In 1996, seventeen pioneering women aboard the Güi Güi boat made history in the bay of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, breaking into a Canarian Latin sailing competition that had been predominantly male territory until then. Three decades later, that sporting adventure receives the 2026 Canary Islands Sports Award for Equality in the indigenous sports category.
The crew, captained by Olympian Mimi González, was composed of Verónica Santana, Beatriz Alonso, Mercedes Roig, Marisa Velázquez, Terina Ramos, Elvira Garavote, Verónica Jiménez, Ilona Pérez, Eugenia Cantero, Laura Boissier, Pilar Feo, Melania Pérez, Verónica Carrillo, Teresa Navarro, Helga Garcés, and Yaiza McCarthy. Coming from diverse backgrounds, they shared the challenge of making their mark in a competition where no boat had previously had an all-female crew.
The award, promoted by the Canary Islands Government's Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports, recognizes an initiative that transformed female presence in boat Latin sailing. The distinction follows the one awarded in 2025 to Pila de Garrote Ichasagua and was decided by a specific jury comprising the presidents of the eight regional federations of traditional and indigenous games and sports in the Canary Islands.
The origin of that crew dates back to 1995, when two professors from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Juan Carlos García and Mimi González, proposed the idea of creating an all-women team. The proposal emerged amidst growing female participation in sailing, particularly after the introduction of a dedicated women's category in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, an event in which Mimi González had competed.
With her Olympic experience and as a university sailing professor, González took on the challenge of leading a crew that had to learn the specifics of a very different vessel from those used in light sailing. The project received support from Fernando Roque Pérez, then president of the Canary Islands Latin Sail Boat Federation, who loaned the school boat Canarias to participate in the Gran Canaria Island Cup.
Their official debut took place on April 1, 1995, in the Junta del Puerto de la Luz y de Las Palmas contest, finishing twelfth out of 21 boats. Despite physical and technical challenges, such as a weight difference compared to their rivals, the crew worked to adapt the boat, developing a specific sailing technique with the support of Víctor Fernández, director of the federation's Latin Sail School.
The effort culminated in the 1996 season, when they competed with the Güi Güi boat. In April of that year, they achieved the first victory for an all-female crew in the provincial championship, defeating the San José. The major feat came in May, when the women of the Güi Güi defeated the Tomás Morales, one of the most prominent boats, marking a turning point in the perception of women in Canarian Latin sailing.
The Güi Güi experience continued, and in 1997 the female crew sailed the Heineken. In 1998, the Canary Islands Women's Latin Sail Boat Club was established, consolidating a project that has made that first crew a benchmark for female inclusion in traditional sports.
The Indigenous Sports Equality Award recognizes the contribution of those who work to preserve and transmit traditional modalities, and the importance of them continuing to offer participation opportunities. The members of that historic crew will receive the 2026 Canary Islands Sports Award for Equality this Friday, November 13, during the gala to be held at the Pérez Galdós Theater in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
