Town-wide event will unite children, young people and older residents through local sporting traditions and healthy living
Rafal will celebrate Sports Day on Friday 27 March with a programme of traditional games and activities designed to bring different generations together through sport.
Organised by Rafal Town Council through its Department of Sport, the event will run from 9.30am to 2pm at various locations across the municipality. Its aim is to connect young people and adults through traditional local sports while promoting social inclusion and healthy lifestyle habits.
The event is being held in collaboration with CEIP Trinitario Seva and IES Rafal in what Sports Councillor Gabriel Valero described as a joint effort to recover the town’s intangible heritage and introduce younger generations to sporting traditions that have formed part of Rafal’s identity for decades.
Sports Day is not being presented as a one-off celebration, but as the culmination of a broader educational and social project developed throughout the school year. Local schools have been working on teaching units embedded in the Physical Education curriculum, through which pupils have explored psychomotor skills, strategy and respect for rules by taking part in traditional games rooted in Rafal’s history.
The initiative is intended both to ensure that sporting traditions are not lost in the digital age and to encourage children and young people to adopt healthy habits from an early age.
One of the highlights of the day will be a historical recreation in Calle Antigua de Rafal, where participants will be taken back in time through the reconstruction of an early 20th-century caliche playing area. Pupils from CEIP Trinitario Seva and IES Rafal, working alongside Club de Caliche La Plaza Rafal, have spent the school year learning about the traditional game through a dedicated educational project using items such as reeds, coins and bottle caps, as they would have been used in the past.
The display is expected to offer younger residents an insight into how previous generations played and socialised before the arrival of modern technology, while highlighting creativity and physical skill as key elements of play.
Valero said the event aims to pass on the value of local sporting traditions while encouraging active lifestyles among young people.
“We want to show our young people the importance of our sporting traditions while promoting healthy habits,” he said. “This day is not only about recovering Rafal’s intangible heritage, but also about showing that sport is a universal language that connects all generations.”
He added that the event’s intergenerational approach offers families an opportunity to share their passion for sport, from the youngest children to grandparents, while reflecting the collective effort made to preserve and promote local traditions.
The day’s activities will include competitions in traditional sports and demonstrations of historic games across the town. Rafal Municipal Sports Hall will become the focal point for dominoes, a game that has been passed down through generations in the town. The venue will host the final stage of a domino tournament involving 48 pairs who previously qualified through local schools.
The tournament follows a series of workshops led by members of Club Dominó Rafal, a long-established club that has represented the town in the last five Spanish championships and recently secured an impressive fifth-place finish.
Throughout the morning, a circuit of traditional games will also be set up, with local sports clubs leading activity stations for younger participants. Attendees will be able to try local favourites such as Estruja, with support from veteran club members, as well as skill-based games including horseshoe throwing, hopscotch and skittles, all designed to test accuracy and coordination.
The event is supported by Fundación Trinidad Alfonso as part of its commitment to promoting sport and social inclusion in the Valencian Community.
As well as celebrating sport, the day is intended to strengthen links between generations and give residents of all ages the chance to share in an experience that is both educational and community-focused.
