Five athletes will represent Andorra in the winter EYOF

Escaldes-Engordany, 16 January 2023.

A total of 5 athletes in three different disciplines (alpine skiing, freestyle and mountaineering) will represent Andorra in the Winter European Youth Olympic Festival to be held in Friuli (Venice). The members of the expedition are Eric Ebri, Alvar Calvo and Pirmin Estruga in alpine skiing, Henry Omeaga in freestyle and Max Palmitjavila in mountain races.



The presentation of the clothes they’ll be wearing took place this morning in Andbank’s Manel Cerqueda Hall. Josep Maria Cabanes, Andbank’s deputy director of Banca País, praised the excellent work done by the Andorran Olympic Committee and the different federations, placing particular emphasis on the grassroots work “to enable more and more athletes to compete on the international stage”.


As for Jaume Martí, the president of the COA, he pointed to the difficulties of this expedition, given that “each sport will be held in a different venue, 7 in total, which makes the logistics very tricky for us”. Jordi Orteu, the head of the mission, added that “on this occasion the technicians will have to take on extra tasks because we don’t have the staff to cover everything”. The EYOF in Friuli will take place from 21 to 28 January.

Three hard-fought places


Roger Vidosa, the technical director of the FAE, explained that “we have an excellent generation of skiers born in 2005 and 2006 and on this occasion we had to select those who most deserved the places”. Vidosa added that “we don’t have any girls because the ones who were best-positioned are injured and the other one who could have gone is in Canada”. It should be recalled that the EYOF is for young people aged between 14 and 18.

 
The three skiers will perform in the giant and slalom competitions. The supergiant, for which they are also registered, is up in the air due to the lack of snow on the slope where it is due to be held; if it eventually takes place, the three Andorrans will also be on the starting gate. As for the mountain races, Max Palmitjavila will participate in the sprint and classic competitions.