The island of Izaro is a small piece of uninhabited land that stands between Biscay and the vastness of the Cantabrian Sea. Two kilometers from Mundaka and three from Bermeo , legend has it that its sovereignty was settled towards the 17th century in a gamble. Traineras to the water, the neighboring Elantxobe as judge and whoever won the regatta would keep the sovereignty of the islet. Bermeo won, although they claim in Mundaka that she was cheating. Every July 22, Magdalena Day, the myth is commemorated in the three coastal municipalities.
But the legend is false, since the island of Izaro has belonged to Bermeo since long before the celebration of this fantasy regatta. It is nothing more than an invention that colors a rivalry between neighboring towns, but exemplifies the roots in the Cantabrian Sea of the trawler regattas, a fishing boat converted almost two centuries ago into a marine racing car, powered by the arms of 13 rowers and heading that marks its pattern.
In reality, the existence of trawler regattas has been documented since the mid-19th century and Queen Elizabeth II is said to have enjoyed the competition on her visits to Santander and San Sebastián. And from then until today, the drifters have been the most distinctive feature of the summer in northern Spain, in the Basque Country and Cantabria first, to the Galician Atlantic afterwards.
"A great opportunity"
This seems the beginning of the story a thousand times told during this health crisis, that of a centuries-old tradition that did not stop at all, but that in 2020, what a remedy, is erased by the bloody pandemic. This story, however, has a different ending. A happy ending, it is about time there is one. Yes, this summer, despite everything, there will be trawler regattas, as it has been happening for decades. From the Rías Baixas to Hondarribia , from July to September, both men and women, with the same rules and conditions as always. Normal on board a drifter.
"We have a great opportunity before us", acknowledges Borja Rodrigo , the president of the Association of Trawler Clubs (ACT), organizer of the leagues that group 12 boats of men -10 Basques and two Galicians- and four of women -all gipuzcoanos-. The only sports leagues that are going to be played in Spain in the coming weeks in a structured way are men's soccer, men's basketball -in express format- and drifter, in men and women. Land paid to turn the problem of the health crisis into an opportunity.
They are events that give much visibility to the regions and municipalities on television.
Borja RodrigoThe ACT League -in Euskolabel League men and in Euskotren League women for sponsorship reasons- has encountered conditions that have benefited it compared to other sports. For starters, it is a summer competition, so the pandemic has only forced him to start a couple of weeks later than planned. In addition, the rate of de-escalation in its geographical area - Basque Country and Galicia, since for the second time in history there is no Cantabrian drifter in the first division - has been stable, which has allowed it to monitor its decisions without any club left behind. If, as it seems, Feijóo and Urkullu give the go-ahead for the rowers to start training in the water starting tomorrow, the ACT League will kick off on July 4. Otherwise, they would wait one more week.
Because, despite not being a contact sport, there is no other in which the closeness between athletes is so intense for so long. 14 people share a boat 12 meters long and 1.72 wide for more than half an hour, including the regatta and its preparations. “We have designed a protocol to guarantee the health of all rowers. They have already passed tests before starting to train all together and during the summer we will do a continuous medical follow-up, "explains the ACT president. The positive counterpart is that there is no contact between crews, so an infected rower could infect his teammates, but in no case his rivals.
Brand sponsorship
Although, undoubtedly, the main advantage for the ACT League to be played with almost complete normality is its business model. As in cycling, there is no entry fee to watch a regatta, since they take place in public spaces, so a ban or reduction of capacity on the banks would not impact your accounts. The clubs, without professional structures, live on the sponsorship of private brands and the visibility they obtain through television. ETB and TVG -14 regattas are in the Basque Country and four in Galicia- do not pay broadcasting rights, but assume the cost of production and provide ACT with the platform it needs to make its product viable. The regattas, held on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings, reach peaks of 10% share.
“Despite the difficulties, private labels have supported us to continue. Like us, they understand that we have an opportunity to have a greater impact this summer due to the absence of other sports products. The municipalities that host the regattas have also opted to maintain them, they have not hesitated. They are events that give much visibility to the regions and municipalities on television. And a touch of color and joy to the summer, which we need so much », explains Rodrigo about a unique television product, since none is capable of combining sport, culture and coastal landscapes with the harmony and beauty of the drifter regattas.
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