Cycling Ronda

A corner kick from Xavi (pronounced chahvy) found the waiting forehead of Carles Puyol, a defender from FV Barcelona, whose deft flick saw the ball rebound into the back right corner of the net, stunning Germany, and causing them to completely lose their confidence.

I was in Huskies bar, which erupted like a volcano, Spaniards and extranjeros alike could not contain their excitement, so much so we missed the next two minutes of play, but thankfully we didn’t miss much. Other bars in Ronda described similar scenes.

This morning the Policia Local told Ronda Today the evening was remarkably free of incidents, with traffic violations being the only cause for concern, ironically from parking offences instead of poor driving behaviour.

In Spain football victories are marked by fireworks, car horns, crowds gathering in the town square, with lots of shouting, singing, and general mayhem. Ronda is no different, and for a small city the residents certainly know how to raise a ruckus. Watch our video to see Ronda celebrating.

The World Cup Final will be played on Sunday at 20:30, no doubt Ronda’s bars will be packed again. Ronda Today will be around town taking more photos and video, make sure you say hi and get your photo published.

Rugby in Spain, Go Tortugas!

Ronda’s Tortugas Rugby Club have won their final game of the season against the spirited and enthusiastic Sevillanos Coria Samuráis, finishing 79-33 in a game that held the attention of a large crowd despite the alternate attraction of the Football World Cup.

Spain is not known for its love of rugby, but in several areas of Andalucía the great game is starting to win important milestones with membership up and crowd support showing genuine appreciation for the spectacle. In Ronda the Tortugas are an almost exclusively Spanish team, a very different makeup from coastal teams that have large numbers of foreigners in their ranks.

Led by captain ‘Toros’ Aguilera, so named because he’s as big a bull, the Ronda Tortugas have enjoyed a very good season, playing teams from Málaga, Cadíz, and Sevilla provinces, as well as hosting a home game against Gibraltar.

Club President Hans Leuenberger told Ronda Today he is very happy with the team overall since they are a young side who have had to be taught to play rugby, none of the players grew up watching rugby or playing the game as kids, which makes their wins this year even more impressive.

The Ronda Tortugas currently sit in the Andalucían third division and share their home ground with Ronda Football CD, at the city sport ground close to Ronda’s Fería ground. The club also coaches three groups of younger players from 4 years to 17 years, as well as providing rugby practice to several men under the care of the Asprodisis association.

Football Fans at Huskies

Yesterday Ronda’s many bars were packed with enthusiastic Rondeños paying homage to the national sport, wearing red shirts with yellow ribbon, painting their faces with red and yellow stripes, and singing Spanish football songs. Sadly, the Spanish national side couldn’t break through a determined Swiss defence, losing 1-0 and placing Spanish hopes of a World Cup final in jeopardy.

Fernandes 52nd minute goal that gave Switzerland three points in Group H was a bungled affair, but credit must be given to the Swiss for a determined game that put Spain at the bottom of Group H and a World Cup final into jeopardy. Expat commentators in Ronda assured Ronda Today that Spain’s next games would correct this tragedy, and that Switzerland and Honduras won’t make it to the second round, however international sport commentators seem to disagree. Spain hasn’t been written off yet, but it will be tough to recover against teams emboldened by their loss.

The sense of anguish at the end of the game was overwhelming, whilst some of the local English expatriate community cruelly had the last laugh after enduring several days of taunts from their Spanish friends over England’s draw with the United States.

Spain is a country of people who are not shy of showing off their emotions, this is the main reason so many foreigners choose to live here, and the atmosphere of a major football game is no different. In Ronda strangers become brothers, and strangely, they remain friends after the game, often meeting in bars and calling each other ‘buena gente’.

As a foreign resident in Spain, the writer chose to watch the game dressed in a red shirt, and my friends plastered a red and yellow flag over my face and arms with a flag colored roll-on, just like a larger version of a woman’s lipstick. The discount stores in Ronda sell these for a couple of Euros, but for the next game, this writer will be sporting a Spanish bandera and just maybe a Torres shirt.

Living in Spain is more than just the sun or the food, joining Spaniards for football games is a great way to meet new people, it demonstrates solidarity with your neighbours. And sharing the disappointment when Spain loses is part of that.

The biggest crowd of Spanish fans was at Huskies Sports Bar with multiple screens setup for patrons, helped with free red and yellow shirts for fans who bought two pints, and the staff eagerly moving a step ladder around the floor so that fans could add their comment and signature to the huge Spanish flag stapled to the ceiling.

Spain lost this game, but Ronda gained several new Spaniards, myself included, as well as several students from the Spanish School for Foreigners (PIEE), and another group of foreign residents who abandoned their white shirts to join their new friends.

FIFA have recently said that football is a global phenomenon with the potential to bring people together, and in Ronda that was evident, not only at Huskies, but in every bar and plaza in Ronda. The hope is that Spain will win their next two games for a place in the second round. They can do it, or so say their fans in Ronda.

The Shirt, including Ronda Football!

New Stadium Seating in Ronda

David del Rio, Ronda Tennis

Ronda Tortugas Rugby & Asprodisis

Ronda’s Tortuga Rugby Team have added a new project to their burgeoning club, offering social rugby games to people with intellectual disabilities as part of their ongoing rehabilitation. The association with Asprodisis was announced today after the success of the first game played between Asprodisis patients and members of the Ronda Tortugas third division team.

The first game was described by club president Hans Leuenberger as “an adventure” as players adjusted to making contact with the Asprodisis players. Initial hesitancy soon gave way to spirited playing as simple rules of the game were developed.

Players from the Asprodisis squad took to running with the ball with gusto, with everyone enjoying some good rugby, albeit at a very basic level. Ronda Tortugas are the first competitive team in the Andalusian league to partner with a mentall handicapped association, and weekly games have now been integrated into the therapeutic activities of Asprodisis.

The Ronda Tortugas Rugby team play in the third division Andalusian Rugby league, and have three junior training days, two in Ronda, and one in Arriate for children aged 4-11. It is hoped a full club with multiple teams can be developed in Ronda, whilst senior players hope that Ronda will be promoted to the second league in the next 2-3 years.

La Asociación Protectora de Personas con Discapacidad Intelectual de Ronda y la Comarca (Asprodisis) is the largest caregiver for intellectually handicapped people in the Serranía de Ronda, offering residential facilities, employment opportunities, as well as rehabilitation services to people of all ages and conditions.

Bjorn Heidenstrom in Ronda

The 28th November 2009 was an exciting day for the under thirteen Union Deportivo Ronda football team as they were treated to a visit by Bjorn Heidenstrom, former Norwegian International and first division football player who is cycling from Norway to South Africa collecting signed football shirts, and raising awareness for the world’s 45 million refugees.

Bjorn has been cycling for six months already, and arrived in Ronda at 10am after a grueling cycle up the San Pedro highway from Marbella. He certainly lived up the nickname “Crazy Norwegian”. His day in Ronda is part of an extended trip that sees him cycle to Córdoba, then Madrid, and Barcelona before catching a ferry to Italy, the Balkan nations, Greece, Turkey, and Syria.

A decision then needs to be made on the route Bjorn will take cycling to Egypt before cyclng to Cape Town via Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Southern African countries. Bjorn is hoping to be in Johannesburg in May. Then he and some volunteers will stitch all of the shirts collected together into a single large flag that FIFA and the South African Football Association have agreed will be flown at the opening game of the Soccer World Cup in June 2010.

Bjorn Collecting Ronda Football Shirts

Football shirts collected from CD Ronda and UD Ronda will be amongst the other many hundreds of signed football shirts, including those from FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, FC Valencia, Manchester United, Liverpool FC, Dynamo Moscow, and many more top teams yet to be visited.

Refugees are one of the world’s greatest tragedies, and are a group of people with the least ability to represent themselves, with the overwhelming majority forced into camps for displaced people, or taken into care by charitable groups. Refugees don’t have the ability to work to make a living, they aren’t able to provide for their families, and they exist in a sort of half legal half outcast situation.

Ronda Today is proud to be one of the many supporters and sponsors of Bjorn Heidenstrom as he cycles from Norway to South Africa to give the world’s many refugees a voice. His approach is proving successful, over 50 million people have watched Bjorn’s travels on television or in his YouTube channel, and sponsors are lining up to offer funds to the Refugee Council and UNHCR.

With Bjorn’s enthusiasm and our support we can make a difference, and we can put the plight of refugees firmly where it belongs, in the news and in front of prime ministers and presidents of the world’s family of nations.

Bjorn Heidenstrom at Hotel Ronda

Bjorn would like to thank Carlos Mirasol García, councillor for sport for his active encouragement and allowing Bjorn to meet the future football stars of Ronda, Hotel Ronda for providing Bjorn with a room and hot shower for the night, Bar La Bola on Carrera Espinel for graciously providing Bjorn with lunch, Restaurant El Predicatorio for graciously providing Bjorn with breakfast. Charlotte Wilmot and Alonso Jiménez González were invaluable friends who worked tirelessly to ensure Bjorn’s trip to Ronda was a success. Thank you all.

So, what happens now? Bjorn is on his way, and the plight of refugees could be forgotten now that we’ve had our fun. But Ronda Today cannot let this happen. We’ll be following Bjorn’s travels as he makes his way to South Africa, and we’ll be helping to organise workshops and fund raising activities to let Bjorn and the Refugee Council know that Rondeños want to help make a difference. Please join us. Send us an email (admin@rondatoday.com) and tell us if you can help Bjorn collect signed football shirts, or if you’d like write Bjorn a message of support.

We’re not asking for money, we’ll find sponsors for that, what we are asking for is your good wishes. You can read about Bjorn’s travels directly on his website, theshirt2010.net, or follow him on Twitter, @heidenstrom.

Here’s a selection of photos taken of Bjorn in Ronda.

Canal Charry Interview with Bjorn in Ronda