Cabildo de Fuerteventura organises panel with European swimming champion Laura Roca, wheelchair padel player Marcos Cambronero and Orange to look at how technology and AI are transforming inclusive sport
The 3rd La Oliva Charity Padel Tournament, organised by La Oliva Town Council (Ayuntamiento) through its Sports and Tourism departments, hosted a panel discussion on technology, sport and accessibility, organised by Cabildo de Fuerteventura through its New Technologies department, headed by Carmen Alonso.
The event, held at the Teatro Raíz del Pueblo in La Oliva, brought together leading figures from top-level sport and the technology sector to discuss how digital innovation has changed the way people with disabilities practise sport in recent years, and what challenges still lie ahead.
The panel was moderated by David Blay Tapia, host of the Spanish Paralympic Committee’s podcast, author of two books on elite disabled athletes and a journalist specialising in technology. The speakers included Manuel Climent, head of Orange’s Retail Channel for the Valencian Community, Murcia and the Balearic Islands; Marcos Cambronero, a professional wheelchair padel player and coach; and Laura Roca, European swimming champion and two-time Olympian.
The event opened with remarks from the Councillor for New Technologies, Carmen Alonso, and the Councillor for Sports, Gleiber Carreño.
The discussion began with a look at how technology has improved accessibility in sport in recent years, from adapted materials and equipment to digital tools that make training, competing and accessing information easier. From there, the panellists examined how such solutions could be integrated into mainstream sports so that people with disabilities can take part on an equal footing.
Another part of the debate focused on the opportunities artificial intelligence may offer in the coming years, particularly in terms of sustainability improvements, and on the most pressing issues that still need to be addressed in order to move towards fully accessible sport.
The panel also looked at cases of mixed competitions between disabled and non-disabled athletes, a model that is gaining ground in various disciplines. Finally, the speakers discussed so-called “cutting-edge technologies”, citing examples such as full-body swimsuits in swimming or unregulated wheelchairs in tennis, which raise the challenge of balancing innovation, equal opportunity and fair competition.
