This sport, which is an adaptation of volleyball and is designed for people over 50 years of age, is played in a mixed manner and has more than 60 teams registered in the competitions organized by the Government of La Pampa.
Newcom has sparked a real furor throughout the country and La Pampa is no stranger to the rise of this sport designed especially for people over 50 years of age. The main feature is that everyone can play it, without distinction of age, social class, physical condition or sex.
Currently, more than a thousand Pampa men and women play it in the different tournaments organized by the Undersecretariat of Sports of La Pampa, which in 2021 created the Provincial League, a successful competition format that is divided into categories and distributed by geographical areas as well.
The Director of Sports, Alejandro Bagatto, recalled that it was Undersecretary Ceferino Almudevar, who in 2019 promoted the activity of Newcom to promote its practice due to the benefits it has from all points of view: health, socialization and as a motivating stimulus to live. fully at all stages.
This sport is an adaptation of volleyball that emerged in the United States in 1895. The ball is not hit, but rather caught and thrown over the net with both hands. These characteristics mean that it is not essential to be in great physical condition to enjoy its practice.
What’s more, many therapists recommend it for those people with joint problems or different ailments that would prevent them from practicing a highly demanding sport.
It is also suitable for those who suffer from heart problems, as they can play it without doing long runs or jumping. Of course, to sign up for clubs or play in tournaments it is necessary to have physical fitness signed by a medical professional.
DIVISION BY CATEGORIES
“We focus on three categories: + 50, + 60 and + 70. Now people over 40 are also playing it a lot and we think it’s very good, but our goal is to encourage the practice in older people. This is related to the fact that those over 40 can still play Maxi-volleyball or another sport with a higher level of physical demand,” summarizes Bagatto.
The official indicated that there are currently more than 60 teams registered in the Provincial League, which has another division, in addition to the age range. “We have three zones, which are center, south and north. Throughout the year each team competes in its own and then the definition is made in the finals. According to the position they occupy in the zones, a leveling is done in three cups: gold, silver and bronze,” he explained.
The objective of this separation into three is to make the competition more attractive. “No one likes to play against a team that seems invincible or against another that is beaten very easily. This leveling allows the matches to be even, highly contested, and that makes them entertaining for everyone,” summarizes the provincial official.
CREATION OF THE FEDERAL LEAGUE
Last year another measure was taken with this objective: the creation of the Federal League, to which the best teams accessed, so that they can develop a higher level competition against rivals of similar hierarchy.
In this League players with a competitive spirit face each other, while in the others the goal pursued is more recreational, although they always want to win.
Another attractive feature of the discipline is that it is played in mixed mode. The fact that men and women share equipment promotes socialization, the enjoyment of company and means that, beyond sports, meetings, parties, dances and different activities are generated that are difficult to organize naturally in older people, who do not share areas of work. work because they are already going through the retirement stage.
PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
The provincial government provides all possible support so that the discipline continues to grow and people can enjoy the game.
In this sense, three months ago the team of over 70s that represented the province in the South American Championship in Mar del Plata was assisted. Our locals had an outstanding performance and achieved runner-up status.
They also aimed to improve the refereeing and scorekeeping team. “We did training to form a larger team of referees. Thus we were able to incorporate 30 more people to be in charge of administering justice in the matches and carrying out the complicated work of the scoresheets,” explained the Sports Director.
This sport that does not know social classes and is played by everyone, is also a victim of the adjustment of the national government. “The high cost of fuel makes it very complicated for the Province to take charge of the transfers. You also have to have referees, scorekeepers, health personnel,” said Bagatto.
In such a complicated economic context, with a national government that does not send the money that legally corresponds to La Pampa; and with a socioeconomic scenario in which food assistance is privileged, it is logical that Newcom is also suffering from the crisis that was generated from the measures implemented by President Javier Milei. In any case, he anticipated that work is being done to organize a competition in the second half of the year.
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