The Consell de Mallorca will award Balearic coach Kiko Martín for his work in canoeing

Kiko Martín, coach of the national canoe team and of the Reial Club Nàutic Port de Pollença, will receive the Valores award at the Consell de Mallorca's Sports Gala. The coach, awarded the Best Coach "José Montes Trophy" in 2023, has trained outstanding canoeists such as Sete Benavides, Toni Segura, and Joan Toni Moreno.

On Tuesday, March 11, the 23rd edition of the Consell de Mallorca's Sports Gala was presented, which will be held on March 18, at the Auditorium de Palma. This major celebration of Mallorcan grassroots sports will recognize nearly 300 athletes aged between 6 and 16 years old this year, who have achieved podiums in national and international sports competitions.

As a novelty, the Consell will present four tribute awards to great figures from the Mallorcan technical and coaching fields, who will be present at the gala for their sports achievements and as role models for children and young people. These are the Valores Award, which will be given to Kiko Martín; the Trayectoria Award, for Toni Nadal; the Promesa Award, for Brigitte Yagüe; and the Excelencia Award, for Llorenç Serra Ferrer.

The second vice-president and councilor for Environment, Rural Affairs, and Sports, Pedro Bestard; the insular director, Toni Prats, and the coaches Llorenç Serra Ferrer and Brigitte Yagüe attended the presentation event on Tuesday, March 11.

Bestard has valued that "when we talk about success in sports, the coach is much more than a transmitter of technique: they are a guide who inspires, shapes characters, and forms resilient people. Their influence transcends sports, instilling values that endure."

"In this sense, from the Consell, we want to honor the figure of the coach and claim their dedication, passion, and leadership because without them, neither sports nor human success would be possible," added the councilor.

It has also been reported by the institution that this is the gala with more podiums than ever before: over 400, achieved by 291 awarded athletes; and also highlighted as a novelty is the entry of two new federations in the list of base champions: trotting and weightlifting, which for the first time in history celebrate podiums at the gala.

The Consell de Mallorca dedicates the 23rd Sports Gala 2025 to the theme "Sport and technology." In fact, in recent years, Mallorca has made great strides in this regard, a further step towards full professionalization, which has allowed improving sports practice, facilities, and equipment.

Additionally, the gala will be hosted by Toni Terrades and Virginia Quetglas, and will be accompanied by two godparents of honor: the canoeist Joan Toni Moreno and the pilot Sonia Ledesma, collaborators of the Consell's sports values programs with schoolchildren.