The ADO will distribute 263 scholarships to athletes for a total of more than 5 million
Javier Gómez Noya has been awarded a scholarship of 60.000 Euros, which is the maximum amount for the M1 level of Group I.
Miguel Cardenal, Secretary of State for Sports, and Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), announced today the amount of the 2012 ADO Plan, which will be 5.397.000 euros for athletes, divided into 263 scholarships .
To this amount allocated to athletes, which represents 54,73 percent of the total amount, we must add 1.245.000 for 69 coaches and another 2.210.000 for special plans, as agreed by the board of directors of the Olympic Sports Association (ADO). ).
The maximum amount is that of level M1 of Group I, which is endowed with 60.000 euros. José Antonio Hermida (MTB cycling), Carlos Pérez Rial (canoeing), Joel González (taekwondo), Juan José Aramburu and Alberto Fernández (Olympic shooting), Javier Gómez Noya (triathlon), Fernando Echavarri, Xabier Fernández, Iker will benefit from it. Martínez, Berta Betanzos and Tamara Pacheco (sailing), and Blanca Manchón (windsurfing).
The lowest amount, with scales between 30.000 and 9.000 euros, is Group III for team sports such as basketball, handball, soccer, hockey, ice hockey, volleyball and water polo.
Miguel Cardenal highlighted that these ADO scholarships place Spain "at the head of the select group of chosen countries in terms of participation in the Olympic Games ."
"The ADO program is very important to us. We have a large representation of individual and team athletes who we hope will perform well in London. We are closing a cycle in terms of the allocation of funds for the London Olympics, and credit must also be given to those who held this responsibility between 2009 and 2012, namely Jaime Lissavetzky and Albert Soler (Secretaries of State for Sport in the previous legislature)."
"Regarding the program, it is designed at the beginning of the Olympic cycle and there are no restrictions. Since the first meeting with the COE (Spanish Olympic Committee), we have been working and looking at any urgent matters to ensure that this program continues for Spanish sport in the future," Cardenal stated, referring to a possible cancellation of the ADO Plan due to the country's economic situation.
He also expressed confidence that "Spanish sport will continue to have the same resources to compete in the next Olympic Games."
Alejandro Blanco, president of the COE, expressed a similar sentiment, stating that he was "confident" that the ADO Plan would continue in future Olympic editions.
“There’s an important issue here, and that’s the loyalty shown by the sponsoring companies each time the cycle has ended. No one is unaware of the economic cycle, but neither can their commitment be ignored. It’s a topic for future discussion, but I have no doubt that the ADO program will continue so that athletes have the necessary support to compete,” he emphasized.
Regarding the number of scholarship recipients, Blanco stated that the possible exclusion of athletes who will compete in the Olympic Games with little chance of achieving a good result was not considered.
"To qualify for the Games, there are minimum standards, and whoever meets them earns the right to go. We're not a country that can say only those who are going to win will go. A country's sporting level is measured by the number of athletes who qualify, both individually and as a team; then there are the possibilities for each individual. We have to respect the criteria we have, and in none of the meetings I've held has that issue been raised," he asserted.
Source: publico.es
