Elite athletes will have a new professional outlet. It will be in the Spanish Armed Forces (troops and sailors), in the National Police or in the Civil Guard, starting next year, The army will reserve 50 places for athletes They can join a new career path.
This is how this measure was presented this Monday at the COE headquarters in an event that was attended by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, as well as a large group of athletes, both active and Maria Perezthe athlete who won gold and silver in individual and team walking in the Paris Games o Ray Zapata who obtained an Olympic diploma in gymnastics. Others, already retired, such as Sandra Sánchez or Carolina Pascual, also supported this measure that makes Spain equal to other countries such as Italy.
“I tried with three other ministers and I couldn’t do it,” Alejandro Blanco acknowledged at the headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee in the presence of Robles. The Minister, for her part, highlighted an “unbeatable” union and a common idea between athletes and the Armed Forces. “The principles are the same, wanting to represent your country”he explained in the Olympic auditorium.
The requirements
In Spain there are some 6,000 high-level athletes. All those who meet the requirements will be eligible for these 50 reserved places. One of them will have to do with age, and that is that the reserved period is from the age of majority to the athlete’s 29 years of age.
There are also obligations when having completed studies, since minimum educational level of Compulsory Higher Education is required to qualify for these places.
In the first phase, merits and aptitudes are assessed, while in the second phase psychological tests, a medical examination and a physical fitness test are carried out.
The incorporation to the Armed forces It will occur in May or November, always starting in 2025. There may be cases of active or recently retired athletes as long as they meet these requirements.
Alejandro Blanco: “The prestige of Spanish sport is the best image of this country”
So Alejandro Blanco pointed out in his speech that the link between the Armed Forces and the Olympic Committee is values. “The values that we feel, for which we fight and fight. Through this union and training, entering the Armed Forces means ensuring the present and future of our athletes. United we can do many things. The prestige of the Armed Forces and The prestige of Spanish sport is the best image of this country. Together we represent the best of Spain,” said Blanco.
For his part, the general director of Recruitment and Military Training, Lieutenant General Pedro García Cifohas presented the project developed by the Ministry of Defense in close collaboration with the COE.
“It is about facilitating the incorporation into the Armed Forces of the greatest possible number of people belonging to the group of high-level athletes,” said Cifo, through the annual call for 50 places in the Troop and Marine Corps scale, which “They will be valued and specifically scaled.”
Double objective
This project seeks a double objective, explained Cifo: “To promote physical education, high-level sports, within our Armed Forces and, on the other hand, open the doors to athletes, since both groups share values of resilience, improvement and discipline.”
At the event was the Olympic medalist and Army Corporal Carlos Arévalo, who stated in an interview with the Lieutenant Commander Loreto Pastor, athlete of the national military triathlon teamthat his entry into the Armed Forces changed both his personal and professional life, achieving his best results as a canoeist since then. In addition, he has highlighted the wide range of opportunities that the Armed Forces offer to reconcile, promote and grow professionally.
