A delegation of 757 people, including athletes and attendees, in 33 disciplines, will face the difficult mission of keeping Yucatan in the first places in the firmament of the Conade National Games.
Being flag bearers this Wednesday at the Yucatán Siglo XXI Convention Center, the athletes promised to put the entity on high in this formal return to open activities at the national level, competing in five states. And in the same way, the first concentration of this type since the beginning of the pandemic, allowed Yucatecan sports to receive positive news regarding infrastructure and support for the best exponents.
The governor, Mauricio Vila Dosal, announced an investment of 15 million pesos for the High Performance Sports Center, in addition to other works such as on the roof of the “Rómmel Pacheco Marrufo” Aquatic Center of the Kukulcán Aquatic Complex, for 20 million, and probably at the Benito Juárez Unit. The most applauded of his offers, however, was the support in sports scholarships for athletes who hang medals.
The head of the state Executive delivered the Yucatan banner to Mauricio Canul Facundo, Mexican medalist and youth Olympic weightlifter, in an escort that included Ana Alger Velázquez and José Adán Cervera, from tae kwon do; Leonardo Ramírez, archery; Valeria Espinosa, of judo, and Enna Montejo, of figure skating.
From July 1 to 26, the Conade National Games will be held in five venues: Jalisco, Baja California and Baja California Sur, Sonora and Sinaloa. Yucatan will have 580 athletes in action and a multidisciplinary team made up of delegates, coaches, doctors, judges and drivers, after two years of not having this massive competition due to the pandemic.
For many, it is the formal start of various sports cycles, some larger than others, but always with the clear objective: to transcend.
Mauricio Canul Facundo, for example, has had important achievements at the national and international levels and is identified as one of the exponents to follow in weightlifting on the way to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. “Of course we are happy to be able to meet again , that once again we can feel the support and motivation. I have many plans on the horizon, the Paris 2024 Games, for example, as a central goal, but there are other competitions that I must focus on, following a process,” said the weightlifter from Tzibikak, after receiving the Yucatecan banner. And he also referred to the scholarships they can receive for their performance. “Because they need each other a lot, so we go with everything.”
Vila Dosal explained that, after the passage of hurricanes and storms last year, the Aquatic Center suffered several damages, so repairs will begin shortly, in which resources of 20 million pesos will be spent. He specified that because it is an important space, where many athletes from the interior of the State train, the CARD will also undergo a rehabilitation and modernization, where a total of 15 million pesos will be invested.
He recognized the effort and dedication of young people and added that his government will give sports scholarships for the next 10 months to all those who win medals during the National Games, “with an amount for those who win a gold medal, another for those with a silver and others for the bronze ones.” He confided that he hopes that, shortly, he can announce the remodeling of the “Benito Juárez” Unit, which represents an investment of almost 60 million pesos.
Mayors from various municipalities attended the flag ceremony, as did deputies and retired Olympic athletes Rómmel Pacheco and Karen Achach Ramírez, and the director of IDEY, Carlos Sáenz Castillo. Most of the disciplines that will have Yucatecan action in the Games had representatives dressed in clothing from their sport.
On behalf of the athletes, Karime Nicole Ortiz Contreras, from the fights, recognized the commitment and support they have offered them, through scholarships and trips, for which she promised to give her best effort to raise the name Of the territory.
“Participating in this act, wearing the Yucatan uniform, is a great pride for me and my colleagues; becoming part of the Yucatan team is not easy, since it requires a high commitment. Many of us are from municipalities and we emerged to compete through the Regional Sports Centers that have the IDEY, thanks to this recruitment of sports talents we are present here; otherwise it would not be possible. Wearing this uniform, we endorse the commitment that we are going to go for the medals and leave the name of Yucatan high, ”he stressed.
