- Vicente del Bosque, the Community of Madrid, the City Council of Colmenar Viejo and the ONCE Foundation attended the reinauguration of the sports center, which is located in the Envera Integral Center for Disability.
- This venue hosted the presentation of the Special Olympics movement in Spain and the reception of the Paralympic Team after the Rio and Tokyo games.
Madrid | September 13, 2023
Amadeo Meler Sanvicente (Peralta de la Sal, Huesca, 1956), is a historic leader and promoter of inclusive sports in Spain who has been at the helm of the Ícaro - Envera club since he helped start it up in 1991 and later captained it until his retirement from the "playing fields" in 2020. His achievements over the years speak for themselves: more than 500 national and international competitions won by the club, a trophy room with more than 400 awards, a dozen medals won at the World Games in Barcelona 92 and more than a thousand athletes with disabilities trained under his coordination.
On the occasion of his retirement, Meler received today a heartfelt and warm tribute, a bittersweet farewell from his colleagues and friends of "his second family, which is Envera". An emotional see you later that could not be held at the time by the pandemic but, in the words of the president of Envera, José Antonio Quintero, "was justice to recognize and thank Amadeo for his work, his work and his efforts to help us show the whole society that athletes with intellectual disabilities can also be the best".
The tribute took place coinciding with the reinauguration of the Envera Pavilion which, after its refurbishment, now bears the name of 'Amadeo Meler'. The refurbishment of the sports center was made possible thanks to the ONCE Foundation and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan; financed by the European Union - Next Generation EU Funds and managed by the Regional Ministry of Family, Youth and Social Policy of the Community of Madrid.
Thanks to this aid, the toilets and changing rooms have been adapted for people with high support and reduced mobility needs and for people with disabilities over 45 years of age that Envera provides in its Day Center and Residences. Architectural barriers have been removed to facilitate access for disabled athletes, doors have been widened to allow wheelchairs and walkers to pass through, and more open spaces have been created, with more spacious showers and toilets that allow them to be supported in the toilet with greater safety.
On the other hand, a modern air conditioning system with air conditioning and heat pump has also been installed to improve the energy efficiency of the facilities and ensure an adequate temperature for sports practice.
The inauguration ceremony, in addition to the honoree himself, Vicente del Bosque and the president of Envera, was also attended by the deputy minister of Family, Youth and Social Affairs of the Community of Madrid, Pablo Gómez-Tavira; the general director of Sports Programs, Virginia Blázquez; the Councilors for Sports and Consumer Affairs, Citizen Safety, Mobility and Civil Protection, and Education, Health and Citizen Services of Colmenar Viejo, Fabiola Cebrián, Jesús Fernández and Lorena Colmenarejo, respectively; Ángela Diego, from the Operations Department of the ONCE Foundation; Fernando Lacarra, senior non-commissioned officer of the 11th Logistics Group of the Spanish Army; as well as representatives of Iberia, FEMADDI, Fundación SEPLA - Ayuda, Grupo Talía and USCA, among other organizations.
Quintero recalled many historic moments that Spanish sport has experienced thanks to "Amadeo's tireless work" and quoted his own words that summarize the journey of inclusive sport: "From the trench of dignity, we fought pity and won admiration with the overcoming and strength of our athletes".
Among them, the presentation in 1991 of the international Special Olympics movement in Spain, with Eunice Kennedy at the head and today presided over by Infanta Elena. Since then, the Envera Pavilion became the Madrid headquarters of the organization for years.
From then on, the most relevant sports successes of Club Ícaro-Envera and some of the biggest events of inclusive sports that have taken place in Spain since 1992 began to happen, such as the annual "Olympics" that took place between 1998 and 2002 in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Malaga and Madrid, organized by Envera, with the participation of hundreds of athletes and clubs from different parts of Spain.
Another memorable moment was the two official receptions for Paralympic athletes on their return from the Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2021) Games, which Iberia and Envera held in the same pavilion.
A fierce advocate of the disappearance of segregated federations for athletes with disabilities who "should be integrated into the federations without labels like other athletes," Amadeo Meler also participated in the recent celebration of the 30th anniversary of inclusive sport in Envera, with del Bosque as sports ambassador.
His work on behalf of athletes with intellectual disabilities has earned him, among other recognitions, the Values Award of FEMADDI for her professional career, presented by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, or the award from the City Council of Colmenar Viejo and Special Olympics Spain at the inaugural Gala of the II Women's Basketball Tournament held in the Madrid town in 2018.
Former player of Club Deportivo Binéfar and the Aragonese Handball Federation, as well as collaborator of Agrupación Deportiva Colmenar Viejo, Amadeo Meler has also participated in different courses, seminars and conferences on inclusive sport and adapted leisure, in addition to collaborating closely with different public administrations for the promotion of physical activity and awareness of adapted sport among society.
