Brígida became deserving of the award for Male Collective Achievement for their promotion to the 2nd division B of football. While a similar award in the women's category was collected by the Olympic Volleyball Club, champion of the Junior Super League, while the youth team achieved the championship of Spain and the Canary Islands in women's volleyball.
The Sports Legend award given by the APDLP with the name of Félix Urquijo Grijalba Trophy, went to the boxer Cesareo Barrera "The Bomber of the Port" who collected it from the prestigious sports journalist Pascual Calabuig Porcal.
The company Nac Sport became deserving of the Antonio Lemus del Moral trophy, Award for Research in Sports. Nac Sport, born within the University of Las Palmas, develops internationally prestigious computer programs aimed at observing and analyzing the behavior of athletes through the use of video.
The most emotional moment of the night was the recognition with the award that was given "In Memoriam" to Jesús Telo Nuñez, an important theoretical and practical reference and also a guide to understanding sports activity and fighting for its promotion. Jesús Telo launched the Blume Gymnastics Festival in 1960, the one with the longest continuity that is celebrated in the world, already close to celebrating its golden anniversary.
The Sports Career Award went to Rafael Calvo Molina, founder and director of Canarias Motor, a media outlet that celebrates 40 years of informative activity.
UD San Nicolás de la Aldea de San Nicolás de Tolentino, which is about to turn 50 years old, received the Quarry Work Award. While the Indigenous Sports Award went to the Pueblo Guanche Latin sailing boat.
In the Special Mentions of the APDLP, the R.C.N. of Gran Canaria, an institution in the world of sailing that celebrated 100 years of its foundation, was distinguished. Another of the mentions was for the international chess referee Gregorio Hernández Santana. Equal mention was for the Sports Section of the El Salto del Negro Penitentiary Center, which has managed to get 70% of its prison population to participate in physical sports activities, many of them federated and outside the prison.
Lisandro Hernández, president of Kalise Gran Canaria, the highest representative of island basketball, collected the Special Award from the APDLP, an identical mention was for David Jiménez Silva, a Gran Canarian footballer who won the European Football Cup with the Spanish National Team.
The night closed with the performance of the humorist Daniel Calero and the raffle of numerous prizes among the members of the Association of Sports Journalists of Las Palmas.
Special Mention of the APDLP for Puerto Calero
Special Mention for Puerto Calero, was the one received by José Calero, CEO of the prestigious Lanzarote marina. 25 years of history have earned it the award from the Spanish Association of Nautical Clubs as the best Club of the year 2007, base port for the preparation of the Ericsson Racing Team whose boats currently participate in the Volvo Ocean Race Around the World. In addition, Puerto Calero has hosted the TP 52 and ORC 670 World Championships this year.
Puerto Calero's support for the world of sailing is not only based on the major categories, but it has also welcomed the J80 Fleet as its base, the largest in Spain that arose from the desire to sail of a group of young Lanzarote fans who found all kinds of facilities in Puerto Calero to develop their activities.
In its VI edition of the Match Race Trophy Puerto Calero, the most important sailors of this class met.
Recently Puerto Calero hosted not only the VII edition of the César Manrique Puerto Calero Trophy, but also closed the season with the organization of the RC44 Gold Cup Canary Islands Puerto Calero.
In the world of deep-sea sport fishing, Puerto Calero celebrated this season its XVI edition of its annual trophy.
In addition to this, the first Lanzarote marina promotes culture from its Puerto Calero Art Room and the Canary Islands Cetacean Museum.
Puerto Calero
The Puerto Calero Resort has 2 4 and 5 star hotels, a wide variety of restaurants, including Amura, a true classic of restoration in Lanzarote. Also 2008 was the year of the launch of the Paseo de La Moda, a unique commercial space in the Canary Islands that brings together some of the most recognized clothing brands in the world such as Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Laurent, Hugo Boss, La Perla, Emare, Helly Hansen, Francesco Biasia, Escada Sport, Arman Jeans, Lsdy Russ, Custo, DKNY and Gant.
This, together with the celebration of the Puerto Calero Fashion Show, makes it the most distinguished fashion center in the Canary Islands.
Puerto Calero offers in its marina a space prepared to receive the superyachts that decide to make Lanzarote their nautical destination or that are passing through on their interoceanic crossings, with an extraordinary range of services at their disposal.