The spokesperson for Nueva Canarias-Bloque Canarista (NC-BC) in Yaiza, Luis Miguel Valiente, accompanied by members of his team and the deputy for Lanzarote and La Graciosa in the Canary Islands Parliament, Yoné Caraballo, visited the facilities of the 4 Vientos Sailing Club located in Marina Rubicón. The purpose of the visit was to understand the concerns felt by families, students, and officials of the only municipal sailing school that has operated in the Yaiza municipality for over two decades.
For more than twenty years, this school has played a significant role in sports, education, and community engagement, training hundreds of children from southern Lanzarote in nautical disciplines while instilling values related to teamwork, respect for the sea, and traditional Canarian maritime customs, particularly Latina Sailing.
Moreover, this school has produced prominent athletes, including Daniel Hernández, a Spanish champion and winner of the King’s Cup in powerboating, who began his training in these facilities.
According to the club’s officials and the families of the students, the facilities will need to be vacated to allow a private company to take over, without any alternative proposed to ensure the continuity of municipal sports activities.
Luis Miguel Valiente expressed, “It is incomprehensible that, after over twenty years of providing exemplary service to the municipality, there is still no clear solution to guarantee that these children can continue practising Latina sailing in Yaiza. We are talking about grassroots sports, education in values, and the preservation of a tradition deeply linked to our identity as a coastal community.”
Furthermore, NC-BC notes that concerns have intensified due to a lack of information from the Yaiza Town Hall regarding what will happen after 30 June with the school, the club, and its users.
In this regard, families and representatives of the organisation lament that the Councillor for Sports, Ángel Lago (UPY), has not held a meeting with the affected families to explain the future of the activity and what alternatives the council is considering.
“Since we began this political project in Yaiza, we have been clear that our priority is to stand alongside the people, the communities, and those who work every day to improve our municipality. We will not turn a blind eye while dozens of families face uncertainty regarding the future of a school that is part of Yaiza’s sporting history,” added Valiente.
For his part, the Lanzarote deputy of NC-BC, Yoné Caraballo, announced that he will request all necessary documentation to clarify the situation and understand the Town Hall’s real intentions concerning the continuity of this municipal activity.
“We will ask for all available information to understand what planning exists, what alternatives have been considered, and what guarantees are offered to ensure that these children do not lose the opportunity to continue practising nautical sports. Supporting grassroots sports and our maritime traditions should be a priority for any public administration,” affirmed Caraballo.
NC-BC believes that this situation reflects a concerning lack of planning on the part of the municipal governing group and questions the absence of the mayor, Óscar Noda, in a matter that directly affects many families in the municipality.
In conclusion, NC-BC is demanding an immediate response from the Yaiza Town Hall and the urgent search for an alternative location that ensures the continuity of the Municipal Sailing School and the 4 Vientos Sailing Club, preventing the disappearance of a sporting and social project that has contributed to training generations of young people linked to the sea and the nautical traditions of Lanzarote for over twenty years.
