Julián Andrés Santa
The satisfaction and joy that comes when fulfilling a dream is priceless and this is what rugby fans in Risaralda are experiencing as Jorge Acevedo, coach and popularizer of this discipline in the department, expresses. Precisely, they highlight the happiness that comes from being able to carry out their usual league tournament in their new setting, the Parque del Café field. “This is the competition that is played every semester and for this year we are very happy because we are opening a first-class, world-class stage, a certified rugby field that, thanks to the National Games, was left to us and the league is already making use of it.” of this scenario and the clubs are very motivated.”
“Since the league was founded as proleagues in 2008, then we were founded as a league in 2010 and not only that, I believe that we dreamed further since rugby arrived in Pereira in the 2000s. We dreamed of having a scenario of high quality where we could play without any problem and with guarantees. It was something we dreamed of, we always waited for it, we worked and the opportunity presented itself and we are taking advantage of it.”
They have gone step by step in the league
“I have been linked since 2006 with my Rhinos Club but the document procedures began to be carried out by Mr. Atahualpa Quintero in 2008. He was the first president of our league, we are also a founding league of the federation because founded in 2010. Then Professor Atahualpa finishes his term and his sister Sulma Quintero takes over, then Rafael enters and later Professor Henry Rojo. “I have always been involved in the sports part of the league.”
Rhinos and Gladiators, ‘his children’
“Due to the league’s overcrowding program, Dosquebradas was a municipality that did not have rugby. In 2013 I decided to start the training school there and consolidate the Gladiators club; later Rhinos, which is the oldest club in the region, where I always played and now I am linked to the women’s issue and advise the men’s team. Thank God there are more people who, year after year, are consolidating this process and becoming more involved in the club.”
“We thank the Cerritos court very much, we pushed ourselves a lot there but it was a court that in recent times since the pandemic made it difficult for us to practice because they were made like many ant mountains, we did not have sanitary services, we did not have lighting services, We didn’t have drinking water, so going to the Coffee Park also helps us develop more sports processes.”
“Every moment in the league has been important”
“Due to the field and all this, people are very motivated, however every moment of the league has been very important because we cannot ignore the work done by all the people who have passed through the league, from those who founded the rugby, those who developed it, have been consolidating it, I think that all the stages have been very important. We must always recognize and highlight the work done by all the generations that have gone through Risaralda rugby because without them having gone through those stages, at that moment we would not be enjoying this present today.”
Adding experiences in the Colombian National Team
For any sport and club, the fact of being able to have some of its athletes called up to Colombian national teams is a great achievement. “Thanks to the sports processes of the league, the commitment of the boys and the clubs, we always have participation in the different categories and we hope that with this field and with the delivery of other things that are pending such as the gym room, the office and so on, this process continues to be consolidated and better players are developed towards performance to have more representation in the Colombian national teams and obviously for the clubs and the league to be stronger,” points out Jorge Acevedo, coach of the Risaraldense Rugby League.