Rowing fever in Lloret de Mar, the municipality in Catalonia with the most rowing clubs per inhabitant

Lloret de MarAnna Carbó has been rowing along the Costa Brava for half her life. When she was 12, she joined the Es Pescadors rowing club in Lloret de Mar. "It was the natural path because my friends from the club also started joining," she recalls. Now she's the president and helmsman of the senior men's team. These last few weeks, they've had more training than usual. On the emblematic Sa Caleta beach, at the foot of the unmistakable Plaja castle, tourists mingle with tradition as they unload the traditional Catalan llagut to put it into the sea. It's the preamble to the The day that the people of Lloret reclaim the beach from tourists in the middle of summer: July 24th, Santa Cristina, their patron saint. And also the confirmation of the rowing fever that exists in Lloret de Mar. A total of nine entities coexist, making it the municipality in Catalonia with the most rowing clubs per inhabitant.

At the other end of the municipality, on Santa Cristina beach, there is also more activity than usual these days. Preparations are beginning for the arrival of the Santa Cristina procession by sea and for S'amorra amorra, the competition that is the annual meeting place for the nine Lloret de Mar rowing clubs. The Santa Cristina Workers' Association, which for decades has preserved this beautiful natural spot from the clutches of urban speculation, is preparing in great detail for the arrival of the image of the patron saint to the hermitage, accompanied by the authorities and the nine Mediterranean llaguts from all the rowing clubs. After mass, a traditional beef stew with potatoes will be served for breakfast, well-watered down with wine, which will be the culmination of a festival that maintains the tradition of rowing in Lloret de Mar.

lloretenca rowing a S'Amorra amorra". Toni Jiménez, who has been the president of the Santa Cristina Rowing Club in Lloret de Mar for a year, explains it with the same passion. Since 2015, they have won the competition every year. They are, in fact, the club that trains the most throughout the year and competes the most in Catalonia and Spain. They have a veteran women's team that has won the Spanish championship for the second year in a row. "The festival begins on the evening of the 23rd, when each club presents its flags, singing and dancing through the streets of Lloret de Mar," explains Jiménez. They arrive at the Town Hall beach and a draw is held to determine the position of the boats at the starting point. It is a 2.5 km race for the men, which runs from the buoy in the middle of Gran Beach to Santa Cristina. When they "hug" themselves on the sand, the women's race begins, which is approximately one kilometer long.

The challenge now is to ensure that rowing remains a part of Lloret de Mar's life throughout the rest of the year. While Santa Cristina and Es Pescadors are busier throughout the year, both are experiencing a lack of young people joining. They have about 60 members each and around twenty teenagers, but it's a far cry from the situation in the 1990s, when rowing was a very popular activity among young people. Jiménez, born in Girona and living in Lloret de Mar at the age of 26, recalls that he started rowing thanks to his son. Now he says they are negotiating with the city council to reinstate the Ergometer Competition, the essential device for rowing in winter, among Lloret de Mar's secondary schools. "Up to 500 students gather in the pavilion, and it was key to raising awareness of rowing because it served as a recruiting platform," he explains. He remains satisfied with the atmosphere created, especially in Santa Cristina, and with holding the record for being a municipality with nine rowing clubs, although some rowing clubs are established in Santa Cristina thanks to the participation of athletes from other organizations.

Read more about the history, traditions, and routes of Lloret de Mar: