BARCELONA, 14 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The 47th edition of the Christmas Race, an international sailing regatta that will be held from December 18 to 22 in the waters of the bay of Palamós (Girona) and will have more than 230 boats among the eight different categories of the competition, with a total of 18 countries represented.
At the moment there are 233 boats registered, distributed in the 8 categories –ILCA 6 Men (51), ILCA 6 Women (19), ILCA 4 Men (40), ILCA 4 Women (20), 420 Men/Mixed (48), 420 Women (17), 29er Men/Mixed (27) and 29er Women (10)–.
As for countries, there are a total of 18: Germany (12), Austria (5), Australia (1), Belgium (1), Canada (1), Slovakia (1), Spain (88), France (34) , Finland (1), Great Britain (24), Italy (13), Mexico (1), Netherlands (19), Poland (6), Portugal (7), Switzerland (7), Sweden (2) and Ukraine ( 9).
The new edition of the regatta was presented this Thursday in the Espai del Peix de Palamós, in an event attended by the sports vice president of the CN Costa Brava-Vela Palamós, Miquel Aviño, the mayor of Palamós, Lluís Puig, the deputy of Youth and Education of the Provincial Government of Girona, Mònica Alcalá, the president of the Catalan Sailing Federation, Xavier Torres, and the representative of Ports of the Generalitat, David Ruíz.
Miguel Aviñó reviewed the numbers of the Christmas Race in terms of participants, countries and classes. “We have once again incorporated the 29er class, a regatta that is very aware of sustainability and that wanted to open its European circuit for the first time in the Christmas Race”, on this topic he said that “the Christmas Race was a pioneer in the issue of sustainability, what the classes and the participants value,” he said.
For his part, Lluís Puig highlighted the international nature of the Christmas Race. “It is a highly anticipated regatta in the municipality for almost 50 years, where it has a very important direct impact. Without a doubt we must continue supporting these competitions that are also very careful with the environment and the surroundings,” he celebrated.
Mònica Alcala spoke about the impact on the territory. “The Christmas Race is one of the most important sporting events for the Girona district, Olympic, world and European champions have passed through here and Palamós is a world reference point in the sport of sailing and with an international projection for Palamós, the Costa Brava and Girona,” he assured.
This 47th Christmas Race will be a sustainable regatta, to which the 29er class returns as a great novelty, which will open the EuroCup, the continental circuit of the year 2024 in the waters of Palamós. This year, this double class, which is also Clean Class, has been incorporated into the international association Sailors of the Sea and the Christmas Race, for this reason, it has become part of the Clean Regatta category, a sustainable competition. , a fact that has been working on sustainable actions such as paper and plastic free for several years.