• ExpoDeca presents a program to promote Sports in the Canary Islands and foster healthy lifestyle habits among islanders

The 1st Congress and Fair of Physical Activity and Sports in the Canary Islands, from November 14 to 17, offers a full agenda for open practice of various modalities and will bring together the sector’s main actors in the Islands.

The President of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales, and the Regional Minister of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity, and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, Poli Suárez, presented on Tuesday, October 29, the program of the 1st Congress and Fair of Physical Activity and Sports in the Canary Islands, which will be held at Infecar from November 14 to 17.

ExpoDeca offers a schedule of meetings, sessions, and talks designed to share knowledge and experiences of public managers, professionals, and experts, with the aim of promoting a sector that drives 2,500 companies and 20,000 workers in the Canary Islands. It also includes an agenda for the public to enjoy and practice different sports modalities, and access the latest services and products from major market brands on the Islands.

ExpoDeca is promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands and organized by Infecar, Feria de Gran Canaria. The fair is sponsored by Fundación Disa, Aguas de Firgas, Aquavia, Clipper, and Binter, and collaborates with Bestial Race. Admission to the event is free, and the public can reserve their spot on the official website, expodeca.es.

The program launch attended by Ángel Sabroso, Deputy Minister of Physical Activity and Sports of the Canary Islands Government; Minerva Alonso, Minister of Economic Development, Industry, Commerce, and Crafts of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria; and Natalia Santana, General Director of Infecar, previewed a historic event for Sports in the Canary Islands, as it constitutes the first major forum of the sector in the region. The Directors General of the Government of the Canary Islands, Lorena Hernández (Native Sports) and José Francisco Pérez (Physical Activity and Sports), were also present at this significant debut of ExpoDeca.

The President of the Cabildo, Antonio Morales, emphasized that ExpoDeca “aims to become the meeting point for the sports industry in the Islands, highlighting the importance of physical activity for a healthy life. “Sport,” he added, “is a key piece in public health management, a fundamental tool for social cohesion, youth education, values education, and also a way to project the Island abroad.”

“It is for all these reasons,” stressed the island president, “that the Cabildo is committed to this 1st Congress and Fair of Physical Activity and Sports in the Canary Islands, which is emerging as an essential space for the entire sports industry in the Archipelago. An increasingly broad, diverse, and specialized industry.” ExpoDeca, he continued, “aims to bring together all its players for the first time in the Canary Islands, showing society how well-prepared it is to meet their expectations and needs.”

Morales concluded that ExpoDeca and its participants “have the full support of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria in what is a must-attend event for entities and individuals involved in sports activities. As President of the Cabildo, we must continue working with all institutions to promote initiatives like this.”

The Regional Minister of Sports, Poli Suárez, thanked Morales for the support of the Cabildo of Gran Canaria in organizing the fair, pointing out that its success “depends not only on the objectives we set from the administration but also on joint work with the organizing committee, federations, athletes, and the business world. If we can work together to promote something as important as Sports, ExpoDeca will have a long life.”

For Suárez, this event “should be the showcase that our land’s Sports needs so that citizens can understand its benefits. This is a recognition of an industry that has not received the attention it deserved until now.” The fair, he noted, “is just starting to crawl; we need to see it stand up and run. It is important that through ExpoDeca we show the values that can be acquired through Sport, to children, youth, and the elderly alike, with a policy that must be transversal.” It is also “very important,” Suárez added, “that the sector remains united. And that we recognize those who have become an example,” referring to the first Canary Islands Sports Gala, which will also be held as part of ExpoDeca.

The Minister emphasized that “the success of initiatives like this cannot bear a political label. Make it your own, because in that way, ExpoDeca will have a long life, as a tool that you need, showing the world the importance we place on Sports in the Canary Islands.”

The Program

ExpoDeca’s program includes the distribution of outdoor and indoor areas at the fairground for sports exhibitions and open practice of various modalities. The public, with free entry to the fair, can enjoy them on a first-come, first-served basis, with monitors in several of these disciplines. The organization advises attendees interested in joining these activities to come with appropriate equipment.

The various sports federations present at ExpoDeca have directly contributed to organizing all these activities, making a significant effort in drafting the agendas. The Spanish Paralympic Committee will also attend ExpoDeca to carry out informational work during the fair.

Practicing Sports at ExpoDeca

The outdoor areas will feature designated spaces for football, basketball, volleyball, archery, and climbing, as well as native sports like Canary wrestling, stick fighting, and Canary ball. There will also be a paddle court, offering open practices to the public and hosting matches from the Challenger Kia of Club El Drago and the 4th Canary Islands Cup for Minor Teams. Likewise, the Canary Islands Tennis Federation will introduce pickleball, a rapidly growing racket sport, which attendees can also try out.

An area for the increasingly popular OCR or obstacle races is also planned outdoors. There will be exhibition zones for nautical sports (including Canary lateen sailing) and motorsports. It is worth noting that ExpoDeca has already shown support for the Canary rally champion Juan Carlos Quintana, who has represented the colors of the 1st Congress and Fair of Physical Activity and Sports in the Canary Islands in his national circuit appearances.

Sport and Health

In terms of its indoor zones, ExpoDeca will dedicate an entire hall, Pavilion 5, to Sport and Health, with fitness taking center stage, sharing space with a large commercial exhibition oriented towards this activity. This area will feature modular and ground stands where the main sports companies and centers in the Canary Islands, along with other medium and small operators, can showcase their capabilities and services. A main stage will be set up with a full schedule of activities, including step, aeroboxing, body combat, zumba, latin dance, yoga, pilates, and hypopressive exercises. Activities will be open to all audiences, including children, seniors, and pregnant women.

In the realm of high-level fitness and cross-training competition, ExpoDeca will host the Gran Canaria Crow Challenge on November 16 and 17, with around 200 finalist athletes after a rigorous preliminary phase.

ExpoDeca will also feature Cubofit: a container converted into a portable gym equipped with sports material both inside and on its own structure, and which is Spain’s first outdoor and mobile gym.

More Activities and Playground

Additionally, Pavilion 6 will host spaces dedicated to fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, and martial arts, along with a commercial exhibition of various companies and brands.

ExpoDeca will activate its own playground: a space designed for family visits and young visitors’ enjoyment. Traditional games will have a significant presence in this special fair area, located in Pavilion 7.

Furthermore, the fair will feature the “Canarians on Olympus” Exhibition, where the public can look back on the history of Canary Islanders at the world’s most important sports event. Just in Paris 2024, 23 Canarian athletes participated, a recent demonstration of the capabilities and talent driving the world of Sports in the Canary Islands.

VIII ACAGEDE Congress

ExpoDeca’s agenda includes the VIII Congress of the Canary Association of Sports Management Professionals (ACAGEDE), on November 14 and 15. This event brings together professionals from the sector in the Canary Islands. CEOs of companies in this field, along with specialists, experts, and high-level public administration technicians, will participate, as well as the main sports management officials in the Canary Islands.

Speakers and participants in the debates will also include a significant representation of guests from renowned national organizations. The congress content will cover three main areas: Sport and Tourism, Sport and Health, and Regular Sports Practice.

Canary Islands Sports Gala

A special mention within ExpoDeca 2024 is reserved for the Canary Islands Sports Gala 2024. This event will recognize the sports achievements of the year in the Islands in a historic first edition. The gala will take place on November 15, within the framework of the fair, presenting awards in ten categories.

The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity, and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands announced on Tuesday, October 29, the athletes and entities honored in this first edition of the awards. Recognized for their trajectory and merits during the 2023/2024 season are FC Barcelona and Spanish national football team player Pedri González (individual athlete); Guaguas Las Palmas men’s volleyball team (team); junior international with the Spanish handball team Alberto Delgado (promising athlete); Paralympic triathlete Lionel Morales (adaptive sport); football referee Marta Huerta de Aza (sport and equality); and the Canary Islands Rally (promotion and diffusion of island sports), as well as former basketball player Sergio

Rodríguez, awarded a lifetime achievement honorary prize.

The three distinctions reserved for traditional and native sports and motor games were also announced, awarded to Fernando Amador (Pedro Molina Prize, for creative, diffusion, knowledge, study, or teaching work in vernacular sports), Antonio Celestino posthumously (Federation special award, for his work in disseminating, growing, or improving these sports), and the Canary Dragging Federation (Equality award for organizing the sixth day of native sports to mark Women’s Day).

All these honorees will also be celebrated at ExpoDeca, a forum where this award ceremony will take place, highlighting the importance of Canarian sports within society.