Sports provincial executive Rene Lopez told the Cuban News Agency that some 100 sports facilities were partially or totally damaged by the storm; he noted that the first thing to do was the repair of the electric system in the local Calixto Garcia baseball stadium, venue of the Holguin team.

Electric works finally returned the beauty to the stadium during evening games, “though we had no other chance than starting this year’s National Baseball Series without the lighting.” Some of the facilities recovered included the pool complex at the local Pedro Diaz Coello School Sports, only one of its kind in the country, said the executive.

For Rene Lopez the biggest challenge posed on the Holguin people is the recovery of the Fernando de Dios multi-discipline indoor sports facility, which requires huge investment. The place is the main scenario of sports events in Holguin, he said.

Meanwhile, sports methodologist Nelson Morales explained that the results in the field at local schools were promising, particularly those obtained by the Student League, where the Holguin athletes finished third for the first time. Advancement is also noticeable in baseball, said the methodologist.

Holguin is one the provinces (fourth) that has contributed more Olympic Medals to Cuba; outstanding sports figures include nine Olympic champs, 75 Central American and 50 Pan-American champions.

In the eastern territory the sports institutional system includes the provincial sports office and its branches in every municipality, plus the faculties of Physical Culture, Sports Medicine and Sport-applied I.T.