MADRID, 4 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Celia Maestre and David Casinos formed one of the most successful couples in Spanish Paralympic sport. In addition to numerous international successes, the Moncada athlete won four of his five medals, three golds (Athens, Beijing and London) and a bronze (Rio de Janeiro) in Games with his wife, his guide in competitions. After 2016, they ‘separated’, since David ended his stage as an athlete to seek new motivations in cycling and rowing, but they have not abandoned the idea of taking joint projects.
And so David Casinos Esports arose, an almost newborn company that wants to promote sport for people with disabilities in the Valencian Community, taking advantage of all the experience they accumulate, but focused exclusively on promoting inclusion and not on the facet of high competition .
“This was born to add athletes to the base, so that they know how to swim for example, not so that they compete because it is not a company dedicated to competition, because that is what other projects and federations are for, but to demonstrate that sport with disabilities is very big and that we all fit “, Celia Maestre explains to Europa Press, who does not hide that they have always thought that” it was necessary to continue contributing to the sport of people with disabilities from all areas, not only from the recruitment or from the possible arrival to the elite as it can be with Paralympic Relay “.
The objective of David Casinos Esports, of which both have founding partners, is to provide “instruments so that all people with diversity or any disability can see continuity in sport”, without focusing solely on “those more Paralympic sports”. “If we want people who do not know paralimpism to know our sport, we have to remove it from the pavilions, plant it in the town squares and make them inclusive. This project was born from that reflection,” he underlines.
And all this underpinned by an image as powerful as the one projected, especially in the Valencian Community, by the quadruple Paralympic champion. “I would like to be an inspiring figure for young people,” admits the former pitcher, who hopes to take advantage of what he and Celia have “learned on the fly to leave no one behind.” In addition, without forgetting the “world of events” such as the David Casinos Meeting that started in 2016.
“We had the project in mind for many years”, emphasizes Celia Maestre. The seed of David Casinos Esports began to be planted precisely after Rio 2016, when they said goodbye to their joint activity in high competition, but without ceasing to think that they had to “get involved in the sport of the Valencian Community from many points of view “.
A “VERY GOOD” WELCOME
The project was finally completed last March and from the first moment they found the collaboration of “many people who believe that sport for people with disabilities should be just as visible in any corner of the community.” “Whenever we think of sport and disability, we think of big cities and it is about everyone doing sports activity near their home,” says the Valencian.
The two also had the courage to undertake in a delicate moment such as the current one with the pandemic. “And in sporting events, neither more nor less, and with the sector of those most affected by the pandemic and the greatest need for support,” remarks Celia, making it clear that both she and David were clear that it was the moment to “continue giving opportunities and creating the famous ‘Comunitat de l’sport’ also in the world of people with disabilities”.
“The reception is being very good because we have very good travel companions that we have always had and that now continue to accompany us. No one has yet closed the door, on the contrary, we find them super open”, he celebrates, emphasizing the “good reception” of municipalities when they propose to “take sport to the squares” or companies such as the Valencia gym chain SUMA or the Castellón-based NADOS, which have given them “all the facilities” so that they can implement swimming courses.
“We have been showing the project and everyone has listened to us,” says David Casinos, whose visibility thanks to his successes is of great help. “He has been teaching disability for 20 years and that sport is a fundamental tool for inclusion,” recalls his wife.
The five-time Paralympic medalist also does not forget that it is “very important” for a high-level athlete to make the transition to retirement in the best possible way, even more so at a time when mental health is so important.
“When one is up there with the media focus and projects around it is wonderful. The press has taken care of me a lot and I think that entrepreneurship is a very good medium and if it is in sports, even better. I will not be the first or the last one to do it, but I feel empowered because sport has given me a fantastic life experience and then take it to this company “, he remarks.
The one from Moncada knows that from his experience he can “help many athletes” who are thinking about retirement. “I can accompany them and make them part of the spirit of David Casinos Esports. I am not claiming to be a patron, but I believe that my experience can embrace many people in that sense,” he says.