"After 20 years of work and effort, we can affirm, without fear of being wrong, that the Lanzarote Island Gymnastics Festival has become one of the most watched sporting events in Lanzarote, bringing together almost 20,000 spectators." With these words, the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Pedro San Ginés, began the presentation of the twentieth edition of the Lanzarote Island Gymnastics Festival, which this year will take place between April 19 and 21 at the Arrecife Municipal Sports Hall, in Argana Alta.
San Ginés recalled that the event has gone from one day to extending for almost a week. "And to create an exceptional pool of gymnasts on the island of Lanzarote. And this is partly due to the work of its creator, Lolina Curbelo, to whom this Cabildo wants to recognize all the effort and great work done all these years," he added.
Accompanied by the Minister of Sports of the Island Corporation, Migdalia Machín, and Lolina Curbelo herself, San Ginés detailed some of the contents of the program of a gymnastic meeting that this year will once again bring together more than 1,500 athletes from the island.
Among the novelties for this year, a change in the route of the inaugural parade, which will take place this Saturday, April 14 at 11:30 a.m. The organization has decided to reverse the direction of the parade, and it will depart from El Charco de San Ginés to travel along Calle Real, stop at La Plazuela and end at the Music Kiosk in the José Ramírez Cerdá park.
Almost 20 participating clubs
Migdalia Machín has announced the content of a program that will mainly take place on April 19, 20 and 21, and that will feature 19 participating groups. Precisely, all the groups will take part in the inaugural session, which will be on Thursday, April 19, at 8:00 p.m., at the Arrecife Municipal Sports Hall.
These will be the Ayatima Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, the Lanzarote Island Gymnastics Center, the Lanzarote Island Gymnastics Centers Municipal Schools of Mácher, Tinajo, La Graciosa, San Bartolomé, Playa Honda, Yaiza, Playa Honda, Fashion School, Yábago Sports Skating Club, Santa María de Los Volcanes School (Nazaret), AMPA of the schools of San Juan de Haría, El Lajar and Diamar, Arenas Internacional School, Samira Rif Arab Dance School, CEIP Capellanía del Yágabo, IES César Manrique, Tenesa Sol Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, Tenesa Sol Costa Teguise Rhythmic Gymnastics Club, the Tigotán Gymnastics Club; Lanzarote Skating Association, Danza Centro Isla Lanzarote, and the Island Sports Service of the Cabildo.
Although rhythmic and artistic gymnastics are the predominant ones, the Festival has room for dance, aerobic or artistic and sports skating. On Friday, April 20, the Dance and Dances Festivalito will take place, a session dedicated especially to children under 9 years old, and all those groups formed by the youngest members of each club can participate in it, and who do not belong to the artistic or rhythmic gymnastics modality. It will be at 7:00 p.m., again at the Argana Alta Municipal Sports Hall.
For Saturday, April 21, two sessions are scheduled, explained Migdalia Machín. On the one hand, the Rhythmic and Artistic Gymnastics Festivalito, which will begin at 10:30 in the morning, and which is also dedicated to children under 9 years old, but in this case to those of the rhythmic and artistic gymnastics specialties. That same day, and in the same place, at the Arrecife Municipal Sports Hall, the Youth Festival will take place. The elders participate in this section, and all those groups that present a medium and superior technical level of execution. It will be at 7:00 p.m.
"High technical level"
Precisely, the promoter of the Lanzarote Island Gymnastics Festival and whose name the event bears, Lolina Curbelo, highlighted in her speech the high degree of qualification achieved in all these years by monitors and gymnasts on the island. "The athletes of the island have achieved an increasingly higher technical level, and right now they can surely be among the best in the Canary Islands. And the same can be said of the monitors, whose level is more than interesting and they have managed to create an exceptional quarry."
In the same way, Curbelo wanted to highlight in her words the effort made by the Cabildo of Lanzarote in maintaining this meeting, "since the economic circumstances are not the most favorable. I would also like to dedicate a few words to the families of each athlete, since they are the ones who, with their unconditional support, ensure that the children can progress and then show us all the extraordinary effort made during the work of an entire year."
