Date: January 29, 2022
The best team award was given to the female senior of Club Atlético Lince, while the recognition for best club went to the Judo Club Finisterre Laguna de Duero, in a gala with a large influx of public that demonstrated the high level that the municipality treasures in the Sports field
Laguna de Duero has resumed this year, after scoring a blank year as a result of the pandemic, the celebration of the XXX Sports Gala, which rewards and demonstrates the good health of its base sport thanks to the Junco de Oro awards. Organized by the City Council’s Department of Sports, the event served to recognize and reward the best coaches, Sports School monitors, referees, teams, and entities during the night of this Saturday before an auditorium of the Casa de las Artes full of public but where all health security measures have been met. As a novelty this year, the Best Disabled Athlete was honored at a gala that was conducted by Rocío Herrero and that included a performance by the theater group ‘La Única‘ and an exhibition by the Judo Club Finisterre.
Fernando Vara, Councilor for Sports, gave a speech in which he stressed the importance of egalitarian sport, as well as the integration and effort of all those who are part of the sports world. «I want to thank the effort of the athletes, clubs and coaches to be able to continue playing sports and keep the flame alive. As well as those of companies dedicated to sports and the media, “he said. The councilor also pointed out that being able to hold the Sports Gala again is very good news: «We are very happy to hold the Laguna de Duero Sports Gala again, given that last year it was not possible due to the pandemic and we are excited about to be able to carry it out because this means that the pandemic improves ».
For his part, the mayor of the municipality, Román Rodríguez, dedicated a few words of thanks to all the athletes who make up the different disciplines in Laguna de Duero: «For the municipality it is an honor to have such high-level athletes who strive to achieve goals”. Together with them, councilors Estela Crespo, Isidro Pérez, Avelino Álvarez, Tomás Álvarez, Francisco Barbillo and Isabel Pérez were present at the awards ceremony.
Before the delivery of the Juncos de Oro, the best athletes of this past year 2021 went up on stage to collect their Junco de Plata. The winners were: Laura Martín (Valladolid Athletics); Alba Ruiz (Laguna Handball); Alberto Pariente (Handball Cultural Classroom); Rubén Anel (Real ValladoliDI); Alba Acosta (CD La Victoria); Izan Rodriguez (Mini MotoGP); Mario Arias (Torrelago Swimming Club); Inés Teresa Villahoz (Judo Club Finisterre) and Mario Carnicero (Club Jasbudo Laguna de Duero).
gold rush
Mario Carnicero ended 2021 becoming the third best karate fighter in the national ranking and second in the National League. The man from La Laguna, who is already setting his sights on qualifying to be in the Czech Republic and in the European championship in Prague, received the Absolute Gold Junco tonight.
Golden Rush Promise
2021 has also been a great year for Izan Rodríguez, the young driver from La Laguna has become one of the greatest promises of national motorcycling after winning the world championship for teams in the FIM MiniGP World Series. After starting to compete when he was just six years old, the Mini MotoGP world champion has received the Golden Junco for Best Promise.
Junco de Oro for Best Disabled Athlete
Alba Ruiz, from the Laguna Handball Club, received the first Golden Junco for Disabled Sportsperson, awarded to her great merits in the handball discipline in which she has scored multiple goals and fought alongside her team to reach the top.
Other awards
The award for Best Trainer went to Víctor Gómez Fernández, from the Judo Club Finisterre Laguna de Duero, in charge of monitoring the physical preparation and training of judoka Alberto Gaitero on his way to the Tokyo Olympics and in each of their competitions. Specifically, Gaitero received a special mention and was one of the protagonists of the meeting, where his participation in the Olympics last summer was highlighted.
Gómez has also worked with other judokas such as Marta Gaitero or Inés Villahoz -achieving medals in higher categories at a national level- or preparing boxers such as Laura Pequeno, Lucas Gómez and Álba López, achieving prizes in regional and national competitions.
In the Best Team section, the senior women’s team of Atlético Lince -belonging to Atlético Laguna- was awarded, a team that has risen from the second regional division to the first in the 2019/2019 season and that in the 2020/2021 season achieved the promotion to the first national division. The merit of its members was recognized for having become champions in several women’s football championships such as the Mare Nostrum in Salou, or runners-up in the I Diputación de Valladolid Trophy, with an average age of its players of 16 years.
On the other hand, the Judo Club Finisterre Laguna de Duero was recognized as the Best Sports Entity. Founded in 2011, this entity has known how to encourage participation in federated competitions, the promotion of activities for all ages, and especially for children and young people, a task in which it has had high-level coaches and trainers. All this has led them to achieve different merits in the field of grassroots sports, and in the promotion of high-performance athletes mentioned above.
In the section for Best Referee-Judge, the award went to Ángel Herrero Seco, who at only 21 years of age is a National Frontennis Judge and last season he refereed important matches in tournaments such as the U-23 World Championship. or the Spanish Championship of Federations.
For its part, the award for Best Sports School Monitor went to Francisco Javier Santiago ‘Santi’, from CD Laguna, coordinator of the Football School of this entity with about 30 children between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Santiago’s work was recognized taking into account that “he has managed to get children to enjoy sports and even compete in the new league created for ‘Beginners’, promoting a day of this competition in the municipal facilities and taking the name of Laguna to numerous tournaments outside the town.
The award for the best sports director was deserted as no candidacy had been submitted, while the award for the Best Sponsoring Entity went to Hyundai – Talleres y Grúas Ávila, in its support of Club Atlético Laguna since the 2019/20 season. Specifically, all the support provided was valued, which amounts to an economic figure close to 19,000 euros.
