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Albert Rose
Soccer, tennis, paddle tennis, basketball... These are the sports that are popular among university students. But what about canoeing? The Rey Juan Carlos University wanted to get closer to this interesting sport last Saturday, May 28, with the celebration of the Great Regatta Dragon Canoe Festival on the Aranjuez campus.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the URJC, the campus hosted a competition in which 14 teams made up of students participated, as well as a free activity aimed at all those interested in canoeing. The idea of creating this event dates back to the beginning of the academic year, when, from the Sports Service, a collaboration agreement was established with the Aranjuez Canoeing Club.
As there were no facilities, the general sports offer on the Aranjuez campus was scarce, something that has been attempted to compensate for with this new collaboration agreement. A group of students has been attending the club throughout the course on a weekly basis to get started in this water sport.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the URJC and with the intention of celebrating an activity in which this group of students could compete, the Great Regatta Dragon Canoe Festival was scheduled. In addition to the competition, a kind of 'Open Day' was also held in which anyone could try the canoe and enter the waters of the Tagus River.
A varsity canoe team
According to Alexander Gil, deputy vice-rector for Sports at the URJC, the intention is for this group of students to be "the seed" of a future university team that will compete next year in the Murcia Region Dragon Regatta. “The URJC would be the first Spanish university not belonging to the Region of Murcia to participate in this competition”, concludes Gil.
