The year 2025 has left us lessons, successes, but also challenges that await us and serve as a compass to allow us to relaunch the essence of the Cuban sports movement, of which the people are the main beneficiaries.
Several important initiatives were launched this year, including the adoption, in July, by the National Assembly of Popular Power, of the Law on the Cuban Sports System, the first of its kind in the country, aimed at providing all processes in physical culture, leisure and high competition with an institutional and legal framework. The year was also marked by the accountability of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (Inder) to Parliament, the opportunity to correct the situation and make the necessary changes, taking into account the views of the people’s representatives.
In February, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the National Commission of Retired Athletes, a great initiative by Fidel, which absolutely deserves to be revitalized, on the occasion of its centenary.
Of course, major international competitions have also taken place over the last 12 months. The title of world champion of Leyanis Pérez in the triple jump overwhelmed all the inhabitants of our Island with pride, as did the feat of our Marifélix Sarria, vice-world champion in weightlifting.
Several young athletes also brought us immense joy, like Cristian Menéndez, in racquetball, and the invincible boys of Baseball5, or the weightlifters Amalia Gonzalez and Daynelis Vazquez, who climbed to the roof of the world.
Cuban baseball teams participated in the U-12 and U-18 world championships, and qualified at the U-15 and U-23 levels, following epic tournaments, thus completing the presence of this discipline in all age categories at the highest level. This is, in the midst of a tumultuous 2025, the best performance in our national sport.
Furthermore, our compatriots greatly appreciated and applauded the very honorable performances of our athletes at the Junior Pan-American and Para-Pan-American Games, as well as that of our delegation which participated in the 25th edition of the Summer Deaflympics, an international multi-sport competition, reserved for deaf and hard of hearing athletes, where Suslaidy Giralt confirmed her status as an indisputable queen by winning her ninth title and her thirteenth medal. Suslaidy is the athlete (all ages, sexes and categories combined) with the most extensive records at this level.
THE JOURNEY STARTS AT THE GROUNDS
But let’s focus a little on the main lines of work, because a law, accompanied by the recommendations of an assessment before the deputies or a celebration, is not enough if the tools that have been put in the hands of the sports movement are not properly used.
Today, the world of sport has nothing to do with that of the past century, nor even with that of the current century. It is characterized by excessive commercialization which has brought changes even to the formatting processes. High-level competition calendars for qualification are increasingly crowded, not only for an Olympic berth, but also for the Pan American Games or the Central American and Caribbean Games.
This new context requires optimal participation at all levels, increasingly advanced technical knowledge and know-how, scientific expertise and financial resources to prepare, with a view to meeting the requirements of a qualification. It is therefore increasingly difficult for small countries with dependent economies to be part of this very broad spectrum of competition and to carve out a place among the elite.
Thus, the legal framework that has been established not only protects sponsorship contracts in search of the necessary financing, but also appears as a guide on what should be done in each place in terms of sports training while prioritizing the grassroots, revitalizing community sport and school competitions, as a foundation for development. However, effective control is required; we need a strategy, from the municipality to the province: if we are not strong at the local level, we will never be strong at the level of the national selections.
On this path, physical education is the logical starting point. Without quality physical education lessons, the student has no motivation and the sport structure collapses. The teacher on the field is the pillar of Olympic and world medals, so it is important to recognize his indispensable contribution.
Our National Hero José Marti recalled that in children it is necessary to strengthen both the body and the mind, and he taught us the uniqueness of the two elements in the harmony of the human body. Physical education appears to be the support for acquiring an immense amount of knowledge during intense days when the intellect demands endurance and strength from the body.
So much singularity and importance leads us to wonder why, in 2025, as in previous years, has the best teacher of this subject not been rewarded?
On May 28, during the closing of the government control meeting of the sports body, the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, spoke of the desire to bring Cuba back into the pack of the first 20 countries at the Olympic Games. Well, without the quality of the physical education course, such a goal will be very difficult, if not almost impossible.
With a view to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, one of the possibilities for entering the Top 20 is through the relaunch of this idea of Fidel: namely that our former sporting glories should not be forgotten. There is no better support for these women and men who have shone in the service of Cuban sport than their participation in the process of training young talents on the difficult path to medals. Who better to boost and refine training, and give timely advice to the potential champion? But, above all, they must be able to satisfy their material needs of existence in order to be able to devote all their time and all their attention to this objective, all with moderation and consistency. To ignore such a reality would be to waste a vast source of knowledge and commitment.
The year 2026 will be particularly rich in premier sporting events, such as the Youth Olympic Games, the Central American and Caribbean Games and the World Baseball Championship, among others. An organic strategy, combining all the disciplines of science to optimize each resource made available, and the unity of all the forces of the Cuban sports system, are the key to overcoming obstacles and challenges and achieving our ambitious goals. (Source: Granma)
Author: Editorial now!
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