In this edition, the award for Best Promised Male and Female Athletes is released, which went to Héctor Delgado Hernández, currently the third best athlete in Spain in the Sub 16 long jump and the best in the Canary Islands, and to the swimmer Victoria Sosa García, regional champion in various styles and from Spain in Salvage and Lifeguard championships.
The recognition of the Sports Career went to the gymnast Nieves Mora Hernandez, and, as an extraordinary recognition, to José Santiago Fuentes don Pepe el de la piscina, a benchmark in sport in La Orotava. The mountaineer Antonio Miguel Pérez Rodríguez also received this distinction.
The Sportsmanship award went to Carmelo González Pérez, utillero of the San Isidro Basketball Club and treasurer and technical assistance in competitions of the Club Ciclista Iruene. The Sports Society Palestra and the Sporting Orotava Football Club they received a special honor for their 50th anniversary. In addition, the six custodians of the sports facilities who have retired in recent years were distinguished: Gregorio Méndez Sálamo, José González Santana, Francisco Javier Quintero Hernández and Juan Manuel Hernández García, as well as Julián González Ramos and Julián Páez, both posthumously.
Outside of the script, the organization awarded the Human Values distinction to the presenter, Pedro Barreto, representative of values in sport in La Orotava, in the North and on the Island.
The mayor, Francisco Linares, valued the resilience of the athletes from villeros, after overcoming multiple obstacles generated by the pandemic, keeping all the clubs and teams. He also underlined the municipal attention to sports activity, creating the necessary infrastructures and supporting the athlete. “You have dignified the sport and have taken La Orotava to the top.”
The insular director of Sports, Ángel Pérez, highlighted the importance of sports practice and the need to help the activity in all municipalities, highlighting programs and projects that the Cabildo directs to collectives, clubs and teams.
Antonio Lima, Sports Councilor, recalled that it is about putting in value the work of the Orotavian athletes in the same space where the gala was held 20 years ago. “The sportsman from Villarreal, despite the difficulties that arose from the pandemic, has managed to reinvent himself and make the sport of La Orotava continue to be a benchmark, achieving the best positions in the Canary Islands, Spain and even in the international arena”, he highlighted.
