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| Everything began when Dionisio de
la Huerta, in 1929, arrived at his house of Coya, in Infiesto,
to enjoy its summer vacations. When he went to the station of
railroad of Barcelona, where he had foreseen to take a train
to Madrid, to catch there one to Asturias, he saw a folding
canoe in the warehouses El Siglo. |
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| Thinking of the easy of its transfer, he
found the most appropriate device to take to Coya and
after a few days he was already practicing canoeing in
the prey of El Molino. Few days later, with Dr. Benigno
Morán and a young boy called Manés Fernández
(in a home-made K-1 and equipped with lateral floats),
he decided to make a trip, surprisingly for the river
Piloña, from Coya until Infiesto. There were near
five kilometers for the river, in those they used two
and a half hours... |
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What seemed an anecdote didn't stay there.
With the experience of those five kilometers traveled
in canoe from Coya until the bridge of Infiesto, Dionisio
de la Huerta convinced its friend Alfonso Argüelles
to accompanie him down the river until Arriondas and
also to Manés Fernández.
In a canoe with floats began that first trip accompanied
by a group of friends that followed them in bus. |
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With having reiterated stops to take out the water
of the canoe and some sandwich, the night plundered them in
Soto de Dueñas, so after restoring forces, they decided
to leave it for better occasion. About fourteen kilometers they
had traveled in that adventure and they were more than seven
hours enjoying the river and the landscapes that was what really
interested him.
In Infiesto everybody spoke about Dionisio de la Huerta and
his adventures. |
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| The following year took place what later
would be the first edition of the Descent of the River
Sella, between Infiesto and Ribadesella, according to
some versions, and between Infiesto and Soto de Dueñas,
according to others. This time, they were Dionisio, Alfonso
Argüelles and Manés Fernández, and
the certain thing is that they used seven hours, since
each little time they stopped and they shared the experience
with the fourteen friends that followed them by the highway. |
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| In 1931, the arrival was already in Ribadesella,
while they started from Soto de Dueñas, entering in the
river Sella in Arriondas. 25 kilometers of journey and four
hours and twelve minutes to complete it. Great times. |
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In 1932, the definitive journey is fixed,
between the bridges of Arriondas and Ribadesella. Nineteen
kilometers of descent - the five last in creek - that
were covered by thirteen rowers, from Gijón, Ribadesella,
Infiesto and Oviedo, in the first competitive edition.
The Civilian War paralyzed the Descent among the years
1936 and 1943, to be renewed in August of 1944, 11 when
eleven canoes started from Arriondas. |
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| In 1951 were registered foreign competitors for
the first time, the Italians of the Circolo Canottieri Tirrenia
of Rome, the Portuguese of the Mocidades and the French of the
Club Tonneis. In the year 1955 registered the first team of
another continent, the Cuban. |
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| The year 1960 mark a landmark in the history
of the Descent,with the creation of the Spanish Federation
of Canoeing that breakaways of the Federation of Rowing,
something that had been requested repeated times by Dionisio
de la Huerta and guaranteed the future of the party of
the canoes. |
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| In the edition of 1994 participated more than
1.400 crafts and it is no longer physical place in the beaches
of Arriondas to place more canoes ready to start. The Descent
of the river Sella is today for own right the most important
appointment in the world canoeing. It could be a pure competition,
like it was in the decades 80's and 90's, but the Descent, in
spite of television, of the sponsors and their advertising excesses,
it conserves that romantic flavor of the beginning, that Dionisio
de la Huerta gave to it, and for that he fought until the end
of his days. |
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| 07/08/2010: Sella River Descent, Saturday 7th August 2010
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