Proa Comunicación, in collaboration with Madrid SnowZone and RFEDI-Spainsnow, organised the II National Snow Sports Awards ceremony, held last Friday 16th November in the only indoor ski slope in Spain. For the second year in a row, this gala was a tribute to the sector and its members: current and former runners, resorts, federations, clubs, institutions, brands, specialised press, etc.
Institutions such as the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD) and the Spanish Olympic Committee were represented at an event that took place in the indoor arena. The gala was attended by María José Rienda (President of the CSD), Ricardo Leiva (Sports Director of the Spanish Olympic Committee), and May Peus España (President of the RFEDI), who all agreed on the importance of the awards, which are destined to be consolidated year after year. May Peus also wanted to recall the need to recognise the work of the people and entities in the sector: "Snow sports need to reward the figures who, every day, in every training session, in every descent, in every gesture, put this sport in value. These awards do not only recognise sporting categories, but also actions or projects that promote the sector".
After a very special prize-giving ceremony, in which the Regino Hernández's Olympic feat and María José Rienda's presidency of the CSD were recognised, among other distinctions.an emotional spectacle took place on the track. The performance was a tribute to the three Olympic medals in the history of Spain, those won by Paquito Fernández Ochoa, Blanca Fernández Ochoa and the award-winning Regino in Sapporo (1972), Albertville (1992) and Pyeongchang (2018), respectively. The historic descents of the three athletes were emulated taking into account aspects such as material and costumes, using for example Regino's now iconic silver helmet. The three Olympic venues where these milestones took place were of particular importance in the show.
The jury that evaluated the candidatures and decided the winners was made up of various representatives of the sector: Ms. María José Rienda, President of the Consejo Superior de Deportes; Mr. Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee; Mr. May Peus, President of RFEDI; Ms. María José López, President of ATUDEM; Mr. Javier Villar, Director of Madrid SnowZone; Mr. Pablo Egea, journalist of MARCA; Mr. Jordi Font, Olympic Diploma snowboarder; and Ms. Carolina Ruiz, Olympic skier.
The nine categories of the first edition of the awards have been maintained this second year, with the only exception of the name of the Best Snow Coach Award, which has been renamed the Israel Planas Award in memory of the deceased coach of athletes such as Regino Hernández and Lucas Eguibar.
Complete list of award winners II National Snow Sports Awards
Paquito Fernández Ochoa Awardfor the best male athlete of the 2017/18 season: Regino Hernándezfor his Olympic Bronze medal at PyeongChang 2018 in SBX.
María José Rienda Awardfor the best female athlete of the 2017/18 season: Olga MartínezMushing sportswoman, World Champion in Canicross Ladies Nordic Dogs in Falzé di Piave (Italy) and 2nd World Championship of Mushing on land (IFSS) in DCMV (canicross masters - scooter 1 dog).
Carolina Ruiz Awardfor the best up-and-coming athlete of the year 2017/18: Thibault MagninFS athlete, Bronze Medalist in Big Air (FS) at the Junior WC 2018, held in Cardona NZ.
Blanca Fernández Ochoa - Woman and Snow Awardto the person or entity that has most distinguished itself in promoting the role of women in snow in 2017/18: Maria José RiendaFirst woman to be President of the CSD and Secretary of State for Sport.
ATUDEM Awardfor the mountain resort with the greatest sporting involvement in the 2017/18 season: La Molinafor the organisation of the 2018 SBX WC.
Israel Planas AwardThe Best Snow Coach, to the best and most professional coach of the year 2017/18: The SBX Technical Team, for the achievement of the Bronze medal in SBX JJOO PyeongChang 2018.
Snow Communication Awardfor its support to snow sports communication 2017/18: Jose Manuel TalladaHe is a sports journalist and unconditional follower of snow sports, for his broadcasting of the SBX event at the Olympic Games and that famous "Olé tu Regino" (Olé your Regino).
Snow Industry Awardfor the Company with the most promotion in the Spanish snow, AUDI leading automotive company, unconditional support for snow in all its versions.
SPAINSNOW Awardto the most promising club or FFAA in the 2017/18 season Andalusian Winter Sports Federationfor their perseverance in their work and for having achieved the first Olympic medal for their Autonomous Federation.
II Gala in Honour of Snow Sport
The II National Snow Sports Awards represent the start of a weekend full of activities and events, the highlight of which was the opening of the Audi U16/U14 Spanish Cup, which inaugurated the competition season. As the main novelty of this edition, on Saturday 17th, a series of qualifying races for Sunday's event were also held. In addition, a snow conference organised by Nevasport was also held for 60 bloggers from the sector.