Good morning Martin, Happy New Year! I hope 2024 is starting out great for the Seaside Gazette.

You published the news of the death of a young athlete from Almuñecar, Celia Bellicourt, on December 8. Her father, Jacques Bellicourt, is a long-time resident of Urbanización Alfa-Mar in Salobreña (where I am the president).

Jacques told me that Celia’s passion was the Club Nerja de Atletismo and that was the place where her athletic career flourished.

So I asked the residents of Alfa-Mar if they would like to donate money towards the club in Celia’s memory, in lieu of sending flowers to the family. Neighbors from 16 homes donated money and we received a total of 905€.

Yesterday January 3 at the Estadio Enrique López Cuenca in Nerja, the club held its “Criterium de Navidad” event and the 60m women’s event trophy was titled “Trofeo Celia Bellicourt” in honor of Celia. Celia’s father Jacques presented the trophy to the winner, and we formally presented the donation from Alfa-Mar to President Enrique López Cuenca. We were given the opportunity to speak a few words and here is an excerpt of what I said:

“……. many of you knew Celia Bellicourt personally and today we celebrate Celia’s life and her achievements, with the Celia Bellicourt Trophy. In a similar way, some of the residents of Urbanización Alfa-Mar have donated €905 to the Nerja Athletics Club in Celia’s memory. I would like to share a quote from one of the neighbors who donated:

‘Supporting what Celia liked and was engaged for …. will not bring her back of course, but it will keep her spirit, engagement and soul alive’

So I hope that this small donation will keep Celia’s spirit, engagement and soul alive within the Nerja Athletic Club, and that it will help the development of future young athletes, who one day will continue Celia’s spirit…… ”

It would be great if you could publish this piece. I’ve attached some photos and event flyers also for your use, please edit as needed.

Best regards,
Gavin