Nautical Clubs Request That Port Extensions Recognize Their Role in Sports

This weekend, the Association of Nautical Clubs of the Balearic Islands (ACNB) held its annual general assembly at the headquarters of the Reial Club Nàutic Port de Pollença, where key aspects for the future of social boating in the Balearic Islands were discussed, and proposals for the modification of the State Ports Law were shared.

During the assembly, the ACNB presented its initiatives for the State Ports Law to consider the "fundamental" social and sporting work of nautical clubs when defining the requirements for concession extensions. The association believes that these aspects, which are fundamental to their activity, should be officially recognized and have a weight in future concession competitions.

In this regard, the ACNB has directly urged the Balearic Port Authority to recognize and economically quantify the value generated by the nautical clubs, both in sports and port activities. The association demands that future competitions include mechanisms that guarantee the survival of a social and "accessible for all" marina, to avoid "undesirable" cases like that of the Nautical Club of Ibiza, deprived of its historic concession of almost 100 years in favor of a newly created company with no previous experience in the sport nautical sector.

The president of the ACNB, Antoni Estades, has emphasized the importance of nautical clubs for the accessibility of recreational boating to middle economies: “Without the nautical clubs, social boating that allows access to the sea for all citizens and facilitates sports such as canoeing and sailing leading the Spanish Olympic medal table would not be possible.”

The ACNB is particularly pleased with the sporting successes of the season, in which athletes trained in clubs from the Islands have won two Olympic medals: Joan Toni Moreno and Marcus Cooper in canoeing. Additionally, three other athletes (sailors Paula Barceló and Nacho Baltasar, and paracanoeist Adrián Castaño) have represented Spain at the Paris Games, reinforcing the contribution of the Balearic clubs to the successes of Spanish nautical sports.

The assembly also ratified the adherence of the 24 clubs that make up the ACNB to the Setmana Blava, an initiative promoted by the Balearic Government to bring maritime culture to the schoolchildren of the Islands. Estades highlighted the growing interest in nautical activities: “Most of our schools have been full this summer, which shows the attraction to nautical activities. We think that Setmana Blava can be a success in participation and help increase the base of sailing practitioners in the Balearics.”

Finally, the ACNB paid tribute to the former presidents of the clubs of Pollença (Mateu Dupuy), Ciutadella (Salo Moll), Arenal (Óscar Estellers), and Mahón (Antoni Hernández), recognizing their selfless work and staunch defense of the social model of nautical clubs.