by Salvador Fontanta, Spain
My name is Salvador Fontana, and I have lived in the town of Algemesí all my life. I have been retired for 4 years. I have worked all my life as a local policeman in my home town, and I have personally watched over the safety and protection of generations of children throughout my professional career. I have also been a founding member of the Scooter Canoe Club of Algemesí, and one of the driving forces behind the ”Descens del Xúquer” initiative, one of the best known and most plentiful rivers in Valencia, where the sport of canoeing has been practised through this initiative for over 60 yers in the Ribera Alta region.
This year I had the opportunity to participate in this project, which from the very beginning captivated me and I found it interesting when it came to involving seniors, generations like mine and future generations of young people. Promoting the knowledge and practice of traditional sports and games from our childhood and youth with children and young people? How can we transmit sport values to future
generations through these traditional sports and games? A project like this is very necessary to ensure the knowledge, existence and continuity of these games, especially in a world where our children and young people are so much involved in the use of screens.
Personally, I was surprised that through this activity we had the pleasure of making these traditional sports and games known, and that the children and young people listened to us attentively. It is no longer just about making these sports and games known, but also about creating these spaces so that future generations can learn from them and transmit such important values. I was delighted to participate in an
intergenerational experience like this through the participation of both older and younger people.
We were able to show them all the games: Piragua, Valencian Ball, and Pic y Maneta. In addition, we were also able to explain many others such as Sambori, Chavo Negre, or Taco. The young people were fascinated, they really enjoyed learning more about these games and putting them into practice. They aroused a lot of emotions in them. In Pic y Maneta, it was incredible to be able to rescue it again and teach it to the new generations, since being one of the oldest games that were played years ago, it was one of the least known. I felt like a child again to recover it and transmit its values and meanings, and also to see how other children and young people learnt from it.
I really felt at ease participating in this project, seeing the children and young people so full of vitality, energy and enthusiasm for learning. I was very happy to participate through MANRA, whom I thank for their involvement and for taking me into account for the project, as well as all the associations, families and young people for their collaboration. Together we are bringing future generations closer to these traditional sports and games, distancing them from habitual leisure practices based on the use of mobile phones or computers, and favouring the acquisition of skills and social interaction between generations.
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