Indigenous and riverside youth see in the waters of the AM a chance to conquer space in Olympic canoeing

Bruno Pacheco – Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – A population that was born under the influence of the waters and dreams of, through the waters, conquering the world. Young indigenous and riverine people together, who live in the indigenous community Três Unidos, from the Kambeba people, in the Amazonas countryside, see in the mouth of the Cuieiras River, a tributary of the Negro River (60 kilometers from Manaus), the opportunity to conquer space in canoeing, an Olympic sport since 1936, which is present in the everyday life of these people.

Last Saturday, 9th, the Sustainable Amazon Foundation (FAS), in partnership with the Brazilian Canoeing Confederation (CBCa) and the Irish Embassy, held the 2nd edition of the Regional Indigenous Canoeing Championship in the region. The tournament, which included the unprecedented presence of Paralympic medalist in Tokyo 2020, Fernando Rufino, the “steel cowboy”, started around 9:30 am and lasted all day.

The young men, encouraged by the “steel cowboy”, the vice-president of the Brazilian Canoeing Confederation (CBCa), Luciana Costa, and the entity’s general director, Rogério Marinho, competed in the following categories: women’s 500m 6k1 200m mixed child 4k1; 500m male juvenile 13 and 14 years 4k1; 500 male open 16 to 23 years 6k1; 200m female 6k1; 200m juvenile 15 years 5k1; 200m juvenile 13 and 14 years 4k1; 200m male open 16 to 23 years 6k1 and the challenge 2 groups.

For the champion Fernando Rufino, the competition is the moment to seek and find new canoeing talents. To CENARIUM, the “steel cowboy” told about the feeling of visiting the Amazon and the community for the first time. “Being here, catching this original energy, is wonderful. Paris 2024 is the next Olympics and, God willing, maybe one of you will be there representing it. There is still a lot of ground ahead and we will count on your support”, said Rufino.

To young athletes, the “cowboy” has become an inspiration. Born in Itaquiraí, in Mato Grosso do Sul, Fernando Rufino earned his nickname for escaping death three times. At the age of 21, while still a rodeo cowboy, Rufino suffered an accident when he fell off a bull. Years later, the champion fell off his motorcycle and was struck by lightning. He became paraplegic, however, while traveling in a bus. The vehicle slipped on the track and the Mato Grosso native suffered a bone marrow injury.

An example in canoeing

For Tailon Pontes de Araújo, 17, canoeist and one of the winners of the tournament, the “steel cowboy” is more than an example, he is the motivation to continue in the sport. “Just gratitude that he is here, giving more motivation. So we have even more motivation to row”, declared the young man.

“My biggest dream is to be a high level Brazilian National Team athlete, to be the best in my sport. To get there, we have to race against time, make a good time and win a spot on the National Team,” continued Tailon.

Considered by the community as a promise in the sport, Tailon trains from Monday to Saturday, from 6am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm, alongside brothers Antônio Filho and Thais Pontes. Together, the trio is a source of pride for their father, Antônio Lima de Araújo.

“I imagine them having those opportunities that I didn’t have. I want them to be something in life, the chance that I didn’t have. But that will depend on them too. Their mother and I are rooting for our children,” said the father.

Araújo tells CENARIUM that his children’s love for canoeing started as children, when they used to play with the fish in the Cuieiras River. With the arrival of the project in the community, recalls the father, the boys began to participate in the activities and showed ability and endurance in the sport. Today, Antônio believes that the sport is only the first step for his children to have a better life.

“I didn’t have those opportunities. I studied until the 7th grade and had no way to continue because it was too difficult. The city was too far away and I stopped right there. Today, I have built a family and dedicate myself only to it. The desire I have is to finish raising my children and see them have a better future, so that I don’t have to work hard. I believe that sports will give them this opportunity”, he commented.

Incentive

One of the pioneers of women’s canoeing in the country, Luciana Costa highlighted to CENARIUM the desire to see more women in the sport, the incentive to the sport, and the message left to the indigenous and riverine people of Tres Unidos. A former athlete, the CBCa vice-president is a native of Ilhéus and resident of Ubaitaba, a town in Bahia where Isaquias Queiroz, one of the main names in world canoeing today, was born.

“The wonderful talents we have here just needed to be polished. For sure, we could be getting a promising future athlete out of here, and we just have to encourage them. As I told the young people, they have to believe. Never give up. Continue doing what they like, which is canoeing,” said the vice-president.

For Luciana, one of the biggest challenges in the sport is the lack of social projects to support canoeing. “It is through the social projects that we get the great talents. If we don’t have the social incentive, we have no way to discover talent. The more support we have to embrace our projects, the more we will have great successors”, emphasized Luciana Costa.

The project

The championship is the result of the “Indigenous Canoeing” project, carried out by FAS since 2019, in Três Unidos and the nearby communities Nova Kanã and São Sebastião, which are in the Environmental Protection Area (APA) of Rio Negro, administered by the State Department of Environment of Amazonas (Sema). The initiative, which seeks to value young people through sport, is developed in partnership with the CBCa, which donated the boats used by young people in daily training.

Since 2019, according to FAS, the project has already benefited about 60 indigenous and riverside athletes from the three communities. For the superintendent of the foundation, Victor Salviati, one of the major objectives of the project is to promote citizenship through sport.

“FAS works with this social technology of bringing citizenship into the community. In sports, obviously, we want to have high performance athletes. However, the most important thing is how citizenship comes with sport. We are here, in Tres Unidos, together with Bemol, the Irish Embassy and the State government to provide citizenship through sport to these people from the Kambeba population”, highlighted Victor Salviati.