
The CEIP Pirineos Pyrénées de Huesca has been celebrating its cultural week under the slogan “PARIS 2024”. In these days, the passion for adventure sports and education come together, bringing together students and speakers of great prestige in this field.
Both Lluís Rabaneda, our CEO at RocRoi, and Thomas Richard, manager of the Airzone paragliding school, shared their experiences and knowledge with the young students, who did not miss the opportunity to get to know in depth the passion they both share, kayaking.

Lluís Rabaneda: sport as a way of life
Lluís Rabaneda is a true enthusiast of sport, and for this reason, he dedicates his life to it. Together with his team at RocRoi (a company of which he is the founder), they work to raise awareness and bring outdoor sport closer to both professionals and beginners, making their experience and commitment available to everyone.
Lluís is actively involved in other areas related to sport. He is vice-president of the International Kayak Federation as well as president of the FREESTYLE Committee, and dedicates his life to promoting this Olympic sport. But his great contribution does not end here, as he is a member of the ICF (International Canoe-Kayak Federation) Olympic Programme Evaluation Commission as well as the Spanish Olympic Committee (C.O.E), where he plays key roles. His commitment goes beyond the professional, and demonstrates a selfless dedication to promoting kayaking and contributing to the international development of the sport.
Due to his work, today Lluís has a great connection with the French capital, as he knows first-hand how the country works to organise the different modalities of the Olympic sport of canoeing on the Seine River.
On these occasions, Lluís has had the opportunity to travel and meet people all over the world who share his passion. In this way, he has grown in values, as well as sharing with different cultures. Undoubtedly, something that he highlights as the greatest benefit that sport has brought to his life.

Thomas Richard: Olympic Torchbearer at the Paris 2024 Games
Outdoor sports enthusiast Thomas Richard has been selected as one of the 11,000 Olympic torchbearers for this year’s 2024 Olympic Games. The honour, which highlights his dedication to kayaking and other extreme sports, will be shared by Natacha Burg, a quadriplegic athlete and former football player, in a celebration that highlights the importance of inclusion and diversity in the world of sport.
Thomas, dressed in white, will light the flame in his hometown of Millau, welcoming the privilege of hosting the Olympic Games in France for the second time in 100 years.
Since the age of 9, he has made his love of kayaking clear. A member of the KAYAK MILLAU MJ club, runner-up in the world junior freestyle kayak championships in 2014 and 2nd in the 2015 freestyle kayak championships, he is celebrating 10 years in the French freestyle kayak team this year.
In addition to his sporting achievements, Richard is the creator of Airzone Paragliding Millau, and is co-chairman of the organising committee of the Natural Games, a festival that fuses sport and music in the open air.
Like Lluís, he has the privilege of living from his passion, which in addition to prizes gives him the opportunity to meet with national and international teams, a key aspect for Thomas.
Laughing, he clarifies that, although it seems otherwise, kayaking is a sport that welcomes people of different ages. He stresses that he is willing to continue kayaking until he is as old as Lluís, or even older, as there are 90-year-old canoeists in his club.

Education Day and Olympic Games
Thanks to the active participation of personalities such as Lluís and Thomas in educational days, it allows the opportunity to promote sport among young people. In this way, information is provided about other fields of interest beyond conventional sports, which also teach crucial skills such as teamwork, endurance and self-improvement among others.
On the other hand, the Olympic Games, the international sporting competition par excellence, is another ideal way to bring lesser-known but equally interesting sports to new generations. At the same time, it is the perfect occasion to raise awareness and teach about the environment and its importance in our lives, and how we can combine sport and sustainability in one.
If you want to know more about our commitment to sport and environmental education you can visit our sustainability page and find out more about our decalogue, environmental days and sustainability certificates.