The City Council of Colmenar Viejo, Special Olympics and Envera have presented the competition to be held from November 23 to 25.
Includes the II Women's Basketball Tournament and the rhythmic gymnastics exhibition as part of the "Women and Disability" project.
Madrid | October 24, 2018
The Mayor of Colmenar Viejo, Jorge García Díaz; the Councilor for Sports, Lourdes Navas; the general director of Special Olympics Spain, Enric Blesa; the managing director of Special Olympics Madrid, Marcelino Pérez; and the general director of Envera, Pedro Sobrino, have presented this morning at the City Hall the II Special Olympics Tournament of women's basketball to be held at the Integral Disability Center of Envera from 23 to 25 November and in which fifty athletes with intellectual disabilities from Castilla y León, Castilla - La Mancha, Catalonia and Madrid will participate.
The Tournament, which also includes a rhythmic gymnastics exhibition, is part of the Special Olympics Women and Disability project, which for Envera is also a "double priority".
García Díaz has assured that "from the first moment we had on the table the possibility of hosting again a Special Olympics championship we said a resounding yes. Our daily collaboration with Envera has very good results and previous experiences with the celebration of these competitions have been a party in the municipality. We want to involve the children and adolescents of Colmenar Viejo and that, in addition to this sports party, we give another example of how we understand inclusion in Colmenar Viejo". And he concluded by inviting "all the neighbors to participate".
For his part, the general director of Special Olympics Spain, Enric Blesa, stressed that for Special Olympics "it is an honor to return to Colmenar Viejo with a competition, moreover, framed in the program 'Women and Disability', an event to share, inclusion through sport, which highlights that women with disabilities also have their role and their place in society".
Sobrino wanted to remember the more than 25 years of inclusive sport that Envera has lived with significant events such as the presentation of Special Olympics by Eunice Kennedy or the tour of the Olympic flame by the municipality of Colmenar on the occasion of the national indoor soccer championship in 2000. "Since then, Colmenar and Envera were one. In November, the fire of this flame will once again run through the streets of Colmenar, an inclusive and exemplary town, with its mayor at the head. Undoubtedly a model of integration and equal opportunities. Thanks to Colmenar Viejo and Special Olympics. As we say in Envera, we can all be the best at something and during these championships people with intellectual disabilities are going to prove it again, "he said.
Since 1991 when Eunice Kennedy presented @SpecialOlympics in the #Envera pavilion, the @AytoColmenar has always been committed to inclusive sport. On November 23 the Olympic fire will once again walk the streets of #ColmenarViejo pic.twitter.com/YCKzRAj91P
- Envera (@Grupo_Envera_) October 24, 2018.
To support the competition, schoolchildren from the 11 local pre-schools and elementary schools will make a banner to reflect the values of sport and diversity, which will later be displayed at the Envera sports facilities where the tournament will be held.
In addition, on Friday, November 23, the students of the schools Fuente Santa, Ángel León, Antonio Machado, San Andrés and Tirso de Molina will welcome the Olympic torch in their schools, which will depart at 11:00 h. from the Envera Integral Center for Disability and will travel through the streets of Colmenare until it arrives at the Town Square at 12:30 h., also accompanied by students of Secondary Education.
That same Friday, at 19:00 hours, will take place in the Municipal Auditorium the Inaugural Gala of the Tournament with the presentation of the participating teams and athletes and the screening of the film Campeones, the film by director Javier Fesser that will represent Spain in the next edition of the Oscars, and the short film Michael's Flight.
On Saturday, November 24, the sports competition will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 8:30 p.m., resuming on Sunday, November 25, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with the medal ceremony and closing ceremony.
