Performance centre for elite athletes in Torrevieja

MATEO CASTELLA, the Director General for Sports in the Generalitat Valenciana, took time out to visit Torrevieja last week to discuss plans to build an Elite Athlete Residential Centre within the grounds of the Sports City complex.

He toured the installations with Olympic medallist, Miriam Blasco, Torrevieja’s Mayor Eduardo Dolon, Councillor for Sports and Education Dani Plaza, an Olympic Gold Medallist himself plus former Mayor of Torrevieja and Valencian Councillor, Pedro Hernandez Mateo, who also holds the posts of Deputy and Vice President of Culture, Education and Sports. Castella was suitably impressed with the facilities and hoped that Torrevieja would be able to add a residential performance centre to their mix.

For those that have studied the original plans or looked at the model located in the Infanta Christina Sports Centre, the Performance Centre has always been on the list of new facilities with the idea that this would allow Torrevieja to become a magnet for teams and athletes, who could both train and improve their skill levels in one location without the need of having to travel during their stay.

After the visit, Eduardo Dolon, held a working meeting with Castella to discuss future joint projects in this area. The main reason for the visit was to strengthen ties between agencies in the Valencian Community and at national level and to reach agreements on various sports, looking towards the creation of a Modern Performance Centre for Athletes. Plans have already been drawn up for such a facility to be constructed on a plot adjacent to the "Cecilio Gallego" (with the blue roof) of 4,000 square meters. It was noted that in the Valencian Community there is only one centre of similar characteristics, which is located in the town of Cheste. Throughout Spain there are only a few other high-performance centres, such as Madrid, the CAR of Sant Cugat, the Sierra Nevada in Granada and Seville.

Taking these examples, it is conceivable that Torrevieja could become a centre that would accommodate athletes of different modalities but it also might consider the option of specialization, such as is the case with the Seville which is directed towards rowing and water sports. In Granada, athletes can train specially for skiing but they also have a place where professional teams go to take advantage of high altitude training.

In short, Torrevieja has a opportunity to develop a performance centre where teams would have at their disposal facilities for rugby, football, indoor arenas, gym, indoor and outdoor track, martial arts, swimming, water sports and individual performance enhancement along with personal training, injury recovery, rehabilitation and medical facilities. While the plans are in place and the spirit is willing, it has still to be announced who will fund such a project but with the unique commercial aspects and 320 days of annual sunshine, the future looks bright for sport in Torrevieja.

465 words
Keith Nicol