May 26, 2023
Last updated on July 09, 2024
You may think of sports in Spain as just soccer and tennis, but they are so much more. Even in Benalmadena, the offer of sport activities is impressive. In this post, I’ll give you a general idea of how sports in Spain are organized, and use Benalmadena’s facilities as example, as this is the town I know best, and I’m very impressed by the number of activities that are offered in this town. I think you’ll be impressed too. Enough warm up, let’s go!
Sports in Spain
Sports in each city or town in Spain are structured around institutions called Patronato or Polideportivos, that are big gymnasiums. The patronatos themselves offer a wide variety of sports activities for all ages, but their role go beyond that. The town may have several areas dedicated to different sports spread within its perimeter, but they will all be connected to the local Patronato, that centralizes administrative functions and manages the offer of sport activities that happen in other areas within the city, as well as organizing tournaments and sport events both within the city and in partnership with the patronatos of other cities.
Above: the Patronato of Torremolinos
This centralization seems to be (at least part of) the key to Spain’s success in sports. Every kid can – and is encouraged – to join a sport activity; the facility charges a small fee (and in Benalmadena, at least, people that are enrolled in the Padrón can get a card in the Patronato that gives discounts in the monthly fee). If kid and parent want, the child can also compete in the events promoted by the patronato.
These competitions happen very often, almost weekly, in different nearby towns. The winners or well positioned kids in such competitions get to be upgraded to more professional base-teams, and keeping scoring high can turn into a career in sports. I know parents that are following this path, and they generally seem super proud and a bit overwhelmed by the frequent weekend trips to compete. Athlete’s (parent) life is tough!
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Sports in Benalmadena
I believe everywhere in Spain to be like Benalmadena, because despite me finding it amazing, I never heard of the locals being particularly proud of these sport facilities. But look how much we have here! In Benalmadena there are several places, each offering a different set of activities, that you can check on the page of sports of the Ayuntamiento. The page itself is a bit incomplete (see? It is like they don’t think of it as a big deal) but can give a general idea of the main facilities available. Badminton, Zumba, Yoga, Ice skating and surfing are just some activities on offer; they even offer physiotherapy and activities for pregnant ladies (hello Mamas to be!), all at affordable prices.
Polideportivo municipal (patronato)
Benalmádena has two patronatos, one in Benalmadena Pueblo and the main one in Arroyo de la Miel. This last one offers a wide variety of sports – judo, hockey, football, volleyball among them – and even dance classes, such as Zumba. This is where we did our discount cards in Benalmadena, but I believe the one in Benalmadena Pueblo also can do the card.
The Patronato in Benalmadena Pueblo offers badminton, basketball, football and taekwondo; it also has a pool that I believe opens mainly during summer.
Club Náutico Marítimo de Benalmádena
Located in the beautiful Marina of Benalmádena, the Club Náutico Marítimo de Benalmádena is the facility responsible for water sports, such as surf, windsurf, sailing and rowing.
Above, on the left, the Centro Náutico, also known as Escuela Náutica Municipal de Benalmádena.
Club Municipal de Raqueta
The Club Municipal de Raqueta offer classes of tennis and paddle. They have several tennis courts, and you can see groups of all ages practicing side by side.
Golf Torrequebrada
Very visible in the city map, the large installation of Golf Torrequebrada offers golf classes for small groups separated by ages. They are proud about their Pitch & Putt, and Benalmádena seems to be proud about its golf facilities above all other sports. Below, the entrance to Golf Torrequebrada.
Palacio de Deportes
The Palacio de Deportes (Sports Palace), former Club de Hielo (Ice club) offers swimming, roller skate, yoga, dance and gymnastics. This is the facility I know best and I can vouch for it: modern, clean, organized, amazing.
Despite being public, the Palacio de Deportes is operated by a private company. The one that operated it previously went bankrupt during the Covid pandemic, unfortunately, so the Palacio stayed closed for about a year. It reopened in June 2022, but without the ice rink, that was too expensive to keep. The former ice rink is currently a (non-ice) roller skate rink – and thus the name change. In 2023, the ice rink reopened temporarily; I believe the plan is to keep it working as an ice rink a few months per year, and as a roller skate rink the rest of the time.
The role of the schools
The schools of the area encourage the kids to participate in sports and make great use of these places, organizing trips (some even weekly) to take the kids to practice in the kind of infrastructure a school could not afford on its own. Kiddo loves sports day and mentioning the Patronato always brought a smile to his face while he was in a small private school without space to run; now, in the public school, he does physical education in the school itself. He already did swimming and roller skate classes, both in the Palacio de Deportes. (on our own, not school related). Every now and then, the school does a field trip to one of the facilities, and Kiddo awaits them with anticipation.
Conclusion
I already loved Benalmádena before, but I am even more impressed with the effort the city puts into promoting a healthy lifestyle. It may come out as if the facilities are only oriented to kids but let me emphasize this: all the courses I’ve seen so far are offered both for adults and for kids, and the venues offer both monthly access (courses) or pay-per-visit. Have you thought about learning how to surf after moving to Spain? You can.
Next: Silent mosquitoes in the Costa del Sol
