Holguín aims for national crown in school artistic gymnastics
- Written by Carlos Alberto García Aballe
- Published in Sports
- Hits: 64
Artistic gymnastics in Holguín maintains its competitive edge heading into the 2025-2026 school year. With an enrollment of 22 athletes—13 boys and 9 girls—the athletes from the Pedro Díaz Coello Sports School (EIDE) are beginning a decisive stage in their aspirations to return to the top of the national rankings.
MSc. Elizabeth Riva Ávila, head coach of the discipline, leads the training of youth athletes for the upcoming National School Games.
The school year began with the addition of athletes who achieved positive results in the recent Pioneer Games, several of them champions, who now make up the school category, which strengthens the team's competitive base.
“In the case of the girls, we have been national school champions for four years, and in the case of the boys, in 2025 we achieved third place. As a province, we achieved second place overall in the school program,” explained Riva Ávila, when assessing the most recent performance of the Holguín delegation.
The goals for the new season are ambitious, but the coach is confident in her athletes' progress: “This season, we're working towards a better result. Since we achieved second place overall, we aspire to win the overall championship. The boys' team could lead to an even better result; while maintaining the girls' performance could perhaps give us first place overall.”
She added that achieving these goals also depends on meeting the pedagogical parameters that evaluate individual effectiveness. “Each child must rank between one and eight, because that's what determines the overall performance of the sport.”
However, the preparation has faced significant challenges. “We already have a training deficit because we've been affected for a long period. Arboviral diseases have also had an impact, with many athletes sick or recovering, always under the guidance of doctors,” Riva Ávila notes.
For the past four years, Holguín has maintained outstanding competitive stability in school artistic gymnastics. This performance supports their aspiration to return to first place nationally. A result that will be possible if everyone puts in the effort to achieve it.
