Less than two years ago, Clàudia Peña (Barcelona, ​​2004) decided to take the plunge and contacted several clubs in the English women's rugby league to see if they would sign her. And so it happened. Claudia isn't one of those people who sits around waiting. She always looks ahead, and that's how she managed to get signed by one of the most historic teams, Harlequins, with whom she aspires to win the best league in the world this year. Peña speaks to ARA from London, England, where she recently played in the World Cup with the Spanish national team, just after being chosen as the best Spanish player of the year.

Abbie Ward is a Rugby World Cup champion with the English national team, but her path was anything but typical. The player decided to become a mother at the peak of her career and then returned to the elite level with resounding success. "Since I was little, I've been used to fighting to break through different barriers, but I realized they were glass and could be shattered. There are many people who are ambitious but lack the strength to take the leap alone. The key is to join forces to increase the energy," she says. "Determination is important. Most elite athletes have it, but since becoming a mother, my perspective has changed. Now I fight not only for myself but also for the girls, like my daughter, who come after me," she argues. Ward has become a pioneer. "There are many aspects of motherhood for female athletes that no one had regulated. I was asked if I was capable of lifting heavy objects. No one had thought about regulating these aspects from the perspective of a high-level athlete. My case led to the creation of specific protocols and regulations, as well as a support program," she explains. "Many female athletes thought that if they wanted to start a family, they had to put their careers on hold, and I tried to show that it was possible to do both. I knew I was embarking on an uncertain process, but I decided to pave the way, and I think things are different now," says Ward, who participated in the third edition of the Women's Initiative (WI), a congress organized in Barcelona by the Union of Sports Federations of Catalonia (UFEC).

Aitor Esteban (Bilbao, 1962) has been involved in politics all his life, always in the PNV. He has a doctorate in law from the University of Deusto and since 1991, when he joined the Provincial Council of Vizcaya as secretary general of the Presidency and spokesman, he has not stopped. He learned from one of the best, Xabier Arzalluz, and in his shadow a group of young people, among whom were Iñigo Urkullu and Andoni Ortuzar, formed a group that became known as the Jobubis (Young Burukides Vizcaínos) who little by little won battles until they managed to control the party. On Wednesday, in his last control session in Congress, he said goodbye to a standing ovation from a good part of the deputies.

"Rugby people always open their doors to you. They are always willing," says Francesc Gómez, who in 2020 began interviewing personalities from Catalan rugby, aware that the centenary of this sport in Catalonia was approaching. "They were interviews with all kinds of people linked to our sport, people who love it. I went to record a veterans' match of the legendary Albert Malo, on a field full of mud," he recalls, referring to the best Catalan player of all time, captain of the only Spanish team to have gone to a World Cup so far and the first Spaniard to play in New Zealand. Gómez always found people willing to tell their experiences in a sport that changes your life. "In rugby, if you don't put your heart into it... you don't do it well, with so much contact. It is very emotional to hear rugby people explain how it has changed their lives," he explains.

"Rugby people always open their doors to you. They are always willing," says Francesc Gómez, who in 2020 began interviewing personalities from Catalan rugby, aware that the centenary of this sport in Catalonia was approaching. "They were interviews with all kinds of people linked to our sport, people who love it. I went to record a veterans' match of the legendary Albert Malo, on a field full of mud," he recalls, referring to the best Catalan player of all time, captain of the only Spanish team to have gone to a World Cup so far and the first Spaniard to play in New Zealand. Gómez always found people willing to tell their experiences in a sport that changes your life. "In rugby, if you don't put your heart into it... you don't do it well, with so much contact. It is very emotional to hear rugby people explain how it has changed their lives," he explains.