RIO MAIOR SPORTS CENTRE | ACTIVITY APRIL 26

RIO MAIOR SPORTS CENTRE | April 2026 Activity

The month of April once again confirmed the Rio Maior Sports Centre as a national reference venue for hosting training camps, competitions, and initiatives linked to sports development and high performance.

Training Camps

In April, the Rio Maior Sports Centre hosted 531 athletes in training camps, representing nine sports and coming from ten different countries.

Monthly highlights:

• The Rio Maior High Performance Centre hosted another Swimming Training Camp from April 2 to 4. Over the course of three days, a group of 15 federated swimmers experienced a high-performance training environment.

• The Portuguese Artistic Swimming National Team once again chose Rio Maior for another competitive preparation camp, held between April 6 and 11.

• Modern Pentathlon was also highlighted in Rio Maior with a training camp held from April 6 to 8, bringing together eleven young athletes from Associação Bairro dos Anjos, Ludens Machico, and Leixões SC.

• Between April 10 and 12, another Portuguese Open Water Swimming National Team training camp took place, also featuring participation from Rio Maior athlete Mafalda Rosa.

• Young Canadian football players from Chatilly Forever Academy trained at the Rio Maior Sports Centre between April 12 and 19. During their stay, they played several friendly matches against teams from clubs in the municipality.

• The month ended with another international swimming camp, this time featuring young French swimmers from AN Sartrouville, who stayed in Rio Maior from April 26 to May 2.

Events

April was marked by intense competitive activity, with nationally significant events in football and judo.

• Núcleo Sportinguista de Rio Maior (NSRM) organized the 10th Albino Aguiar Youth Football Tournament on April 3, with the support of Desmor. The competition brought several national teams to Rio Maior, competing on the pitches of the Rio Maior Sports Centre. This edition featured 16 teams from various regions of the country, totaling 190 athletes. The 18th Henrique Félix Tournament, also organized by NSRM, is scheduled for the weekend of June 13 and 14.

• The Rio Maior Municipal Stadium once again hosted major professional football matches during April. On April 6, Casa Pia AC faced SL Benfica in a Liga Portugal match that ended in a 1-1 draw and once again sold out the stadium, attracting 6,925 spectators. On April 23, Casa Pia hosted SC Braga in another Liga Portugal fixture.

• Judo was also in the spotlight at the Rio Maior Sports Centre. On April 18, the Multi-Sports Pavilion welcomed athletes from across the country for the Judo+ project, which included the Mestre José da Silva Matos Tournament, aimed at younger age groups. In the afternoon, the Juvenile Zonal Championship of the Santarém District Judo Association took place.

Renovation of the Susana Feitor Athletics Track

On April 7, a working meeting was held at the Rio Maior Training Centre to begin the renovation process of the Susana Feitor Athletics Track, located within the Rio Maior Municipal Stadium.

The meeting was attended by the Mayor of Rio Maior, Luís Filipe Santana Dias; the Chairman of the Board of Desmor, Miguel Pacheco; the President of the Portuguese Athletics Federation, Domingos Castro; the Chairwoman of the Sports Foundation, Susana Feitor; the President of the Santarém Athletics Association, Eduardo Gonçalves; Desmor Directors Hugo Dinis and Vítor Alexandre; as well as the President of the Rio Maior Swimming Club, Pedro Rodrigues, and the Head of the Athletics Section of Associação Físico-Cultural da Ribeira de São João, Élio Figueiredo.

The renovation of the track, which honors the former Olympic athlete from Rio Maior, represents a strategic intervention aimed at raising its quality standards and aligning them with international benchmarks of excellence.

This improvement will further strengthen the Rio Maior Sports Centre as a privileged venue for hosting athlete, team, and national squad training camps, as well as organizing regional and national competitions, particularly in athletics and modern pentathlon.

On April 20, the Rio Maior Sports Centre hosted three educational and awareness sessions dedicated to the topic "Anti-Doping Awareness", under the Anti-Doping Programme in High Performance Centres (CAR).

This initiative resulted from a partnership between the Sports Foundation and the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority (ADoP), aiming to promote awareness in the fight against doping in sport, with the support and local organization of Desmor and the Municipality of Rio Maior.

The main goal of the initiative was to raise awareness about the importance of clean sport, promoting values such as ethics, health, and responsibility. The sessions focused on the importance of informed decision-making, especially during the early stages of an athlete's sporting career, which are crucial for both personal and competitive development.

These sessions have been promoted across national High Performance Centres as part of a protocol established between the Sports Foundation, ADoP, and the National High Performance Centres Network – HIGHSPORTUGAL, which led to the creation of the "Anti-Doping Programme in High Performance Centres".

In Rio Maior, three sessions were held throughout the day at the Albino Maria Auditorium, targeting higher education students, secondary and vocational education students, and sports associations, involving a total of 190 participants.

The sessions were attended by the Vice-Mayor of Rio Maior, João Lopes Candoso; the Chairman of the Board of Desmor, Miguel Pacheco; and Desmor Director Hugo Dinis.

The Sports Foundation was represented by the Chairwoman of the Board, Susana Feitor; the Vice-Chairwoman, Anabela Reis; and the Executive Director, Paulo Marcolino.

Representing ADoP were its President, Maria João Cascais; Executive Director António Júlio Nunes; and Ricardo Godinho, Head of Education and Information.