Athletes lament the ruins at the EIDE in Pinar del Río: "It hurts a lot."

The deterioration of the Sports Initiation School (EIDE) in Pinar del Río has caused an uproar among Cuban athletes both on the island and abroad, following the circulation of images depicting the lamentable condition of the center, which once trained dozens of high-performance athletes.

One of those who reacted with sorrow was the Cuban boxer residing in the United States, Yuniesky González, who shared his sadness on Facebook this Wednesday after seeing the current conditions of the institution.

"Wow, I had to see it to believe it... with how we used to run on that court for the pin. How many of us passed through there, and seeing this like this brings us immense pain," he wrote.

González, who trained as an athlete at that facility, reminisced about the experiences he had during his school years at the EIDE and expressed the sentiment shared by many alumni regarding the abandonment of the place.

Her post quickly generated comments from other athletes and users who attended the school and lament the institutional neglect.

From the gymnastics sector, reactions came swiftly. Yandisley Leal, a former athlete, remarked: “Truly a champion, that's where I came from, and that doesn't even reflect half of the conditions that existed before.”

For her part, Mayrelis Acosta wrote: “It hurts, it hurts, it hurts a lot. I also went through that; I was a gymnast, and it’s painful to see this.”

Similarly, Cristhian Camejo Pérez emphasized, “God, it feels so terrible to see it like this, I studied and trained right there for 10 years, what a mess of communism.”

Other former athletes expressed their distress upon seeing the current conditions of the gym floor. Yamilka Roque said, “But God, I used to train there... those little girls in such danger.”

Claudia Valdes, also a gymnast, added: “I trained on the Rhythmic Gymnastics mat and I don’t even see it… Where do the gymnasts train now?”

The complaints point not only to physical neglect but also to a lack of respect for the country’s sports heritage.

"It is truly a shame to say that this is the small court of a sports school, one that was among the best in the country," wrote Anthony Moreno.

"I was at a competition three months ago with my child, and when I saw that... Wow. And they ask me to let him study there," emphasized Eliarelys López Ramírez.

The situation has also sparked outrage among current parents. William Leyva was unequivocal: "I will never expose my children to such a depressing danger as all we have here in our little Cuba. They should shut it down before a child has an accident."

Other users pointed out that this is not an isolated case: “Don’t be surprised, the one from Polivalente is heading down the same path… in fact, the entire Polivalente,” warned Iván Roger Pérez Díaz.

Lazaga Adriana wrote: “This is how our EIDE has been for many years. No one cares about sports or the well-being of our athletes anymore. How sad. When I joined in 1997, during the Special Period, it was 100 times better than it is now, 27 years later.”

Incredibly, the issue of neglect and deterioration of sports facilities is neither new nor limited to just one Cuban city.

In 2019, the official newspaper 5 de Septiembre published a report on the questionable conditions at the EIDE of Cienfuegos, highlighting, in particular, the poor state of its court and the prolonged shortage of sports equipment for sports such as volleyball.

A court full of holes is the only one available for the volleyball players from Cienfuegos to train, which impacts the quality of the athletes' preparation, as revealed in a complaint made in 2024.

That same year, the pitiful condition of the Pan American Stadium in Havana went viral, one of the sports facilities built in Cuba for the continental games of 1991, a victim of the regime's neglect.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Deterioration of the EIDE in Pinar del Río