With an enrollment of 700 students, distributed in 26 disciplines, the Carlos Leyva González School for Sports Initiation (EIDE) resumed the usual hustle and bustle at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year.
Las Tunas. - Among some of the objectives set by the center, the identification and selection of talent stands out, reflected in the 482 new student-athletes.
Another purpose is to improve the general position in the next School Games, after finishing the 60th edition in eleventh place, tied with Guantánamo. It is also expected to increase participation in preparatory events to raise technical-tactical thinking in real game or combat conditions.
Field hockey returned to the top in the competition for future champions during the previous stage; while rhythmic gymnastics and triathlon won silver medals. Another 16 athletic events, of the 28 held at the institution, were among the eight best in the country. A total of 97 medals were achieved: 21 gold, 39 silver, and 37 bronze. A special highlight deserves the fifth place of karate-do, which held its tournament in Las Tunas, hence the praise given to the organization as a venue. However, the commitment of the coaches and principals of the school guides them to aspire to a more favorable outlook for the future.
"The analyses carried out after not meeting the competitive objectives led us to evaluate the causes that generated the decline of 13 sports, which brought about the decline of the school category in the province. To do so, we defined four indicators that must be strengthened to achieve better results: having the technical force and reorganizing it, opting for a good selection and continuity of enrollment, advocating for the professional development of the faculty, and ensuring the quality of the sports process," told 26 the director of the EIDE, Aracelia Sánchez.
The teaching-sports coverage is 82 percent, with 70 vacant positions -45 linked to the area of muscles-, which constitutes a wake-up call and a stone in the shoe to deal with from the start. In another order, the scholarship recipients are estimated at 410 full-time students, for whom the minimum conditions of stay and food have been created.
"To accommodate the karate-do headquarters, and in honor of the 60th edition of the School Games, actions were carried out that allowed for improvements in a block of student residences, the entrance rooms of the Infirmary, and the main floor of the gymnasium. The work carried out favors the start of the classes since our student-athletes will enjoy more adequate living conditions. We have all the bunk beds and mattresses, there are advances in the carpentry and electrical system, and most of the areas are painted.”
"We continue working on the repair of the main floor and it is planned to revive the hockey field this year. The authorities of the territory have the will to continue recovering the sports facilities and student residences of this school, which this September 9 is celebrating 33 years of its founding."
The low availability of fuel is a constant concern regarding transportation, despite that "a bus is assigned for the movements of the semi-boarding athletes and the trips to training areas outside, such as the El Cornito dam and the Leonardo McKenzie Grant Multi-Sports Hall."
Although challenges and inconveniences are part of everyday life, the EIDE collective has the necessary motivation so that the largest source of sports talent in the territory favors its development, with the help of ingenuity and the will to solve.
"Even when we are going through complex situations, with limitations, we are beginning a new school year. We face this stage with unity, optimism, and a high commitment to meet our goals, forming comprehensive athletes who will defend the sports results of the province.
