Thursday, November 7, 2024, 18:51
The Coto del Leizaran hosts this Saturday a new edition of the Gipuzkoa Woodcock Championship, in which the best specialists in the territory in this type of competition will take part. The rally will take place at the Berastegi Garbage Society at 7:00 a.m. The participants and their respective judges will leave from there to the Ameraun area, a place chosen by the organization to establish the central control point.
The competition will last five hours, during which the participants will try to beat the quota of three woodcocks. They have ten cartridges for this and have the help of a single dog. Always in sight of the field judge and in his exclusive company.
Among the candidates to win the territorial txapela, the defending champion, Ricardo Gordillo, winner of the last two editions, should be highlighted as the main favorite. Next on the list is the first place finisher in the Becaderos de Gipuzkoa ranking, Mikel Mutuberria de Azeri, from Hondarribia, who has three runners-up finishes in the last five years. The list of favorites is expanded with José Luis Urkola from Basollua, third in the ranking, the two-time territorial champions Iñaki Loyarte and Mikel Urruzola, and the three-time Euskadi champion Gorka Bereziartua among others. Also noteworthy is the debut of the State Small Game Champion with Dog Asier Arrizabalaga in the test.
In the female category, the forecast is for a close duel between the 2024 Spanish Woodcock Champion, Leire Egaña Bastida from La Unión de Elgoibar, and the third classified in the 2024 national championship, Ainhoa Toledo from Eperra de Antzuola. The first six finishers will obtain a direct place for the Euskadi Woodcock Championship, which will be held in the Coto del Leizaran on December 14 and in which the Biscayan hunter Ricardo Ortiz will defend his txapela.
Later, on November 22 and 23, the semifinal phase of the Spanish Small Hunting Championship with Dog will be held in Llanos del Caudillo (Ciudad Real). The three representatives of Euskadi qualified for this test are Mikel Torne, Asier Arrizabalaga and Arkaitz Egaña, who are in the semifinal of the Northern Zone in which they compete against the representatives of Aragón, Asturias, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Catalonia, Galicia , La Rioja and Navarra. Also qualified for this semi-final are the champion of the previous year’s semi-final, José Félix Fernández and the third place finisher of the 2023 Spanish Championship David Pascual from Castilla y León. The final will be held on December 6 and 7 in Villadiego (Burgos) and the top 12 finishers from each semifinal, plus the 2023 Spanish Champion, Asier Arrizabalaga from Gipuzkoa, enter.
Regarding the Euskadi Small Hunting with Dog tournament, the Biscayan hunter Mikel Torne won the “El Castillo” Preserve, a qualifier for the national specialty. Torne won the test with nine partridges, a pheasant and three quails, beating the current national champion, Asier Arrizabalaga from Gipuzkoa, who with nine partridges had to settle for second place in the final position. The two-time national champion Arkaitz Egaña Bastida completed the podium, with 8 partridges, although one of them caught by the dog, a pheasant and a quail, placed himself in third final position, forming a podium of many carats that will represent Euskadi in the Semifinal. of the National Championship. In the junior category, Anartz Mezo from Biscay took the victory with two partridges, while in the veteran category, Salvador Azurmendi from Gipuzkoa took the victory with five partridges.
In addition, the town of Puebla de Alcocer, Badajoz, hosted the 11th edition of the Spanish Women’s Small Hunting Championship with Dog, in which a total of 36 participants competed with the final victory for the Valencian hunter Mar Bastard, who won the event after capture two partridges. She was followed in the classification by Fini Soriano from Murcia, second classified with two partridges, while Ana María Verdasco from Extremadura took third position with a partridge and a rabbit. Good performance by our representative, the hunter from the Union of Elgoibar, Leire Egaña Bastida, who with a hare took the tenth final position.
The best fishermen, in the Araxes
On the other hand, the Tolosako Arrantzaleak Society organizes this Saturday in the waters of the Araxes River the VII Open Lance of Pairs Fishing, a test in which 24 pairs of fishermen from different parts of the State compete. Some of the best national fishermen in the sport will compete. The event’s record includes big names, such as Álvaro Marín and David Ruiz from Rioja. last champions, or Iñaki Alonso and Joseba Rivero from Alava, winners in 2023.
Finally, the Basque Federation of Sport Fishing and Casting has called the Euskadi Sea Coast Senior Championship for this Saturday on Hondarribia beach. The competition will consist of two phases from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The concentration and the draw will be held at 3:00 p.m. in the same Hondarribiarra sandy area.
Change of hunting hours
As provided by Foral Order 0496/2024, of August 23, 2024, which establishes the working periods and general hunting conditions in the Historical Territory of Gipuzkoa, from last Monday, October 28 to November 30, the new hunting hours will be from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and from December 1 to the end of the period from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. In the traditional hunting posts, included in the registry created by the Foral Order of July 16, 2013, during the drawing period, the hours from October 28 will be from one hour before sunrise until 5:30 p.m. .
