The Unified Airsoft Recreational Sports Association of Lanzarote, specialized in Airsoft, a sport in which the practitioner must shoot an air gun, requests a "conditioned space" to put the sport into practice.
The president of the association, Eliezer Fernández Rodríguez, has stated the "need" to host "facilities dedicated to sports", since "on our island there are no facilities, whether public and free access, or private with paid access", he has made clear.
Several players from different teams in Lanzarote have met and unified in this association to request that "we be given (or failing that, authorize us to use in a non-exclusive way) a conditioned space that allows us to maintain free access to the hobby", he demanded.
The association aims to "serve as a bridge between the population, players and authorities, ensuring that players practice Airsoft responsibly", seeking to "adhere to legality as much as possible", as "has been done for years with a correct registration of the replicas (weapons of category 4.1 or 4.2 depending on the firing mode) and with the payment of civil liability insurance by most players", the president recalled. In addition, we advocate for "respect for the environment, obligatorily using biodegradable projectiles and always avoiding leaving remains or waste in the playing areas, disturbing local fauna or causing any type of disturbance to ecosystems", Fernández added.
The association has established contact with the town councils of Tinajo, San Bartolomé and Yaiza, and they will "continue to await a response from the rest of the island's town councils" (a telematic request was sent through general registration in January of this year, and emails later to the Sports Councils). For the moment, "they have not been granted any space in the municipalities in which we have met with the councilors, but they have left the door open to occasionally organize some event", they revealed.
In Lanzarote, the sport is practiced in abandoned buildings, as they represent an excellent playing field for this practice. In addition, it is usually carried out in residual areas with marked human action, but in abandonment, to avoid disturbing or alarming the population, and always signaling the playing area and access so that accidental impacts do not occur against any possible passerby (in case someone appears in the playing area, it is immediately stopped for safety), they wanted to highlight.
Fernández wanted to clarify that they "completely disassociate themselves" from the controversial activities advertised by the Arrecife establishment two weeks ago. "We have nothing to do with the store of the famous controversy." He stressed that "they do not want to be harmed" by some activities. "Our association has nothing to do with the sports shooting that this business advertised, and we do not want the particular interests of a business to harm a group", he added.
In addition, they have defended the existence of establishments, but always operating within the law. "Each player is free to acquire the materials wherever they want, as long as they maintain the points of legality and respect for the environment when playing."
What is Airsoft?
The Unified Airsoft Recreational Sports Association of Lanzarote has explained the definition of Airsoft based on the recent regulations collected in the Spanish Airsoft Federation (FEA). "Airsoft is a game of strategy and simulation. It has a recreational or playful aspect and a competitive or sports aspect. To practice it, Airsoft players use ALD's (Airsoft Sports Recreational Weapons on a real scale of firearms) that launch small balls of biodegradable materials, at less than three joules of power. Its practice does not imply an apology for warmongering or violence, nor any political, religious, exclusionary or illegal connection. The rules of the Airsoft game were created with the aim of achieving adequate regulation and greater security. The rules are mandatory for all associations and members of the Federation."
"Respect and honesty between players is the fundamental rule to develop this activity normally, since an impact from an Airsoft ball leaves no trace. Only nobility, sincerity and acceptance of having been hit will be the proof. That is why above all, Airsoft is a sport of honor", argued the president. It can be done in closed spaces or in the open field, although always looking for elements that allow the coverage of the players (walls, mounds, props...) so that it is a dynamic and varied game."
The most common game modes are team duels (limited player lives, the objective is elimination), capture the flag (and take it to your own base) or assault and defense (a positioned team defends and another must take the position).
