1st Marcha Ciclo Turista Costas de Mazarrón

On June 2 Mazarrón hosts a new sporting event that this time will aim to support and defend the Spanish athletes who are dedicated to cycling and in recent years have been accused of doping by various European institutions. This "1st Marcha Ciclo Turista Costas de Mazarrón” has been organized jointly by the “Club Ciclista Mazarrón” and the “Club Ciclista 9 ½”and will include participation by the Murcian rider Jose Joaquin Rojas.

The event was presented on 29 May by the Mayor of Mazarrón, Ginés Campillo, the Councillor for Sports, Andres Valera, President of Cycling Federation of the Region of Murcia, Jose Tortosa, and the chairmen of the organizing clubs, Francisco Espinosa and José de la Cruz.  As was announced by the Mayor "Rojas is also expected to be the first to place their hands on a plate to open the Paseo del Sport".

The idea, which has emerged from cycling clubs in the municipality, is that "in future years other figures of different sports and the most diverse spheres of national sport will be adding to this particular walk of fame by also leaving their mark," added the Mayor, who revealed that "this will run along the promenade of Puerto de Mazarrón and be an added attraction for tourists and visitors."

The march, also called "La 200" because of the number of kilometres that it is scheduled to tour, will start at 8.30am from Puerto de Mazarron, being neutralised for the first 30 km and then going through the interior of the municipality and neighbouring districts including Aguaderas or Morata, ending again in the Port Promenade, "said Jose de la Cruz.

For his part, Francisco Espinosa said as to the hardness of the march that "despite being a 200 km route it´s designed so that most riders can do it, because it is a test of substance and not of excessive mountain difficulty. " As the weather alert will probably make this a hot day "there will be a truck with water, sports drinks and ice as well as help from the aid stations along the planned route."

The registration fee for riders is 35 euros for those with the federation, and 40 euros for non-federation riders. Registration can be done through the web www.la200.es.tl. There will be prizes for the top 3 ranked categories which will be Gold, Silver and Bronze depending on the distance travelled by the participants. There will also be prizes for the top 10 overall and all participants will receive a jersey, shorts and a certificate.

Supermoto comes to the Costa Blanca.

Sunday 3^rd June will see some of the countries best supermoto racers arrive at the Oliva Kart circuit, near Denia for the second round of the Valencian Supermoto championship.

Murcia’s British expat racer Anthony Ford-Dunn will be lining up on the grid alongside his brother Mat for what promises to be a spectacular days racing.

Anthony has just come back from a double victory in Portugal that sees him leading the Portuguese Supermoto championship, and he is currently running 3^rd in the Spanish, and 2^nd in the Catalan championships. So far this year he hasn’t finished a race off the podium!

The Oliva Kart circuit is situated at km206, on the N332 between Oliva and Denia. The circuit is easy to find as it runs alongside the N332 with easy parking and a restaurant on site. Directions to the circuit can be found at www.kartingoliva.es

Entrance to the event is free and the first of the two races starts at 11.30 am. As usual the brothers Supermotoland team sponsors, Advance Moves International removals and Stratton Motorsports, will be in the Paddock to welcome anyone attending the event to support Anthony and Mat in what should be a great days racing.

Big Band Dinner Reception charity event for Help at Home

Age Concern Costa Cálida Grand Auction

Summer Activites, Mazarrón

Councillor of Sports City of Mazarrón, Andres Valera, has been responsible for presenting the programme of sports activities and summer swimming lessons this year for which the registration period is now open. The first activities will take place from early June and will start on Saturday June 2nd with an event for cyclists called "La 200" to be held to support national cycling.

The 8, 9 and 10 June are scheduled for tournaments in paddle, senior football and mountain bike race, all under the name "San Antonio" to be held at the sports of Canada de Gallego. The registration period for the three competitions will close on June 6. Finally, June will also see sports activities for categories  juvenile, child, youth and cadet. The month closes the football tournament 8 "Salvador Ortiz Memorial" on 22, 23 and 24 June at senior level.

In July and August activities increase and will include tennis tournaments for all ages and paddle for seniors, plus paddle classes for all those citizens who want to practice this sport. In these months there are also swimming lessons for children ages 3 to adult in the swimming pool and multi-activity nautical sports provided by the sailing school "Grimpola" for children between 5 and 12 years. It should be noted that in addition the I Campus de Futbol "Bahia de Mazarrón," will be held for children in "La Aceña" on 4 July.

As in past years the sporting events this summer will highlight its importance and drawing power. This is the night race "todos contra la droga" that  is celebrated on July 28 at the Erosiones de Bolnuevo. In addition, the Sierra del Algarrobo is the place for a hiking route that takes place in the evening of July 9 and Playa del Puerto holds the tournament "24 Horas de Futbol Playa" to be held on 6 and 7 August. Registration can be done in the Department of Sports in the Hall "La Aceña" from 09:00 to 14:00. It has also published some brochures with registration forms for swimming lessons that will be priced at 25 euros for children and 30 euros for maintenance courses. Brochures can be downloaded at www.mazarron.es

Animal Rights Conference

Mazarron FC 1 Thader Murcia CF 0

Mazarron’s improved performances continued with a hard-fought 1-0 victory at home to Thader Murcia. On a playing surface which had benefited from fewer games being played in recent weeks and a heavy downpour shortly before kick off, Mazarron created most of the chances in the first half.

A fierce Diego header from a corner was well saved by the visiting goalkeeper and a shot from Pepsi, after he had cut in from the left wing, went into the side netting. However, in the 35^th minute Mazarron’s juvenile striker, Jose ran, onto a through ball and beat the entire defence before calmly slotting the ball into the net to score for the second week running.

Mazarron continued to attack and Edin had a shot saved but the resulting corner came to nothing. Then Jose again ran on to a through ball but the Thader keeper came out of his area to clear.

In the second half Mazarron seemed to lose all their composure and Thader came more into the game. Edin, back in defence to help deal with a Thader corner sliced his clearance high into the air causing Mazarron keeper, Ruben to flap at the ball before it was finally cleared. Then Diego’s misdirected header was played towards his own goal by Pollo but fortunately, this comedy of errors came to nothing.

Mazarron should have increased their lead when, with Jose and Edin better placed, Pescau blazed well wide, but in the 75^th minute the same player was unlucky not to score with a fierce left foot volley which just cleared the bar.

Despite more Thader pressure in the closing minutes, Mazarron held on to register only their fourth victory of the season.

Team: Ruben, Alfonso, Pollo, Diego, Ahmed, Dani, Matt Clarke, Jose Da (Guillermo), Jose, Edin, Pepsi (Pescau).

Man of the Match: Jose.

1ST FOOTBALL CAMPUS "BAHIA DE MAZARRÓN"

The sports facilities of the Media League will host from 2 to July 13 the celebration of the first Campus "Bahia de Mazarron." This new sports initiative was presented by the Mayor of Mazarron, Ginés Campillo, who was accompanied by the Director of the Campus, football coach José Miguel Campos. Also present were Andrew James, Councillor for Youth and Sports, and David Vidal, representative of the company "Neosport" who has organized this activity.

The campus is aimed at children aged between 5 and 14 years and is priced at 120 euros. The sessions will be held from 9am  to 2 pm every week day between 2 to 13 July.  It is expected that during the development of the campus participants will travel to other places like the swimming pool or the beaches of the municipality to carry out parallel activities. Although places are limited there is a minimum participation quota of 50 seats.

In addition to technical direction of the campus provided by José Miguel Campos, teachers and trainers who participate in it will be certified sports federation or technical specialists in football. There will also be a physical therapist throughout the duration of this activity. Registration includes two sports kits, prizes and gifts as well as liquid and solid food provided by sponsors and partners. There will be a free bus service from Puerto Mazarrón.

According to José Miguel Campos "campus participants will learn the basic technical elements of soccer, learn actions and tactics to move and orientate in the field, develop aspects of their intelligence, creativity and imagination, and learn about values ​​such as respect for the opponent, the camaraderie between the players and the importance of maintaining facilities and equipment."

The Mayor of Mazarrón, Ginés Campillo, said that "it is a great honour to have our friend and countryman José Miguel Campos conducting this activity in Mazarrón, not only because he will transmit all his knowledge about the world of football, but also because it will encourage the most small important personal values. " According to Ginés Campillo "with great enthusiasm we have undertaken this project because we believe it is a good way to broaden support for the sport among young people that develops during the rest of the year."

For registrations, or to learn more about the campus, you can go to the website www.neo-sport.es. Here you will find all steps to properly perform the registration. David Vidal, organizer of the initiative through "Neosport," thanked the official sponsors and business partners' support and involvement to implement this project which, surely, we can repeat in years to come. "

BRITISH CONSUL MEETING, 25 MAY

British Consul to hold meeting with tourism partners to look for ways to support Brits in distress

The British Consul, Paul Rodwell, will host a meeting with representatives of the various organisations that work with tourists along the Costa Blanca this Friday.

The meeting will be held on Friday 25^th May at 13.30 in the hotel Melia in Benidorm (Avinguda del Doctor Severo Ochoa, 1, 03500 Benidorm) and will be attended by representatives of a number of organisations such as Thomas Cook, TUI UK & Ireland, SAGA, and Jet 2 holidays amongst others.

The Consul will give a presentation on how the Consulate can help British nationals when things go wrong, such as hospitalisation, accident or arrest, and will then hold an open discussion as to how best to work together to ensure that British tourists get the best possible support this season.

Mazarron 1 UD Los Garres 1

A thoroughly enjoyable and exciting game ended in a deserved draw, with two evenly matched teams going blow for blow until the final whistle.  Overall, Mazarron had the edge on chances but tremendous saves from the visiting keeper thwarted them on several occasions.

Mazarron had the better of exchanges in the early part of the game, but the first of many good saves, first from a Jose Da shot and a headed clearance off the line from a shot by Dani following a corner were the  nearest they came to scoring.

In the 21^st minute a long range effort bounced off the post with Ruben well beaten but he made a magnificent save from the follow up shot. However a throw in from the left in the 27th minute saw the ball bounce awkwardly over Ruben and onto the head of a Los Garres forward who scored the opening goal.

The second half started in similar fashion with Mazarron having some good efforts saved by the keeper. The first of these was when Pepsi was put through by Jose Da and the ball was eventually hacked away to safety.

A deserved equalizer came in the 54^th minute when excellent work by Jose Da on the left saw the ball passed to Edin on the right who cut in and crossed brilliantly for Jose to put the ball into an empty net.

Shortly after this a cross was headed down by Ahmed for Jose Da to hit the ball towards the top corner of the net but the Los Garres keeper brilliantly tipped the ball over the bar.

Chances continued to came at either end with Ruben making a good save and then Edin having a shot blocked by a defender. Mazarron were then denied what seemed a clear penalty when Ahmed was pushed inside the area.

One of the biggest cheers of the game was reserved for the referee who got in the way of a fiercely struck through ball with resultant damage to his unmentionables.

Despite a glaring open goal miss by Los Garres in the last minute Mazarron were well worth a draw and the youthful team continue to make progress.

Team: Ruben, Victor, Diego, Pollo, Dani, Martin (Pepsi), Matt Clarke, Ahmed, Edin (Jaguar), Jose Da, Jose (Fernando).

Mazarron are at home to Thader Murcia this Sunday, 20^th May kick off 6 pm. Admission is €5 with juveniles free. It is the final home game of the season.