The Kirolean Errespetuz campaign, promoted by EL DIARIO VASCO with the collaboration of the Department of Culture, Cooperation, Youth and Sports of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, with Goizane Álvarez as its visible head, arrived this Saturday at the Antzizar sports center in Beasain on the occasion of the six finals of the Gipuzkoa Performance Championship – the highest provincial category – that served to put the finishing touch to the season. This campaign tries to eradicate uncivil behavior on the grounds and promote fair play and values.
Twelve teams took part in the cadet, junior and senior categories, both men and women. And the objective was to send a message of sportsmanship on and off the fields to eradicate violent behavior.
Los aspirantes al título eran Easo Basket Irulea, Ordizia, Pressing Azkatuat, Ama Guadalupekoa Hondarribia, Easo Basket – female and male cadet–, Atlético San Sebastián – cadet and senior male–, Ordizia Orbinox, Mondragón Universitatea, Eguzkitzza Sagardotegia Take, Internacional and Oiarso Lezo The finals were sponsored by the local cooperative Talleres Mecanizados Arri.
“Pedagogy is needed so that uncivil acts do not occur again in matches”
Jon Txakartegi, general coordinator of the Guipuzcoan Federation since 2018, points out that “this is the fifth time we have organized this championship, the first was in Gasca six years ago – the coronavirus pandemic forced an edition to be suspended – and then they have been held in Tolosa, Zarautz and last year in the Aiete neighborhood of Donostia. The kids take these finals with great enthusiasm. All teams have been training and competing throughout the season. Now comes the opportunity to win the Gipuzkoa Championship. Furthermore, they are going to do it in an environment with a large audience in the stands. For them it is a first-class event and we want them to feel like stars for a day,” he says.
And he emphasizes that “during the break between matches, parallel activities such as contests and music have been organized, all enlivened by a speaker.” Also a contest sponsored by Irizar buses that consisted of shooting a basket from the center of the field. People from the public participated and there was a cash prize for the winner, a check for 100 euros. It has been a celebration of grassroots Gipuzkoan basketball. The important thing was not who won, it was that the boys and girls competed. That was the goal. “That it was a day of celebration, that all the players enjoyed and competed on a special day for them.”
«In a final phase there are no favorites –he emphasizes–. Nerves play a role, playing as a team. In one game you risk the work of an entire year. With this format, the favorite sign has less importance than in a League with many games.
«We are available to the promoters of this initiative to contribute our humble grain of sand»
Txakartegi, who was once coach of Hondarribia, and Iraurgi, assistant to Sito Alonso, Jaume Ponsarnau and Porfi Fisac in Gipuzkoa Basket, and first coach of Baskonia in LEB Plata, points out that “today in the Guipuzcoan Federation we have 3,000 tokens in federated categories and another 18,000 in schoolchildren. The health of Guipuzcoan basketball is good. We are going through a good time, with men’s and women’s teams in the elite. Iraurgi has just achieved promotion to the Challenge League, the Women’s Second Division. There are also Gipuzkoa Basket, Iraurgi and we have teams in the EBA League. In elite basketball we are well represented, but in the rest of the categories we are also in good health. The trend in the number of licenses is upward, especially in children’s and cadet categories. Undoubtedly, we now have better figures than in the pre-pandemic and that must be valued.
“The quarry is working well”
He considers that “in Gipuzkoa the youth team works well, the work of the clubs is good and, season after season, the level of players and technicians increases. The structure also continues to grow and that is reflected day by day. ‘Txakar’ considers that “competitiveness is healthy, but always within an order. We encourage well-understood competition, always within a good basketball and fair play environment. “We all like to win, but the important thing is to compete.”
He acknowledges that “I have sometimes seen some out of place behavior on a track, but it has always been something specific, isolated events. Unfortunately, these are attitudes that are seen more often than we would like and we do not wish. We must try to stop them because with violence we must have zero tolerance. We are all increasingly aware that violence leads nowhere, including the players’ families. “A good dose of pedagogy is needed to try to ensure that these uncivil behaviors do not occur again in any party.”
He describes the Kirolean Errespetuz campaign as “something necessary. From the first moment we made ourselves available to the promoters of this initiative to contribute our humble grain of sand and we have done so again in this event. “We have a golden opportunity to raise awareness among the public and the players’ families that violence leads nowhere.”
2024-05-19 00:00:00
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