Famalicense's delegation included 164 athletes, coaches and delegates
More than a hundred athletes from Vila Nova de Famalicão competed in the biggest Eixo Atlântico Games ever
This Monday, the Mayor of Vila Nova de Famalicão, Mário Passos, received the athletes who represented the municipality of Vila Nova de Famalicão at the 15th edition of the Eixo Atlântico Games, which took place in the cities of Famalicão and Braga from 30 June to 5 July. The delegation from Vila Nova de Famalicão, made up of 133 athletes, accompanied by 19 coaches and 12 delegates, spoke to the mayor in the hall of the Municipal Assembly, after having taken part in the edition with the largest turnout ever.
"Thank you for taking part, thank you for your commitment and dedication, thank you for defending the colours of our municipality," Mário Passos began by thanking the athletes.
"You should feel very proud of the work you've done, you've been ambassadors for Famalicão and you've represented us impeccably," the mayor emphasised, taking the opportunity to challenge them to continue their sporting career and inspire other Famalicenses to take up sport. "I hope they continue to play sport, as they are a fine example to the rest of the population," he said.
Famalicão's delegation was represented in all the sports disciplines of the competition, namely in the team sports of men's and women's handball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's football and women's volleyball; and in the individual sports of athletics and adapted athletics, as well as pure swimming and adapted swimming, in both genders.
In total, Famalicão was represented on the podium around 21 times, with athletes achieving first place in around two of these, in athletics and adapted athletics.
"It was an experience of a lifetime, especially in an edition in which we competed at home, in a Games that was the biggest ever," the mayor also commented, regarding the fact that the 15th Eixo Atlântico Games, the most attended ever - around 2,400 participants - were held in Vila Nova de Famalicão, something that showed the municipality's ability to "take on and organise large-scale sporting events with quality and efficiency".
The Eixo Atlântico Games are a biennial cross-border sporting event that has been held since 1995, aimed at young athletes from the municipalities of northern Portugal and Galicia that make up the Eixo Atlântico in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. The 15th edition took place between 30 June and 5 July, as a result of joint organisation between the municipalities of Famalicão and Braga, and was attended by nearly 2,000 athletes from 27 municipalities in those regions. This year's competition included six sports, including individual adapted sports - 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 was joined by women's 7-a-side football.