With a high level of efficiency and great splendor, a total of 20 children's handball teams from the Canary Islands have participated during this Easter'2025 in the II Ajaches Children's Handball Tournament in the southern town of Playa Blanca, Yaiza, organized by the Ajaches Handball Club.
This, clearly, would not have been possible without the important and, even more so, essential collaboration of companies and entities. Therefore, the organizing Club, in the closing ceremony held at 2 p.m. this past Sunday, made public and express recognition to Cicar, which has provided the vehicles for the transfers of the teams throughout the tournament. Also to the management of the THB Tropical Island Hotel, the official accommodation of the tournament. To Limpiezas Rosa, which during the four days of the tournament and at the end of the event carried out the cleaning of the CEO Playa Blanca facilities, leaving them in perfect condition to resume its teaching activity this Monday.
Special recognition and thanks are due to the management of the aforementioned CEO Playa Blanca for all the facilities provided for the use of all the center's facilities, both the two courts and the gymnasium, changing rooms, multipurpose room and services. The organization also especially thanks the Department of Sports and the Yaiza City Council as a whole, personified in its councilor Ángel Lago and its mayor, Óscar Noda. In the same measure, to the Island Sports Service of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, in the person of its sports councilor, Juan Monzón Rosales.
It is necessary to highlight the essential sponsorship of the General Directorate of Mental Health and Addictions of the Government of the Canary Islands, which the Ajaches Club gratefully acknowledges to its head, Fernando Gómez-Pamo, who had the courtesy to travel last Wednesday to Playa Blanca, from Gran Canaria, to greet the Club's managers and visit the facilities of CEO Playa Blanca as well as those of the THB Tropical Island, the official accommodation of the tournament. It is appreciated that for the second consecutive year this autonomous management body has placed its trust in the Ajaches Handball Club, and in its project for the integral health of the young people of the Archipelago.
Referees and volunteers
Very important and special, as well as meritorious, has been the work carried out by the human team of more than 25 referees, scorers and timekeepers, coordinated by Roberto García Mosquera and Haría Figuero. An essential part always in any sporting event, and who have carried out their work in a completely disinterested manner.
Likewise, the Ajaches Handball Club wants to value the work of its organization team, made up of 19 adults, mothers and fathers of the club's players, who during the four days of the tournament took care of all the logistics, attention to the participants and especially drivers for the transfers of the teams, both in the pick-up upon arrival at the airport and dock and for the return to their islands. Similarly, every day in the hotel, court, hotel transfers. Also, in the expert attention of the kiosk during all the hours of the four days of the tournament. Likewise, a round of applause for the enthusiastic team of almost twenty young volunteers.
Coexistence, a great value
Apart from the mere sports competition, this children's handball tournament during the Easter school holidays aims, in a special way, to be an occasion for healthy coexistence among the almost 350 adolescents who make up the eleven teams sold from Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, together with another nine teams of girls and boys from Lanzarote. This value has made the club worthy of the trust of the General Directorate of Mental Health and Addictions of the Government of the Canary Islands, for the second consecutive year.
The important value of youth coexistence has been proven in the stands, always packed, during the four days of the tournament, mostly by mothers and fathers of the almost 350 adolescent participants.
Likewise, on Saturday night, thanks to the facilities provided by the management of the THB Tropical Island Hotel, the participants strengthened their coexistence relationships during the youth party that they could enjoy from 10 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. in the hotel's event tent.
With the same intention, during the mornings of Friday and Saturday, children from different teams shared recreational moments in the gaming room set up expressly for this purpose in the multipurpose room of the educational center.
Technical talks for coaches
As a complement to the sports competition, the teams' coaches were able to enjoy three technical talks, given by Airam Misael Méndez Santana, a specialist in neuropedagogy, as well as by the national handball coaches Miguel Ángel Lemes Morales, also a physical education teacher, and Juan Rivera Ortega, sports director of the Zonzamas Handball Club.
56 matches in 4 days
From 5 p.m. on Thursday 17 to 2 p.m. on Sunday 20, a total of 58 matches were played, 29 of each sex. The tournament began on the afternoon of Thursday 17, in which 8 matches were played. On Friday 18, 24 matches were played, playing continuously from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. On the morning of Saturday 19, the 8 matches of the fifth day of the group stage were held and during the afternoon the 8 semi-finals. Finally, on Sunday 20, from 9 a.m. the finals were played, with a total of another 10 matches. In total, 58 handball matches.
The mayor at the closing ceremony
Once the competition was over, at around 2 p.m. on Sunday 20, with the stands of the main court of CEO Playa Blanca packed by the almost 400 attendees, plus the members of the 20 teams lined up on the court, the closing ceremony and the presentation of trophies and awards took place.
The event was presided over by the mayor of the Yaiza City Council, Oscar Noda, accompanied by the sports councilor of the Cabildo, Juan Monzón Rosales, the sports councilor of Yaiza, Ángel Lago, the president of the Island Handball Federation, Miguel Ángel Ferrer, as well as the deputy director of the THB Tropical Island and representatives of the collaborating companies and the director of CEIP Playa Blanca, who together with the members of the Board of Directors of the Ajaches Handball Club, Roberto García Mosquera, president, Sergio González Cedrés, vice president, and Manuel Parras, sports director; who presented 28 trophies, 15 plaques of appreciation and 330 medals for all participants as well as another 30 for scorers, timekeepers and referees.
Honor roll
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
Tenth place. Ajaches Handball
Ninth place. Printer 25 Vecindario, from Gran Canaria
Eighth place. Chinijos Orthopedics Carmen
Seventh place. Ciudad de Puerto, from Fuerteventura
Sixth place. Ingenio, from Gran Canaria
Fifth place. Zonzamas Wood Store
Fourth place. Caima, from Fuerteventura
Third place. AMFM Moya Tilover, from Gran Canaria
Runner-up. Ca'Mario San José Ajaches
CHAMPION. URB. Ciutel, from Telde, Gran Canaria
WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT
Tenth. Valkirias Bar La Gamba Chinijos
Ninth. Sajes Gran Tarajal, from Fuerteventura
Eighth. Ciudad de Puerto, from Fuerteventura
Seventh. Puerto del Carmen B
Sixth. Zonzamas Hiking Lanzarote
Fifth. Balonmano Caima. Fuerteventura
Fourth. Fenie Energía BM Ingenio, from Gran Canaria
Third. Ca'Mario San José Ajaches
Runner-up. Puerto del Carmen A
CHAMPION. Doos Óptica Moya Tilover, from Gran Canaria
DISTINCTIONS TO EXEMPLARY PARTICIPANTS
As it did in the first edition, the Ajaches Handball Club wanted to value sportsmanship and exemplary behavior by awarding the following awards, granted with the vote of the coaches and managers of all the participating teams
Thus, the awards given were the following:
Exemplary player, Althay Pérez from Ciudad de Puerto, Fuerteventura
Exemplary player, Sara Elguerrat from San José Ajaches
Exemplary goalkeeper, Hugo Pérez from Ciutel, Gran Canaria
Exemplary goalkeeper, Luciano Anaya from Sajes Gran Tarajal, Fuerteventura
Exemplary coach, José Agustín Martín from Ingenio, Gran Canaria
Exemplary coach, Itahisa Rodríguez from Ciudad de Puerto, from Fuerteventura
EXEMPLARY TEAMS
In the men's tournament for the Chinijos Handball Club
In the women's tournament for the Ingenio Handball Club, Gran Canaria.
