The VI Sports Gala of the Cabildo de Lanzarote took place last Monday night at the Farmer's Monument. On this day, the island corporation commemorated the sporting achievements achieved individually and collectively in the last year.
The event was presented by the journalist and university professor, Roberto Arrocha, a native of Lanzarote based in Seville for the last 25 years and presenter of the program A balón parado, on the official television of Sevilla FC.
The president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, who began his speech by offering his condolences to the relatives of Ibrahima Cámara - a young player from CDO Marítima who died in a tragic accident on our island - congratulated the winners and took advantage of the celebration of this emotional act to extend these congratulations “to each and every one of the people and entities that with their passion, dedication and effort make Lanzarote and La Graciosa recognized and admired internationally as sports islands par excellence.”
"Not in vain, we continue to reinforce the European Sports Destination brand to position ourselves as a leading destination in sports tourism", he added, expressing his great pride as island president "for having a quarry and sports professionals of a very high level, who are supported by their families and by all the public institutions that support their sports careers as much as possible."
The Minister of Sports, Juan Monzón, valued this Sports Gala “as the result of the great work carried out by the workers of the Island Sports Service”. “I also want to congratulate the people who have been awarded and nominated, and especially all those who practice sports in this beautiful territory, as they are all worthy of recognition,” he added.
Winners of the VI Sports Gala
The event at the Farmer's Monument, one of the great works left to us by the master César Manrique, began with the presentation of the awards already announced by the Cabildo de Lanzarote.
The historic basketball referee from Lanzarote, Antonio Sierra, was moved to receive the award for Human Values, a recognition of the decades of training and involvement in island sports.
The recognition for Youth Development went to the Marlines Canoeing Club, who have been training new sports talents in the capital for decades, winning numerous awards and trophies at national and international levels.
In addition, the Cabildo awarded the Research prize to Casimiro Tejera; while the Sports Legend award was given to the relatives of Lolina Curbelo. Likewise, the Sports Promotion award was given to Marina Rubicón; and the Indigenous Sports award to the Tinajo Wrestling Sports Club.
The emotion was noticeable in the audience when the presenter read the jury's decision, made up of Cabildo staff and sports communication professionals from the island.
The award for the men's collective achievement went to the young Miguel Ángel Morales and Alejandro Martín, sailors belonging to the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife and who last year were proclaimed world runners-up in the 420 class. The other two nominees, who also received a gift from the Corporation, were San Bartolomé CF, a team that achieved promotion to the Third RFEF Division last season, and the 4x100 relay team from the ADAL Athletics Club.
Club Balonmano Barrilla Puerto del Carmen, a team that was proclaimed runner-up in Spain in the children's category last season, won the award for women's collective achievement, finishing ahead of the other two nominees: CB Zonzamas and sailors Gabriela Cañibano and Ariadne Muñoz.
In the men's individual sports achievement category, mixed martial arts fighter Hecher Sosa won the award in this edition. Sosa recently won the bantamweight category belt in the Fight Club Rush (FCR), thus getting closer to his dream of competing soon in the highest category, the UFC.
In this way, he was ahead in the jury's vote of the UD Las Palmas player and absolute international for Equatorial Guinea, Saúl Coco, and the Rally driver, Raúl Hernández.
The jury of the VI Sports Gala of the Cabildo de Lanzarote ruled that the award for individual sports achievement should go to Virginia Morales, patron of the winning boat of the Canary Islands Championship held at the end of last year, being the first woman in the history of the competition to obtain the award. The other two nominees, who like everyone else received a distinction as a gift from the Corporation, were karateka Amelie Skiba and swimmer Kennedy Hope Denby.
Finally, Oswaldo Betancort and Juan Monzón presented a special distinction to Jesús Lasso Cabrera, a sports communicator who has been offering sports information on the island of Lanzarote for 50 years.