Agenda UV

The swimming team of the Universitat de València disputes between 22 and 23 April the University Spanish Swimming Championship that takes place in Alcorcón (Madrid) under the organisation of the Camilo José Cela University University.

The team coached by Paola Pastor goes to the event after having carried out a great performance in the Regional Championship on February, when she got 19 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 6 bronze medals, what got her the title of university champion. For the coach, this national championship will be “different, although in Alcorcón we find national level swimmers from all the universities, without doubt. Also, as this year is Olympic year, maybe the strongest athletes do not come to this competition, what leaves more possibilities to our swimmers. In other editions of the Championship we have experienced how complicated is competing against Olympic swimmers and international champions that other universities bring, so maybe this edition we have more chances.”

With respect to the team, Pastor thinks that the team faces the competition “with attitude and with the objective of winning the podium in different tests with the ambition of getting also the podium by universities. The test programmes has changed respect other years, but we have swimmers to cover almost the total part of the series and getting points in most of the tests.”

When speaking of the motivations of the team, the coach adds that the team has “an extra motivation, that is that the 2-4 best swimmers of the team could participate in the Swimming University Games that take place in July 2016, so I am convinced that they will give it all in the competition.”

The team goes to the Championship without their coach, since she recently became a mother, so the one responsible for running the team this time is Diego Encarnación, a swimmer and coach of the RCN Delfín that was already a swimmer of the Universitat de València in his student time.

Also, this time, the adapted swimming joins the inclusive proposals promoted by the Spanish Committee for University Sports. In 2011 the equestrian sports of the CEU integrated among its tests the discipline of adapted dressage, and this year it has been included adapted swimming. The Universitat is represented by three athletes: Alba Villa, Laura Mengo and Leyre Ortí, who as well as participating in the national event, they will dispute the 2016 University European Games of adapted swimming this summer.

As on previous university sports occasions, the Physical Education and Sports Service offers live coverage and monitoring of the teams through its social networks (Twitter: @sefuv and www.facebook.com/SEFUV) in which it provides to all the fans the most immediate information on results of the teams.