AAlberto Ayora appears at the appointment without any advisor. The president of the Spanish Federation of Mountain and Climbing Sports wanted to offer his version as soon as MARCA published the report on the co-payment method so that a series of climbers could attend official international competitions, but reasons that are not relevant delayed the the meeting so that, in the interval, there have been several joys: Alberto Ginés and Leslie Romero have qualified for the Paris Games and paraclimbing will finally be Olympic. The leader provides a written statement and three reports on the economic reality of the FEDME, the milestones of the 2021-2024 strategic plan and the sports results of the same period… but he hardly needs to consult them during the talk.
“Co-payment has been used for many years by the Spanish Sports Federations, not only by the FEDME. Our federation had to incorporate it stably in 2023, to address the difference that exists between spending and income related to the participation of athletes in competitions, for the representation of our country and the achievement of objectives,” he begins.
Co-payment implies levels of injustice that we do not like in any way
“It is applied to a certain group of athletes, following certain selection criteria that were approved by the Board of Directors on January 24, 2024 and published immediately afterwards on our websiteperfectly described and ordered, although the technicians and the Autonomous Federations had made provisional progress in December”, he continues regarding the modification of those criteria (“some poorly calculated weights have been corrected, nothing more”).
Thus, according to Ayora, representing his Federation, “lists of athletes are generated, ordered by results, those of the previous year, which determine who is part of each group and, therefore, who has the opportunity to compete fully funded and who under the co-payment method. The objective is to make the most of the available places in each test, although the FEDME does not have the necessary resources to do so.. That is why this possibility of co-payment is generated, in which the FEDME pays the registration for the test and maintenance, while the athletes pay for the travel and accommodation.”
Resources. Keyword. The general economic explanation is as follows: “The FEDME receives from the CSD a so-called ‘ordinary’ economic subsidy to cover the entire High Level spectrum in the Federation. And with that aid, multi-year and fixed for 2022, 2023 and 2024, we must to face the huge number of concentrations and competitions around the world, mobilizing athletes and technicians. But it is not enough to cover all the expenses. This is known and the different Spanish Federations are requested to complement them with their own resources and prioritize actions. The FEDME put a lot of money in 2023 to achieve the objectives described in the sports plans, but it is not sustainable over time and that is why the co-payment is implemented. The strong economic recession is also a consequence of the decrease in the issuance of federal cards.“. Later he will return to that question.
There is a destructive strategy of specific people with a very clear purpose
Ayora is clear: “Co-payment does not exist on a whim, but out of the need to continue growing and advancing with present resources, harmonizing budgets that are linked to an expansive sports program.” In that sense he refers especially to the two Olympic sports, climbing in the Summer Games and mountain skiing in the Winter Games. “We are clear that it is a strange situation and that it implies certain levels of injustice that we do not like in any way. We are aware of the extra effort this means for families and the short and long-term consequences it can have on a career.. However, the current situation forced us to take this temporary measure to allow continuity of the competitive pace.”
The president insists that the other, much “simpler” option would be to limit participation, and therefore spending, to one or two athletes per modality and only in absolute categories: “It is obvious that this is how the budget would be adjusted. This is what was done in previous years. But it wouldn’t be fair to cut off the possibilities of athletes with a future either.“.
And, indeed, public money goes to a few: “It is true, because it is destined exclusively to Team España Elite. If there were not people with the extraordinary results that we are having, the FEDME would not receive those amounts from the CSD. They are scholarships intended for Olympic qualification, so, like it or not, they are limited to a few athletes. Specifically, those who, with the results of the previous year, are among the eight best in the world.
Some sports federations end up becoming insurance brokers
Ayora, finally, regrets the “lack of solidarity of several regional presidents”, who put “personal and business interests first without taking into account sporting values, so that their federations end up being insurance brokers.” Thus, regarding the crowdfunding initiated by several climbers who are precisely affected by the co-payment, he is categorical: “In 2020, the Madrid Federation had 16,790 FEDME licenses. In 2023 there were 3,674. This represents a loss of 177,500 euros per year. and it was as simple as offering the regional license directly to the federates and stopping offering the other. If amounts are multiplied by other communities, we will begin to be aware of a destructive strategy carried out by specific people and with a very clear purpose. The autonomous communities with the greatest loss of FEDME licenses are ‘coincidentally’ the ones that pose the greatest opposition to the current directive“. And in January, elections.
