The game of the Contest is already served
The Vendrell draw sets the place of each group at the Castells Competition, with the Joves opening the group of favorites and the greens closing it
TarragonaThe draw that took place this Saturday at the Pau Casals Auditorium in El Vendrell has finished outlining the stage for the 30th Castells Competition. The groups participating in the three days of the competition now know the position they will occupy in the square and, therefore, the moment they will have to face each of their challenges. With the cards now dealt, the countdown begins for one of the most important events on the casteller calendar.
The competition will start in Torredembarra, where twelve groups will be in charge of opening the Competition. The Castellers de Badalona will occupy the first position if they propose a 'castell' (human tower) of a difficulty equal to or greater than a 5d7. On this same day, there will also be the Castellers de Mollet, the Castellers de Berga, the Esperxats del Pla de l’Estany, the Colla Castellera de l’Esquerra de l’Eixample, the Castellers de Cerdanyola, the Castellers de Sarrià, the Castellers d’Esparreguera, the Colla Castellera de Figueres, the Castellers del Poble Sec, the Castellers de Caldes de Montbui, and the Xiquets de Cambrils. For the latter, it will be a particularly significant day, as they will make their debut at the Competition after having recently successfully completed their first 5d7. Torredembarra will also debut some changes in the operation of the competition, designed to streamline the day and adapt it to the growing level of the groups. There will be a single joint round in each of the turns, and the threshold to access a solo turn will change from a 7d7 to a 5d7. In case of rain, the day would be moved from the Castell square to the Sant Jordi Pavilion, as already happened in the 2022 edition.
Saturday will be the turn of the eighteen-group day at the TAP. The Colla Jove de Castellers de Sitges will open the order if they attempt a 'castell' of a difficulty equal to or greater than a 3d8. From there, the eighteen groups will occupy the square until completing a day with very diverse objectives.
Among them will be the Nois de la Torre, who appear in the twelfth position and arrive with the experience of having won the last two editions held in Torredembarra. The Xiquets del Serrallo, in the fourteenth position, will also face the day after having successfully loaded their first 2d8f in history the previous Friday. The Nens del Vendrell, hosts of the draw event and immersed in their centenary, will occupy the sixteenth position.
And it will be Sunday when the great outcome arrives at the TAP, with the twelve groups of the highest-level day and a good part of the eyes focused on the fight for the top positions. The Castellers de Barcelona will open the order if they propose a human tower equal to or higher than the 4d9f. Just after will appear the Castellers de Sants and, in the third position, the Colla Joves Xiquets de Valls, which will be the first of the great favorites to take to the square.
The Colla Vella dels Xiquets de Valls will perform in second place within the group of favorites, followed by the Colla Jove Xiquets de Tarragona. The Castellers de Vilafranca, current champions, will close this group of great aspirants. In between there will also be the Castellers de la Vila de Gràcia, the Xiquets de Tarragona, the Colla Castellera Sant Pere i Sant Pau, the Moixiganguers d’Igualada, the Xiquets de Reus and the Capgrossos de Mataró.
The order can play an important role in the development of the day. The first groups will have to set the pace without yet knowing what their rivals will do, and those that perform later will have more information to adjust their decisions. This will mean that the management of the rounds and the ability to react to the results of others will also be elements to take into account.
In this scenario, the Xiquets de Tarragona will go out in fifth position, the Colla Castellera Sant Pere i Sant Pau will do so in seventh and the Xiquets de Reus, in tenth. Three representatives of the territory that will complete a day in which the focus will be placed, above all, on the great human towers and on the struggle to convert the expectations of the entire season into results at the Competition.
With the order already decided, all that remains is for the moment of truth to arrive. Three days, different scenarios and diverse objectives, but the same demand: to convert on the square everything that the groups have prepared for months.