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It is a day to value the effort made throughout the season, highlight the merits and successes achieved by the UPV teams (198 medals this year) and fundamentally celebrate life through sport and its values. The III UPV Sports Gala brought together around 300 people at the Auditori Alfons Roig of Fine Arts to witness, for example, the Rector, José E. Capilla, presenting Cristopher Triviño with the UPV Sportsman of the Year award for 2024.

He did so through his sporting partner, Javier Navarro, as Triviño was in Gran Canaria to participate in the Spanish Championships.

Cristopher Triviño was part of the Spanish team that won the 1st World Wheelchair Padel Championships and has been the Spanish champion since 2019. He also currently represents the UPV on the national circuit. "I am really happy and proud of what this recognition means for me and the sport I play, in terms of visibility," he commented via streaming connection as soon as he received the award. The Rector emphasised that this "well-deserved" recognition for Triviño demonstrates the UPV's commitment to making sport "accessible to everyone".

César Argilés y Javier Sánchez

Other people were also honoured for their careers linked to sports in various fields. This is the case of César Argilés and Javier Sánchez.

César Argilés coached the national handball team 91 times (2000-2004). He also coached the historic Club Balonmano Alicante and Club Balonmano Alzira, with whom he won the EHF Cup (the second-highest continental competition). Argilés expressed his gratitude for the award and the fact that it comes after twenty years "away from the front line". He also reflected on the "fundamental" support that the University must give its athletes because "it is a demonstration of modernity and the value of teamwork".

Javier Sánchez, for his part, spent 25 years as manager and director of the Sports Department at CEU Cardenal Herrera University. "I used to be on the other side of these events, so receiving this award is strange and very exciting at the same time because I see it as a way of recognising the work of so many service directors in the Valencian Community for the benefit of university sport".

Marcos Álvarez Award

New this year was the introduction of a new award, the Marcos Álvarez Award, to recognise the UPV athlete who best represents the values of passion, hard work, attitude and team spirit that Marcos embodied. Marcos Álvarez was a dedicated and loyal worker in the UPV Sports Department who left an indelible mark. His colleagues wanted to pay tribute to him with this award, which María Consolación Millián inaugurated after 14 years as a member of the women's handball team.

María Consolación has completed her PhD Student in Animal Production Science and Technology. Her nomination came from the other athletes present at the gala by popular vote. After receiving the award, she commented: "In my case, the feeling of belonging to the UPV is great, so receiving this award is very exciting". She also took the opportunity to call for more facilities for the athletes representing the UPV: "In my case, the academic staff always made it easier for me to combine competitions with my studies, but this is not always the case. Let's see if these problems can be solved".

198 medals for the UPV

The 2023-2024 season began last September. 625 athletes (366 men and 259 women) took part in one of the UPV teams that participated in the Autonomous University Sports Championships (CADU), where 176 medals were won, or in the final phase of the Spanish Championships (CEU), where 22 medals were won for the UPV.

Finally, the III Sports Gala was also attended by three famous names in sport. Ricardo Ten, a parathlete with a long Olympic career that will continue at the Paris Paralympics; Concha Montaner, who has participated in four Olympic Games (Sydney, Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro); and former goalkeeper Santiago Cañizares, gold medallist at the Barcelona '92 Games. In a colloquium chaired by the journalist David Blai, they discussed various aspects of the Olympic experience.

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