200 canoeists from all over Mallorca congregate under the Cathedral for the San Silvestre Tournament

This Saturday, the Parc de la Mar was the setting for the multitudinous San Silvestre Trophy, a canoeing competition organized by the Club Nàutic Portitxol (CNP) as part of the School Games League.

Two hundred paddlers from different parts of Mallorca took part in the event, with simultaneous competitions in Ibiza and Menorca. The Mallorcan event, which was to be held in waters close to the CNP but which, due to the bad weather forecast predicted by the AEMET, forced the location of the competition to be changed, was finally held in the Parc de la Mar as a precaution, although the trophy ceremony, accompanied by a hot chocolate with ensaimadas for all the participants and their companions, was held in the facilities of the organizing club.

"This is the third time we have organized this meeting and everything is very well planned, thanks to the support of the Balearic Canoeing Federation," says the coordinator of the CNP Canoeing Department, Omar Calzón, a prestigious paddler who has been national coach in this discipline, president of the Alberche Kayak Club (Madrid) and currently holds the title of runner-up in the Spanish surf sky. "We wanted to celebrate in front of the club, but we had prepared plan B in case the weather was bad, and the AEMET (Spanish Meteorological Agency) forecast that there would be a lot of wind and a strong swell. This would have been especially detrimental to the lower categories, in a race that counts towards the final of the School Games. For this competition, each island has its own qualifying event, which decides which athletes will compete in the final," he adds. 

"Although the location is comfortable and beautiful, it was a shame to have to make this change, especially considering that, in the end, the weather was not bad, but the forecast at the beginning of the week showed a very strong wind and waves of up to one and a half meters, very bad conditions for the little ones, so we had to make this decision," explained Xavi Marroig, technical director and manager of the Balearic Canoe Federation.

"Be that as it may, this type of sporting event is very important for Palma. It is a pity that it could not be held, as planned, in the waters of the CNP, but it is wonderful to have this alternative and to have been able to hold it here, with the Cathedral in the background", said David Salom, general director of Sports of the Palma City Council, who has been supporting the tournament with his presence during the races and at the prize-giving ceremony afterwards.

It was an intergenerational social event, with paddlers from 10 to over 65 years old, from different sailing clubs in Mallorca and aboard sea kayaks, canoes and stillwater kayaks. There was a great atmosphere of camaraderie and passion for the sport throughout the morning, in which the sun shone brightly. After the competition, back at the CNP, there was a prize-giving ceremony and a popular chocolate party, in a festive and very cheerful atmosphere.

"This is a pre-season event, it is the second competition of the League in Mallorca and the first for junior, senior and veteran sailors," added Marroig, who stressed that "the CNP is making a very strong commitment to canoeing. Despite the fact that it is not a very big club and that it has not been developing this discipline for very long, it already has a very large group of paddlers, with very high level figures and a very good pool, thanks to its two coaches, Omar Calzón and Vittorio Mataloni".

Not in vain, the CNP has harvested six medals during the day and has conquered the fifth place by clubs. Toni Mikailenko came first in the Junior category, while Nacho Pujante took second place in this category. In the Senior category, Vittorio Mataloni came second and Omar Calzón third. For his part, Miquel Buendía has achieved third place in Cadet B and Theo Wolf second in Cadet A.

During the meeting, there were different courses for pre-benjamins, benjamins, juveniles, children and popular category, cadets, juniors, U-23, seniors and veterans, with the following distances: 5,000 meters for cadets, juniors, seniors and veterans; 3,000 meters for children and 1,000 meters for juveniles.

The CNP team is now preparing for the next big Balearic canoeing events: the Balearic Young Promises Cup, which will take place in February, and the Balearic Winter Championships, which will be held in early March.