Around 70 surfers they concentrated this Saturday in Playa Grande, in Mar del Plata, to claim the Buenos Aires Government that enable your activity. From the Argentine Surfing Association (ASA) they argue that this sport maintains social distance and stress that it is the only town on the Atlantic Coast where it was not authorized.
After more than 100 days of not being able to face the waves, the athletes decided to gather with their boards and perform a protest doing what they know: surf. Previous claims had been through written requests but all were rejected. So they considered that “Go back to the sea”, as they called their initiative, was a good way to give visibility to their claim.
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The ASA said in a statement last Wednesday that “Mar del Plata It is the only place on the Atlantic Coast without authorization for the practice of surfing “, after last Monday the athletes returned to the water in the game of La Costa, with the corresponding protocol.
To date, the activity has already been enabled in locations such as Pinamar, Villa Gesell, Mar Chiquita, Miramar, Necochea and Tres Arroyos.
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The last rejection came at the beginning of last week. The secretary of Government of the commune Santiago Bonifatti he told The nation: “We had requested some exceptions because the epidemiological scenario of Mar del Plata is good. “And he assured that the refusals never come with an explanation.
The demonstration also had its solidarity side: all the participants they brought non-perishable food to donate to the neighborhood canteens and to the Civil Defense of the commune. Some golf players, skaters and cyclists, joined the protest and they went to that same place to also ask that they be allowed to practice their sport.
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The one on Saturday it wasn’t the first call: the previous one had been at Bristol Beach, but only a few athletes had dared to go into the sea. Now, after the announcement of a new quarantine extension, the satiety was noticed.
From ASA, they assured that they continue to manage the request together with the local mayor Guillermo Montenegro and the Deliberative Council so that all “table sports” are authorized. “The surf Meets all requirements necessary for its opening: protocol approved by the Nation, approved for the return to practice of athletes with possibilities to qualify for Tokyo 2021; It is an individual sport, outdoors and is practiced with distance“they stressed in the statement.
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For this reason, the entity does not understand the refusal of the provincial government, since it assures that in La Feliz “epidemiological conditions are very good, and to date there are only two cases under treatment by COVID-19 and no intensive care bed occupied. “
In dialogue with Telam, ASA President Alfredo Tortora questioned: “It is incredible that they make us wait so long for the return to practice of the freesurf and training for all athletes of the National Surf Circuit “.
And he argued: “Openness throughout the Atlantic Coast is a demonstration that you can surf while respecting the approved ASA protocol. We do not ask for anything extraordinary, only that they let us return to practice a very healthy sport, which does not bother anyone nor does it pose a risk for contagion since it is carried out more than 100 meters from the coast “.
Finally, Tortora highlighted that, at this time of the year, due to the low temperatures, “only those who defy the cold conditions of the sea and the climate surf”, and estimated that, if enabled, at this time “there would be about 500 surfers who would return to the sea, on 40 kilometers of coastline “.
In order to enable outdoor sports, the Buenos Aires Government requests that the jurisdiction have entered phase 5 or the social, preventive and mandatory distancing stage (DISPO), which is the highest level of flexibility for a district. Something that Mar del Plata has not yet achieved.
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