MADRID, 11 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Royal Spanish Handball Federation (RFEBM) held the 2023 National Awards Gala this Saturday night at the Banco Santander Auditorium in Madrid, a traditional event that closed the Spanish handball season, recognizing the labor and hard work of key people in this sport.
The great family of Spanish handball paid homage to entities, clubs, institutions, managers, referees, players, the media and personalities of this sport. The event was chaired by the president of the RFEBM, Paco Blázquez, accompanied by the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), José Manuel Franco, and the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), Alejandro Blanco, also awarded during the gala .
Franco and Blanco were recognized with the Gold and Diamond Medal and Insignia and the Gold and Diamond Medal and Insignia, respectively, the two highest distinctions awarded by the RFEBM. “I will always walk hand in hand with you. You have made me feel very loved and you have made me very happy during all these years. The recognition you have given fills me with emotion, and I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart,” said Franco.
“It is very difficult to explain their successes without feeling it firsthand. It all starts on the street, with a boy, with a girl, who starts to play, and a coach who bets on them. From there, the clubs are consolidated, the federations and the national teams, but without that work from below, none of this would be possible,” Blanco pointed out.
For his part, Blázquez closed the gala by thanking the entire handball family for their work and dedication. “The sponsors, the institutions, the sports directors, all the players who give their all for the Spanish team shirt and, of course, the work of the entire handball family that has led us to achieve so much success in this past decade,” he said.
Another of the stellar moments was the tribute to Julen Aginagalde with the Gold and Brilliant Medal and Badge for his entire sporting career. The RFEBM also wanted to have an emotional detail with two deceased Spanish handball figures such as Lydia Estévez and Pere Mora.
Arbitration couples contrasted nationally and internationally such as Yon Bustamante López and Javier Álvarez Mata, Ignacio García Serradilla and Andreu Marín Lorente; technicians like Verónica Cuadrado, Imanol Álvarez, Juan Caamaño or María Navarro; or clubs with extensive experience behind them such as Club Balonmano Mare Nostrum Torrevieja, Club Tolosa Eskubaloia and Club Handbol Alcàsser were also awarded at the gala.
Likewise, the work of institutions such as the Jaén City Council, the Jaén Provincial Council, the Government of Cantabria, the Santander City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council and the Consell Català de l’Esport have been recognized for their support of Spanish handball in different events held in the past. Also from the media such as Superdeporte, Europa Press or the journalist José Saldaña, for their dissemination and promotion of handball.