Image of the RCN Gandia.

The Spanish Confederation of Nautical Clubs Associations (CEACNA) regrets that the City Council of Gandia has washed its hands in the defense of this historic entity and calls on the administrations not to put on the same plane historical non-profit organizations and companies without experience that only seek their own benefit.

The Spanish Confederation of Nautical Clubs Associations, representing 200,000 users of recreational and sports nautical, wishes to convey to the public its full support to the Royal Nautical Club of Gandia in the process of renewal of the concession of the facilities it has been occupying for half a century, and it calls on the competent administrations to make it clear once and for all whether the model they propose for the future of the recreational ports is intended to guarantee access to the sea of the middle economies, as well as the social and sports activity, or on the contrary to facilitate the "landing" of companies that seek to exploit their own public domain.

The only fact that the Harbour Authority of Valencia is considering leaving the Nautico de Gandia in the hands of a company without previous experience and without the least arraigo in the town is clear proof of the lack of sensitivity of this body under the Ministry of Development did the work that the nautical clubs have been developing in Spain since the birth of the field of the nautical of recreation, from which they were pioneers and to which they have contributed with a model of social and sustainable management that has encouraged their development in our country.

For CEACNA, the equidistant attitude adopted by the City Council in this process is particularly striking. The press release made public by the Consistory, in which it is limited to placing the Harbour Authority "to choose the best proposal," can only be described as disappointing and improper of the commitment that a mayor is supposed to have with his fellow citizens and the historical entities of his municipality. Politics is much more than a profile, it involves making decisions and taking courageous positions. Because of its attitude in this matter, it is clear that the City Council of Gandia is uncareful about what happens in its port and whether the students of the sailing schools and the sports teams of the club are left without facilities and without the possibility of sports.

CEACNA recalls that nautical and maritime associations are non-profit associations that aim to promote nautical sports. The management model of these entities allows the revenues obtained by the moorings to return to the location where they are located with the promotion among their inhabitants of the practice of water sports, making them more accessible and popular. In the case of Gandia, the club conducts open training and sports activities through its school, involving 4000 children and young people each year, mainly the city's neighbours. It also organizes races and competitions and has a long tradition and a palmaris in line with its long history.

The nautical clubs in Spain are not willing to have their history and work erased from a stroke by auction to the best bidder of the spaces they are managing. And even less so, it is for the benefit of companies that, as experience shows, only seek to make money without offering anything to the community.

The politicians responsible for the future of the sports events of the Spanish ports, whether they are under the competence of the State or the Autonomous Communities, must begin to assimilate the concept of "social benefit" and not have the defachacy to place on the same plane companies of recent constitution, many of them dislocated or created ad hoc (such as the case of the club conato that chooses to replace the Nautical Club of Ibiza), and to historical non-profit entities that come from its foundation as an example of good democratic functioning and integration in society.