Gonzaga Escauriaza has been re-elected President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, a position he will hold for the next four years. Ninety-four members out of the total of one hundred present at the Extraordinary General Assembly -other two votes against and four null votes- supported Gonzaga Escauriaza, the eleventh President in the history of this federative body, who was elected for the first time in December 2008, succeeding Emma Villacieros at that time.
Gonzaga Escauriaza was the only person who had presented his candidacy for President of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation within the established deadline, which ended on November 26.
Gonzaga Escauriaza had the support of 130 representatives, a number that implied, in percentage terms, the support of 87.25% of the Extraordinary General Assembly.
Subsequently, voting took place regarding the members of the Delegate Commission who will exercise this function during the 2017-2020 period in those areas where the number of candidates was greater than the composition established by the federative statutes.
The assembly members present at the Assembly elected the RCG Sotogrande, RCG San Sebastián, RCG Manises, RCG La Barganiza and Laukariz, who received the most votes and, therefore, become members of the aforementioned Delegated Commission of the RFEG, for the Clubs category -the only one where there were more candidates than seats in the Assembly-.
The Delegate Commission is also composed of five Presidents of Autonomous Federations -Álvaro Alonso Lamberti (Canary Islands Federation), Joaquín Andueza (Navarra Federation), Hilario Castanedo (Cantabrian Federation), Francisco Lafita (Aragonese Federation) and José María Orozco (Castilla La Mancha Federation)-, two members of the Sportsmen – Joaquín Hergueta and Antonio Muñoz-, one member of the Technicians-Coaches -Juan Ciordia-, one member of the Judges-Referees -Carmelo Castillo- and one member of the Sports Associations -Centro de Tecnificación de la Federación de Golf de Madrid-.
Acknowledgements to all the entities
After electing the President and establishing the composition of the RFEG’s Delegate Commission, Gonzaga Escauriaza addressed all those present to express his gratitude for the unity shown by the different levels of Spanish golf and the support received, before reviewing the current affairs of Spanish golf, the actions carried out during the past term of office and the new initiatives that are already part of future actions.
In his speech to the members of the General Assembly, Gonzaga Escauriaza -who had emotional words about Fernando Satrustegui, recently deceased vice-president- expressed the value of the people who are part of all the different levels of Spanish golf: “thanks to all of you, we are an example of unity, which reinforces the idea of the RFEG as its own entity and the driving force of golf, together with the invaluable collaboration of all the levels. I thank you for the support received, which in reality is support for the institution that fights to preserve certain values, promote the practice of grassroots sport and support high competition”.
The president of the RFEG described the difficulties of recent years “where the economic crisis has been combined with the social changes experienced in our country, including a change in leisure models. For this reason, expenses have been reduced, but not investments, as it is necessary to be more efficient”, said Gonzaga Escauriaza moments before reflecting on the actions already undertaken, many of them long-term, to ensure that golf remains a strong sport.
“It is necessary to continue promoting golf to make it better known to the Spanish society as a whole, to carry out promotions in places where there are already facilities, to promote courses and short courses to bring it closer to everyone, to promote 9-hole tournaments to alleviate the lack of time, to encourage the Friends Cup formula, to continue working on the Golf in Schools Program, to promote a unified Junior Golf School program…”Gonzaga Escauriaza stressed before emphasizing the importance of maintaining good relations with all the institutions and organizations related to this sport, CSD, COE, R&A, International Federation, EGA, Ministries related to the environment and tourism, etc.
The need to focus on environmental research “and to communicate the healthy aspects of golf to society as a whole” are other main lines of action for the next term of office.
The excellent sporting performance embodied both in previous years and in 2016 – “Spain continues to be a reference in the world thanks to its continued success both at amateur and professional level, although we must be alert due to the great progress of emerging countries,” he said- and, therefore, the need to continue supporting both the Pro Spain Team Program -which facilitates the transition to professional golf- and the Blume National Golf School, based in Madrid and León, are also part of a set of initiatives “where the issue of golf education is capital for our development”, all issues highlighted by Gonzaga Escauriaza in his first speech as President of the RFEG in the 2017-2020 period.
A person intimately related to golf
Born in Bilbao, Gonzaga Escauriaza, 63 years old, studied Economics and Business Administration at the University of Deusto. He was Spanish Amateur Champion in 1977 and runner-up in 1978. In 1977 he was also Spanish Doubles Champion together with Emilio Soroa.
The current President of the RFEG, who took office in December 2008,
He was also a member of the Spanish national teams that were present at the 1977 and 1979 Absolute European Championships and the 1978 World Championship. As captain, Spain was proclaimed European Team Champion in 1997.
Gonzaga Escauriaza was also captain of the Saint Andrews Trophy -an amateur competition that pits Europe against Great Britain & Ireland- in 1998 and 2000, as well as captain of the European team in the Bonallack Trophy (Match Europe – Asia/Pacific) in 2000, 2006 and 2008.
Gonzaga Escauriaza was awarded the RFEG’s Medal of Merit in Golf in 1997, when he was appointed President of the RFEG’s Men’s Amateur Technical Committee. Since 2000 he has held the position of Vice-President, succeeding Emma Villacieros as President of the RFEG in December 2008.
Previously, in October 2007, Gonzaga Escauriaza was appointed President-Elect of the European Golf Federation (EGA) by unanimous decision of the General Assembly of this golf organization, which is linked to the amateur world and includes all the National Golf Federations of the Old Continent.
This appointment as President-Elect was accompanied by his appointment, in October 2009, as President of the EGA, a responsibility he held for a further two years before being appointed Past President for a further two years, meaning that his top-level responsibility in the European Golf Federation extended over a period of 6 years.
RFEG Presidents
D. Luis de Arana (1934-1936) Mr. Valentín Menéndez, Count Cimera (1937 – March 1939) D. Francisco Carvajal y Xifre, Count of Fontanar (April 1939 – April 1950) Mr. Luis de Úrquijo y Landecho, Marquis of Bolarque (April 1950 – April 1959) Mr. Luis Mª de Ybarra y Oriol (April 1959 – January 1965) Mr. Luis de Úrquijo y Landecho, Marquis of Bolarque (January 1965 – June 1968) Mr. Juan Antonio Andreu Bufill (June 1968 – July 1974) Mr. Juan Manuel Sainz de Vicuña (July 1974 – April 1981) Mr. Juan Castresana Ávila (April 1981 – December 1981) Mr. Juan Castresana Ávila (April 1981 – December 1981) Juan Antonio Andreu Bufill (June 1968 – July 1974) Juan Manuel Sainz de Vicuña (July 1974 – April 1981) Juan Castresana Ávila (April 1981 – December 1981) Luis Figueras-Dotti Cabot (December 1981 – November 1988) Emma Villacieros Machimbarrena (November 1988 – November 2008) D. Gonzaga Escauriaza Barreiro (December 2008 – )
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