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With help from administration, 77 islanders specialise in scuba-diving

Foto cursos busseig vellmari reduxAccording to a report issued today by the Formentera Council's Office of Sport, 77 Formentera residents got financial help paying for recreational scuba-diving classes in 2017 with funding made possible by a deal between the Council and Vellmarí dive centre.

Thirty-seven individuals signed up to take an introductory course at a 50% discount, 15 received 60% off a “junior” course and another 25 students got instruction for ongoing divers at a 38% discount. All told, the funding totalled €7,000.

The administration hopes to see more islanders taking an interest in the island's undersea life and scuba-diving. To CiF sport secretary Jordi Vidal, conditions on Formentera “make it a no-brainer as a destination for the activity”. The Council's partnership with Vellmarí spans more than a decade. During that time, upwards of 700 residents have received specialised diving instruction, which Vidal describes as “a way to educate people about the vast wealth of our undersea habitats and posidonia meadows”.

Council's latest leg-up includes €74k in funding for local sports clubs and €9k for specialised athletes

Foto vela 2017Seventy-four thousand euros, unlocked by the department of fitness of the Formentera Council, will be handed out to eight local associations that applied for assistance promoting fitness, including Formentera's dojo and football team as well as associations built around tennis, racing, basketball and swimming, plus the Grup Esportiu Espalmador.

That was the message trumpeted by CiF fitness secretary Jordi Vidal, who highlighted the role such funding plays in driving sports clubs on the island. This year the administration will introduce early payouts of 50%. According to the secretary, the strategy is intended to reduce the financial burden on clubs.

Individual assistance
Separately the administration is also disclosed it will offer nine thousand euros to three local sportspeople. All under 18, the recipients include specialists in athletics, tennis and sailing.

Vidal framed the assistance as “a boost we hope will help our athletes get the guidance they'll need in their futures in pro sport”. The individual assistance is the result of a partnership between the Council and Fundació per a l'Esport Balear.

A second round of applications for trainers and other sportspeople. Interested parties should contact the CiF fitness office (àrea d'Esports) and visit the website http://esportesmes.org for eligibility requirements. A joint subcommittee of Council and Fundació representatives reviews applications based on need and performance.

Municipal pool opens enrolment for 2016-2017 classes

natacioThe Formentera Council's Office of Sport wishes to announce the start, from today, of registration for swimming courses at the municipal swimming pool. Signups will be held at Antoni Blanc fitness centre from Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 10.00pm.

Groups will be formed based on age, with one cohort of 2 to 12 year olds, another for swimmers over 12, and groups for expecting mothers, aquafitness and light gymnastics. Roughly 275 students—adults and children—are expected in total.

Classes, held afternoons from Monday to Friday and between 30 and 45 minutes in length, begin September 13 and run through June.

Swimming classes for newborns
This year, for the first time, the pool is offering two monthly infant swimming lessons at no charge. Two Saturday sessions, at 10.30am and 11.00am, will be available to newborns and their accompanying guardian, although interested individuals must reserve in advance at the front desk of the sports centre. During the first term, classes will go September 9-23, October 7-21, November 4-18 and December 2-16.

 

Formentera kids see day in the life of island's lifeguards

Escola de socorrisme 2 2017The Formentera Council's lifeguard service has opened its escola de socorristes, or “lifeguard school,” to children in summer schools and sports camps on the island. The goal, said service chief Marco Antonio Lage, is to give Formentera's youngsters a glimpse of the lifeguard profession and important water-risk prevention tools. “Prevention,” explained Lage, “can be as simple as understanding that the red flag means don't swim”.

Last Friday the escola took its first group to spend a day at Es Cavall den Borràs beach. Lifeguard staff explained a typical day's work and went into subjects like rescue material and how to use it, the meaning of the different coloured flags and tips to remember on arrival (protection against sunburn). The lifeguards-in-training also heard about the importance of Posidonia oceanica seagrass in local waters and took part in a hands-on demo.

The escola will reopen for classes on two Fridays, August 11 and 25.

Windsurfing school updates arsenal with new boat designed for disabled

Foto presentacio nova embarcacio escola de velaJaume Ferrer, Jordi Vidal and Josep Verdera —the Formentera Council's chairman, the councillor of sports and the branch director at CaixaBank in Sant Francesc— metr to unveil the latest addition to the arsenal of equipment at the windsurfing school: a boat specially-designed for people with functional diversity.

The administration welcomed the support from Obra Social la Caixa, which brought €8,000 to the table for the initiative. The 12-person vessel measures 5.95 metres (m) long and 2.5m wide and retails for €13,000. The remaining €5,000 was put up by the Formentera Council, which paid €2,000 to give the school a trailer as well.

The CiF reached out to Obra Social in a bid to equip Formentera's Escola de Vela with special-needs services. The project's directors point to roughly 50 islanders —patients at Formentera's dependent care centre and individuals affiliated with an array of other local groups— as some of the service's potential users.

According to the men, the effort is part of the CaixaBank financial network's dedication to serving local communities. “Our commitment,” they said, “is to the Balearic Islands' most vulnerable”.

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