Santa Pola Council blows rumours out of the water and will create area on beach for kitesurfing

Alicante Province’s Santa Pola Council has blown rumours out of the water and said it will create a space at Tamarit beach for kitesurfing – even if it means it won’t meet requirements for a Blue Flag.

A SPOKESMAN said: “Given statements that have appeared on social networks stating that Santa Pola is against the sport and has even eliminated the area of kitesurfing without giving an alternative to the athletes, we want to say that is completely false.

“The Sports and Tourism Department tries to promote as much as possible the practice of all kinds of sports in our municipality. Among others, athletics, paragliding, rowing, archery, dance, and even kitesurfing.”

They said proof of this was the launch of the Tourism Competitiveness Plan ‘Santa Pola International Sports Tourism’ which promoted events events such as the Mitja, or the Villa de Santa Pola Half Marathon, the Tabarca-Santa Pola Swimming Crossing, Mountain Duathlon, as well as allowing the creation of the town’s Skate Park, training areas in the Varadero, and access to the paragliding take-off runway in Gran Alacant.

In a statement, Santa Pola Council said: “The current government team is totally in favour of sport and in kitesurfing continuing to be practised in our municipality as a means of promoting and activating sport and tourism.

“Therefore, it is willing to renounce the Blue Flag in Tamarit beach so that local and visiting sportspeople can continue practising this sport when the current problem is ended.”

With the implementation in 2018 of the Pativel (territorial action plan for the green infrastructure of the coast) the natural beaches were more protected, which prevented the practice of some sports on them.

For these reasons, the Consellería (not the town hall) prohibited the practice of kitesurfing on the beach of ‘La Gola,’ where this sport had been practised and it was “decided to maintain the Blue Flag instead of promoting water sports,” according to the council statement.

However, the Department of Environment is now drawing up a report to determine what area at Tamarit beach is the most suitable for kitesurfing, and seeking advice from local sportspeople, clubs and associations.