Many followers of sprinter Ana Gabriela Guevara, world champion of the 400-meter race and Pan Am monarch in Santo Domingo last year, had mixed emotions of amazement and gratitude when they learned she had started an awesome string of wins that same year following a useful training period in Cuba.

Guevara, 27, had her best season ever last year when she won all the races she took part in: the Golden League, the Grand Prix, the World Cup and the Pan American Games, outcomes that make her the odds-on candidate for the gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

The Mexican runner now joins the long list of athletes and sport teams that have picked the largest Caribbean island as their base of choice for training and preparation under the harsh tropical weather, for friendly matches, or just for a chance to enjoy the quietness and peacefulness that both the island nation’s facilities and hospitable population have to offer.

A few months ago, the Nigerian delegation that participated in the recently concluded Pan African Games –made up of some 300 athletes and trainers- set up their training and preparation camp in Cuba six weeks prior to the opening of the competitions. Eventually, the Nigerian athletes had an outstanding performance in the games as they swept almost all the titles that were up for grabs.

“That shows the services we gave them turned out highly useful for the purpose of raising the quality and competitive level of their athletes,” said Eric Leon, a high-ranking official of CubaDeportes S.A., the company in charge of organizing and providing technical cooperation with other nations.

As he proudly recounted the success of the Nigerian delegation, Mr. Leon added there’s another entourage from that African country already in Cuba, a smaller delegation of those athletes qualified to take part in the upcoming Olympic Games in Athens. “They’ve come to Cuba to train for the Olympics,” he said

The chance of getting acquainted with Cuban sportsmen, either playing or training with them, attending an international competition, taking a specialized course or getting medical attention is one of the most relevant services that Cuba has to offer through CubaDeportes S.A., a travel agency founded back in 1998.

“We work with those who come here for sports, academic, medical or recreational activities linked to the realm of sports,” explains Pedro Urquia of CubaDeportes S.A. “Sports and sport development have become additional values of tourism that serve to enrich the many choices Cuba has to offer in such a specific and specialized field,” he went on to say.

Eric Leon, chief of Publicity, Information Technology and Overseas Events at CubaDeportes S.A., commented that, in an effort to pull those tasks off, his agency has signed several working contracts with local and foreign tour operators, as well as a few agreements with the island nation’s Tourism Ministry.

“For example,” he adds “Havanatur brings a group of veteran ballplayers from Canada looking for a match with a similar Cuban team. However, Havanatur cannot guarantee the competitive aspects of the visit. We organize the event and share the gains with the Cuban tour operator.”

“This also happens with children and junior teams and groups. We see scores of kids and youngsters traveling to Cuba to play soccer, tennis, basketball, volleyball. Sometimes, we’re the receptive agency and we make all arrangements for the visit. Some other times, any tour operator stationed in Cuba brings the visitors in and turns to us for help,” Mr. Leon points out.

Working ties with 45 countries CubaDeportes has equally inked contracts with some forty agencies based in Cuba and abroad. “The list of countries we’ve got working relations with peaked 45 nations in 2003,” Mr. Leon notes.

Spain’s Elipse Iniciativas, Italy’s Sportiglia, Cubaaltours from Canada, Marimar and USA-Cuba Sports Experiences from the Unites States are some of the companies the agency is now dealing with.

Latin America is by and large the agency’s premier market, with Mexico and Venezuela as the main standouts. “Many people from the U.S. and Canada interested in making friends and exchanging experiences with athletes from the island nation come down here, too,” Mr. Leon told us.

Those interested in making the trip may get in touch directly with agency representatives overseas –CubaDeportes has offices in Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and China- or through some of the agencies the company has cut deals with.

Once the contracts are signed and sealed, experts from CubaDeportes put together a travel package that includes lodging services –depending on the requested category, it can range from five-star facilities to cheaper sports residences. “However, all accommodations have the necessary comfort and conveniences to guarantee a good rest,” the official indicated.

In the same breath, the sports-oriented travel agency has signed agreements with hotel chains on the island. “For instance, the U.S. women’s basketball team stayed at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel during its recent visit to Cuba and the girls left very pleased with the service and the sports events they participated in,” Mr. Leon averred.

This tour operator guarantees lodging, transportation to and from the venues and entertainment activities, as well as the necessary medical attention required during the competitions. The company is also supposed to provide a Cuban team for the scheduled match at a children, junior, military, adult or veteran level.

In addition to the sports program, CubaDeportes is in a position to prepare –if requested- an optional choice for cultural and recreational activities that sway from a night at the world-class Tropicana Cabaret to visits to art galleries and the Museum of Fine Arts. Moreover, the company arranges tours to specific sightseeing destinations like Varadero Beach or the Viñales Valley. “Even though that’s not our main job, we guarantee availability of those activities for them to feel much better, have a nicer stay in Cuba and leave the island nation with their minds made up to come back one day,” the Cuban official stated.

Hand in hand with the sports activities go the agency’s coordinating efforts to knock together academic meetings through a deal with the Higher Institute of Physical Education. This possibility meets the training and educational needs of those coming to Cuba for further technical and scholar development.

“We make annual planning,” Leon went on to explain, “for approximately 400 of those training programs that vary from a weeklong crash course to a full-blown, five-year college course for a Degree in Sports and Physical Education.”

Healthcare attention for those eager to rehab in Cuba is similarly clinched. “We’ve signed a contract with Havana’s Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital and we count on the services of our own Institute of Sports Medicine and an anti-doping laboratory, which is open for the whole country. In short, our finest scientific and medical potentials are there for the sake of sports and health.”

Social Benefit Gains CubaDeportes S.A. had its best year ever in 2003. “We assisted over 4,000 people and reaped nearly $4 million,” the executive uttered.

As far as the ongoing year is concerned, Leon says “so far so good; and unless something unexpected comes to pass, we’re headed for a new record.”

CubaDeportes has a loud say in the organization of international events as well, chiefly in the reception and attention to visiting teams. Last June, Cuba hosted the Caribbean Basketball Tournament in men’s and women’s categories, and the World Fencing Cup in Havana.

“Furthermore, we helped in the Olympiad of Cuban Sports in April as we welcomed 1,207 foreign athletes and coaches from 41 countries. Those services generated good benefits for the company and for the island nation,” he commented.

The revenues that CubaDeportes rakes in are funneled into Cuba’s sports movement for the improvement of facilities and venues, for providing custom-made assistance to athletes and for making sports implements. “We’re pursuing a highly noble social goal here, and that renders in better services for the entire population,” a beaming Mr. Leon concluded.