_20221227175233-R6wVOjrjz4kxu4GHBHJ4GwM-624x385@El%20Correo.jpg)
_20221227175233-R6wVOjrjz4kxu4GHBHJ4GwM-624x385@El%20Correo.jpg?w=800&ssl=1)
The ten paddlers of the professional team in the presentation of the Individual in the Bizkaia pediment. /
Friday starts with a new rule that establishes that participants will only have 45 seconds to draw
Goodbye to the downtimes in between that allow paddlers to recover beats in the Single Tool. The tournament that starts on Friday at the Bizkaia fronton will have a new rule that seeks to give it more agility and establishes that the maximum time invested when executing the serve is 45 seconds. “Unless the judge authorizes it for a justified reason such as a broken blade or cleaning the field because it is dangerous, they will have to stick to that time,” said the mayor of Innpala, Josu Urkijo.
The proposal will be put in place to prevent the matches from lengthening unnecessarily, as happened last year in which it was detected that some athletes invested up to two minutes in making the initial move because they took the opportunity to rest. “Physical preparation is also an aspect to take into account in the game and now it acquires its value,” he added.
In the tests carried out in training, it has been verified that the time they invest is between 25 and 30 seconds. «At first it was thought to establish a space of 40 seconds but in the end there have been five more. And this measure will only be applied in the Individual », he stressed. The first time the serve is breached it will be for the rival, while from then on it will lead to the loss of a goal and the initial play.
The championship, which will have six days and will take place entirely on the Miribilla field, will also include a novelty in its game format. It will have two groups of five paddlers made according to last year’s ranking and in each of them two qualifying matches will be played first by the ladder system. Whoever survives will face the two seeded teams in a three-game league. The best of each group will play the final on February 4.
No hitches
In the first they will await the outcome of the initial meetings Fusto, last year’s champion, and Ibai Pérez. While Urrutia will have to face the winner of the clash between Del Río and Ibarguren on the opening day. In the second, Gaubeka and Necol are already classified for the group, and Gordon will play against the winner of the duel between Maldonado and Alkorta.
The paddlers in the painting were informed of the new measures a couple of days ago and they did not complain. “Although I am one of the oldest and it does not benefit me to adjust the time of the serve, it is true that many times it gets out of hand and 45 seconds are enough to recover,” said Fusto, who will seek his eighth win in the modality. If he wins it, he will be the one with the most in history, “but we are going to put it aside and think only about the championship,” he admitted.
Gaubeka, last year’s finalist and the oldest in the team, thinks it is “good for the fans. He will have to adjust and prepare well physically, “he said. Ibai Pérez, another of the candidates for victory given the moment he is going through, has coincided with his partner. «If it is better to speed up the games we will have to adapt. I will go for the txapela, but there are very strong rivals and we will have to see who comes from below to the league, “he pointed out. The competition will start on Friday (7:00 p.m.) with the clashes between Del Río-Ibarguren and Maldonado-Alkorta.
