The 15th edition of the Atlantic Axis Games will be held in the cities of Vila Nova de Famalicão and Braga from 30 June to 5 July.
This new edition of the Atlantic Axis Games, which are held every two years, will be inaugurated on 30 June in the Gardens of the Town Hall in Vila Nova de Famalicão from 5pm. The event will include a parade of the delegations taking part this year, which will bring together nearly 2,400 people, the largest number in the 30 years of the Games' existence.
The sports competing are men's and women's handball, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, swimming and adapted swimming, athletics and adapted athletics. New to this edition, men's 7-a-side football will be joined by women's 7-a-side football. The competitions will be held in parallel in Vila Nova de Famalicão and Braga, the two organising cities of the XV Atlantic Axis Games.
Since its inception in 1995, this competition has been one of the main flagships of the Atlantic Axis and a major factor in mobilising young sportspeople. They are held every two years and are a unique cross-border sporting event in Europe. The Games encourage the participation of all citizens and the construction of the Atlantic Axis Euroregion, which in turn is part of the construction of a Europe of cities and citizens. Sport, culture and education are essential elements in the construction of a social Europe promoted by Jacques Delors 30 years ago and which today are at risk due to the rise of an extreme anti-European right.
Adapted sports
As usual with the Atlantic Axis Games, this edition also includes adapted sports, with almost 200 people taking part, in line with the Atlantic Axis philosophy of eliminating barriers and encouraging all citizens to take part in sport.
In this 15th edition, the sportsman honoured is Luís Silva, gold medallist at the 2013 European Boccia Championships. The Paralympic athlete is the first from Famalicense to win an Olympic medal, taking silver in the BC3 Pairs discipline at the London Paralympic Games in 2012.