Inclusive Nautical Festival
The Inclusive Nautical Festival born with a clear purpose: make sport accessible, inclusive and without barriers where all people, regardless of their abilities, can enjoy canoeing and nautical activity.
Since its creation in 2023, our festival has become a benchmark of the inclusion, accessibility and coexistence promoting participation professional athletes, paralympic athletes, associations and fans in the same environment.
Our goal is that every edition is a unique experience, where sport is the tool to generate social impact, strengthen the community and demonstrate that water is a space for all.
History of the Inclusive Nautical Festival
The Inclusive Nautical Festival born June 2023, driven by the effort CDE Cantabria Multisport, a club with a long career in promoting canoeing and sport for all. Since its first edition, it was supported by Town Hall of Shipyard which supported the event from the beginning, recognizing its potential as a platform for the including, sport and accessibility.
To give greater visibility and consolidate the festival as a benchmark in the region, the organizing team requested the collaboration of Living Cantabria, a platform specialized in the organization, management and promotion of professional events. This alliance allowed the festival to grow in scope, impact and participation.
First Edition (2023): The Beginning of a Movement
The first edition of the Inclusive Nautical Festival was held in 2023 with a clear approach: making canoeing a sport accessible to all people, regardless of their capabilities or previous experience. During the event, competitions and awards were held on an accessible stage, where the event ended with a musical performance, attracting athletes and general public.
From the first moment, the festival highlighted for its inclusive environment the participation of paralympic athletes and the involvement of the community. This edition served as starting point for what would become an annual event with growing projection.
Second Edition (2024): Growth and Consolidation
After the success of his debut, 2024 the festival evolved with important innovations and improvements. The organization was consolidated with the active participation of the CDE Cantabria Multisport, the Town Hall of Shipyard and Living Cantabria, forming a solid team that worked on the expansion of the event.
Among the most significant changes in this second edition were: • Increased number of activities in the program, including more competitions and play experiences. • Participation of new associations, sports clubs and ambassadors of inclusive sport. • Expansion of the gastronomic and cultural supplywith stands and live performances. • Improved media coverage and dissemination, reinforcing the identity of the festival as a benchmark of sport and inclusion in Cantabria.
The II Inclusive Nautical Festival held 22 June 2024 in Astillero, became an authentic party of inclusive sport. With competitions like Paracanoe National Open, the Trofeo San José Promotion and Dragon Shipyard Trophy and Dragonucos the event attracted a wider audience and reinforced its commitment to the accessibility and participation of all people in sport.
The Future of the Festival
With two successful editions, the Inclusive Nautical Festival has proven to be an event with a significant social and sports impact. Their growth and consolidation position it as a reference in the promotion of inclusive kayaking and accessibility in sport.
As it progresses, the festival seeks to continue to expand, attracting more participants, collaborators and the public, maintaining its essence: demonstrate that sport is for everyone and that there are no barriers in water.
Organizers
Town Hall of Astillero
Commitment to Sport and Inclusion
El Astillero City Council
At the El Astillero City Council, we are proud to support and collaborate in organizing the 3rd Inclusive Nautical Festival, an event that reaffirms, year after year, our strong commitment to sport as a tool for social transformation and true integration.
Our residents and visitors will see that this festival is much more than just a competition: it’s an open, participatory, and accessible experience. The estuary becomes a space of coexistence without barriers, and our town strengthens its identity as a benchmark for solidarity, resilience, and shared values.
Supporting this event allows us to promote equal opportunities in sports, positioning Cantabria as a community committed to accessibility and making Astillero a hub for the evolution of inclusive sports.
We will continue working enthusiastically so that every stroke in the estuary becomes a step forward toward a future where sport truly offers opportunities for everyone.
Welcome to El Astillero
Dear athletes,
For the third consecutive year, our town will host a very special event: the Inclusive Nautical Festival—a sporting celebration of canoeing and inclusion—organized by the Cantabria Multisport canoeing club (chaired by Olympic canoeist Agustín Calderón – Atlanta 1996) and Living Cantabria. This year, the festival will also include an international paracanoe marathon competition.
We are proud to host a sporting event of this nature. We look forward to welcoming you to El Astillero to share both the competition and the celebration of inclusion, while also showcasing the natural beauty of our surroundings, our rich history, the charms of our cuisine, and the warmth of our people.
Our municipality has always been a model of sporting dedication, with numerous sports schools and training programs across various disciplines. Paracanoe is one of the sports practiced in the El Astillero estuary, where both conventional and paracanoe athletes train together, sharing the same space under equal conditions. As they themselves say: “on the water, we are all equal.”
We look forward to seeing you all on July 5th in El Astillero. Until then, please receive our warmest regards.
MAYOR OF EL ASTILLERO CITY COUNCIL
Javier Fernández Soberón
Cantabria Multisport
Cantabria Multisport Club – From a passion for sport to boundless inclusion.
Cantabria Multisport Club was born from a dream and a need. Founded by Agustín Calderón and Fermín Rodríguez López, the club was initially created to participate in the Quadriathlon World Championship in Ibiza. To do so, they had to establish specific statutes for each discipline, which led to the formation of a multisport club with canoeing as one of its main pillars.
Since then, the club's journey has been marked by innovation and inclusion. In 1998, they organized the Quadriathlon World Cup in Camargo, a milestone that cemented their role in the sports world. Their focus began with canoeing, later expanded to adapted quadriathlon, and eventually included adaptive canoes, ensuring that anyone could enjoy the sport.
Inclusion is not just a goal for Cantabria Multisport Club—it’s its very essence. From the beginning, the club has worked to ensure that everyone has a place in sports, breaking down barriers and encouraging the participation of people with functional diversity in the nautical field.
Today, the club continues to grow with the same passion it began with, promoting sportsmanship, accessibility, and camaraderie as its core values.
Agustín Calderón
Co-organizer of the Inclusive Nautical Festival
International canoeing figure and ambassador for inclusive sports
Agustín Calderón is not only one of the key driving forces behind the Inclusive Nautical Festival, but also a living legend of Spanish canoeing. His career, defined by excellence, commitment, and a passion for sport, has left an indelible mark both nationally and internationally.
With a brilliant career, Agustín earned an Olympic Diploma at the 1996 Atlanta Games in the K1 1,000 meters category, a milestone that placed him among the world’s elite in canoeing. Over the years, he has earned titles such as Spanish Champion in multiple disciplines, World Cup medalist, and World Team Quadriathlon Champion, showcasing his versatility and competitive spirit.
He has been honored with awards such as the National Award for Best Canoeist, the Silver Medal for Sporting Merit in Cantabria, and the Gold Medal of the Cantabrian Canoeing Federation—recognitions that reflect not just his sporting achievements but also his human values.
But beyond the medals, Agustín is a tireless advocate for accessible sport. His ongoing work in promoting inclusion has led to pioneering initiatives such as supporting paracanoe and creating adapted competitions, giving voice and opportunities to those who need it most.
Today, as an organizer of this Festival, Agustín Calderón continues to paddle strongly toward a future where sport means equality, determination, and community.
Living cantabria
Living Cantabria was born with the mission of connecting people through unique experiences that combine gastronomy, trends, history, architecture, engine world, culture, sport and travel. A combination of activities that include everyone alike.
Over the years, it has consolidated itself as a benchmark in organizing events that celebrate the diversity and wealth of Cantabria, offering innovative proposals ranging from gastronomic meetings and musical festivals to inclusive sports initiatives.
Under the direction of Silvia Ramón Ponsa, Living Cantabria has created an annual program in which each event is designed with the objective of generating impact, visualizing talent and encouraging the participation of the entire community.
Within its calendar we can find activities such as the Tasting of bread, oil, cheese and wine, the North and the South, Carnival Elite: Art, culture and luxury, and countless events among which stand out initiatives such as Cenando with Living Cantabria, the Living Symphony Festival and, of course, the III Inclusive Nautical Festival, where accessibility and sport are given the hand to break barriers.
Living Cantabria's commitment to inclusion is reflected in each of its projects. From the outset, it has committed equal opportunities and the integration of all people, regardless of their capacities.
His work in the organization of the Inclusive Nautical Festival should be a further sign of his conviction that sport must be accessible to all and that inclusion is not just a concept, but a reality that is built day by day.
Because Cantabria lives better when we live together. # Let's get together
In constant training, in addition to carrying out the studies of Higher Degree of Tourism at the University of the Balearic Islands, he is a Technician of Middle Degree of Labor Risks by the University of les Heures in Barcelona, Master of Graphic and Digital Design at the prestigious design school of Barcelona ES DESIGN, a degree recognized by the International Tribunal of The Hague. And studying the Master of Art Design.
His professional career, always of commercial profile, of public relations and organization, spans from work in the nautical sector for more than 10 years, in which he has worked on the purchase-sale of boats, rental of recreational boats and commercial address of the prestigious Revista del Club de Mar.
He has managed and organized events related to the world of show. Coordinator for more than 15 years of the prestigious Balearic coral Capella Mallorquina. Among his works are the Festival MúsicaMallorca, concert of the Requiem de Verdi in the Philarmonie of Berlin, concert of Plácido Domingo in the Balearic Islands, Réquiem de Mozart in the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca with the assistance of Queen Sofia and her sister, among others.
It has produced large-format concerts like El Canto del Loco, the Retropop and managed stands at international water fairs. She is founder and director of Living Group and its brands Living Cantabria and Living Baleares, dedicated to the promotion and management of image of companies, products and professionals.
Living Cantabria is a platform that promotes the cultural, natural and gastronomic wealth of Cantabria, offering also spaces of visibility for companies and inclusive events.