Manuel García Fuentes, affectionately known as "el Gomero," received an award on Friday night at the Canary Islands Sports Awards gala, organized by the Department of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands and framed in the second edition of ExpoDeca. The Vice President of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, María Jesús Tovar, and the island's Councilor for Physical Activity and Sports, Juan Monzón, were present at the event, which was presented by journalists Paloma del Río and Manoj Daswani, and was attended by the Vice President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Manuel Domínguez, and the Councilor for Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports, Poli Suárez. The President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, congratulated Manuel García Fuentes, 'el Gomero', whose dedication to Lanzarote's sport, and in particular to the Canarian ball game, "has been a fundamental pillar for our island". "This 2025 Canary Islands Sports Award is a well-deserved recognition of a life dedicated to promoting our sporting traditions and inspiring new generations." The Vice President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, María Jesús Tovar, expressed that Manuel García Fuentes "represents the deepest feelings of the people of Lanzarote, embodies the unconditional love for the promotion and safeguarding of the native sport." "He symbolizes the tireless struggle to ensure that the practice of Canarian ball endures and is transmitted from the young to the old, keeping the native sport alive," she asserted. For his part, the Councilor for Physical Activity and Sports, Juan Monzón, stated that the award given to Manuel García Fuentes is "more than deserved," emphasizing the crucial importance of his figure in the field of Canarian bowls. Monzón highlighted that this relevance becomes evident every year during the celebration of the "Abuelos Conejeros" tournament, an event that, in his words, "would be absolutely impossible to carry out without the dedication and fundamental involvement of Manuel García Fuentes.” In addition to the figure of Manuel García Fuentes, the Government of the Canary Islands awarded Armide Soliveres the Individual Athlete award; Club Deportivo Heidelberg Volkswagen in the sports club or team category; Marta Mansito as promising athlete; Carmelo Pérez in the adapted sports category; Marta Mangué in equality; the Canary Islands Federation of Sports for People with Disabilities in the promotion and dissemination category; as special honorary mentions to Carla Suárez and Domingo Álvarez (posthumously); Antonio Ramos as the Pedro Molina award; and the Pila de Garrote Ichasagua in the category of equality in traditional sports and games.