Ronda to host the first Spanish canyoning championship

The Malaga province mountain town of Ronda will host the first national canyoning championship in Spain since it was officially recognised as a sport in the country.

The Spanish Federation of Mountain Sports and Climbing (FEDME) announced this week that the famous Tajo de Ronda gorge would be the setting for the Spanish canyoning championship, as well as the Andalusian canyoning championship, on 23 and 24 September.

The organisation's head of competitions, Isidro Toro, travelled to Ronda to present the event together with Malaga's provincial authority, the Junta de Andlaucía and Ronda town hall. Toro said that the fixture will mark the first official canyoning championship in Spain since competitive canyoning was recognised about a year ago by the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD).

"Competitive canyoning is a sport that Andalucía has brought to the rest of the country. About 45 years ago sport climbing was a sport of hangers-on, as they say, and today it is an Olympic sport... why can't a sport forged here in Andalucía go on to be an Olympic sport," Toro said. "Ronda is an idyllic setting for canyoning, it is magnificent," he added.