The JOVErd is a castells competition in which Schools and Secondary and High School Institutes of the Region participate.
The idea of JOVErd emerged in the winter of 2010, at the meetings of the Castellers de Vilafranca Board of the team led by David Miret as Head of Colla and Miquel Ferret as President, the solution to the problem of 'try to incorporate new castellers, and in search of finding a way to be able to offer young people, boys and girls between the ages of 16 and 20 in Vilafranca, a proposal that would be attractive to them and that would open the door of Figarot, social headquarters of the Greens . It was Toni Bach, Sotscap de Colla, who proposed an idea that had been in his head for some time: organize a castells competition, each educational center with students enrolled in the Secondary stage, in the Region would be represented by a Castellera gang. The idea immediately took shape among the Management team and took shape.
It was decided to contact the teachers of Physical Education in order to explain our proposal to them and try to encourage them, the idea was presented to them in the following way, a specialist technician with a great background in terms of working with young people and with the castells workshops, I would hold a workshop in each center where specific aspects of the pineapple, the trunk, and in a very basic way the climbing technique would be introduced, each of these aspects were evaluated in the different rounds of which the competition would consist, in this way at the same time that the casteller fact was made known, the students were motivated, and the tests that would be carried out on the day of the competition were rehearsed.
Acknowledgment
JOVERD 2010
1st edition, June 19, 2010
That first edition took place at the end of June. They counted on the participation of only 2 centers, in the assessment we made we realized that although the students had shown themselves interested and motivated in the workshops, the dates coincided with the final exams and everything that means the end of course without classes did not encourage participation, 100 young people had come to Cal Figarot and had a great time doing castells.
JOVERD 2011
2nd edition, May 14, 2011
The second edition was presented with some modifications, the main change was the date, it was called for May 14th coinciding with the Fairs. In contact with the Physical Education teachers, the workshops were again scheduled, in these, as had already been done the previous year apart from making known the castells, attitudes and values such as teamwork were worked on, cooperation... it was through the workshops that the dynamics of the competition were made known and already served as a first test where the tools were given so that the students themselves, with the help of their teachers, could work on their participation. The workshops ended with a tug-of-war activity as this was how the winner of the competition was decided. The second edition of JOVErd had the participation of 7 gangs that mobilized a total of 250 young people from the Region.
JOVErd was already known, and in Vilafranca it was no longer unusual to see young people wearing green shirts that referred to the different editions of the competition. In the programs of the 4th year of ESO and/or the first year of high school, one or two sessions were already reserved to publicize the casteller fact and work on the competition at the same time.
JOVERD 2012
3rd Edition, May 19, 2012
Working together with the teachers and to try to improve the format of the competition, some changes were introduced for the third edition of the JOVErd, in such a way that the tug-of-war was abolished and thus the full prominence could be given to the castle activity In this edition, a jury was introduced, made up of some veteran and emblematic castellers, who were in charge of scoring the structures made by the Gangs in the 3rd Round. In this edition, the participation of the 7 gangs was maintained, bringing a total of 300 students.
This new format was very motivating for the students, who saw their work and effort compensated and at the same time it served them to try and achieve each of the castells worked on in the workshops and meetings that the students held in their centers.
JOVERD 2013
4th Edition, May 18, 2013
After the success of the 3rd Edition of JOVErd, in which the number of participating centers exceeded and where castells began to be seen, the students themselves emphasized that at Cal Figarot they had experienced a very good atmosphere in which they had not only raised their first castells, but they had also been able to share the effort as a key to success. Participating students and teachers had enjoyed a good day.
From this edition we can say that the JOVErd had already become part of the day-to-day life of the schools, and it was the students themselves who asked their teachers for the time and space to start meeting and thus be able start working
The students from higher years looked for and encouraged those from lower years to be part of their Colla, so that the relationships between the students of each center were strengthened and enriched.
In this edition, the Figarot playground was filled with more than 600 students, who came from the 9 centers that participated. The winners for the second consecutive year were Castellers del Foix, from Sta Margarida and les Monjos, who like the rest of the participants performed their castells in the middle of an environment that claimed castellers values. Teamwork, excitement, commitment, overcoming, competition and above all a magnificent atmosphere between the gangs, nothing was missing on this day where all the gangs gave their best.
JOVERD 2014
5th Edition, May 17, 2014
As had already happened in the last editions, among the centers and the students there was great motivation to participate in this fifth edition of the casteller competition, it is for this reason that we had the maximum participation, a total of 10 centers that fill the Figarot with more than 900 students: Minions de Penyafort (College Sant Ramon – Vilafranca), Castellers El Foix (IES El Foix – Santa Margarida i les Monjos), Vailets del Sant Josep (College Sant Josep – Vilafranca) , Castellers del Sant Josep (Sant Josep College – Sant Sadurní d’Anoia), Castellers de l’Alt Foix (IES Alt Foix – Sant Martí Sarroca), Castellers del Milà (IES Milà and Fontanals – Vilafranca), Colla Jove Sant Elies (Sant Elies College – Vilafranaca), Bordegassos de l’Alt Penedès (IES Alt Penedès – Vilafranca), Grimpàires del Montagut (Escola el Montagut – Vilafranca), Tirallongues del Pou de l’Eugeni d’Ors (IES Eugeni d 'Ors – Vilafranca).
In this edition, some groups brought to the square some quite meritorious structures, which represents a clear indicator of the work and motivation that the students present when working and preparing for this competition. So they could see among others: two pillars of 5 with lining and 5 of 5 net with needle, next to 3 of 4 net with needle or towers of 4 net.
For this edition, a prize was created that sought to value the work, since to qualify for it you had to build a castle without any castle keeper or falconer participating in its trunk. This Oriol Rossell award also served to make the figure of the Founder of our Gang known among the youngest.
JOVERD 2015
6th Edition, April 26, 2015
After the first five editions and with a very consolidated format, the workshops for the 6th edition of JOVErd, they began to be developed in the physical education classes of 4th grade ESO or 1st year high school students, already in December and in some cases at the request of the students themselves, who were eager to work and participate in what they already have scheduled in their agendas. As every year, the people in charge of Castellers de Vilafranca give them the basic guidelines for the construction of the castells and it is the students themselves who have to form a castellera team for the competition that is the culmination of the project. The leader of the group is usually the Physical Education teacher or a castellan student. The groups can involve students from other years and, in this way, it becomes a project for the whole school, with students of very different ages.
In this 6th edition, 7 centers participated, the garden and the ship of Cal Figarot were small in front of the large influx of participants and the public, including teachers, relatives, friends and castellers. More than 900 students participated and enjoyed this meeting. Shortly before 10 am, all the participants gathered at the gates of Cal Figarot, where each group raised a pillar while the crows sang the Cant dels Segadors. Then, each of the gangs made the entrance to the yard with a pillar. As usual, each of the gangs wore a t-shirt with a distinctive color, had a gang leader - who could be the teacher or former castellers students - and also a person in charge of the organization in order to facilitate the development of the competition . The entrance to the square and the order of action followed the order established in the draw a few days earlier at the JOVErd presentation press conference.
In the first round, the gangs had to make as many pillars of 2 net as they could, while each pillar was surrounded by hands in front and hands behind. In the second and third round is when the most meritorious structures were seen, such as three pillars of 5 with lining and two 7 of 5 with clean needle. It wasn't until the round of pillars when the winning team of the sixth edition of the JOVErd was defined: the Bordegassos of the Alt Penedès, from the IES Alt Penedès of Vilafranca, ahead and by very few tenths of the Castellers del Foix , from the IES El Foix de Santa Margarida i les Monjos. In third place and completing the podium were the Grimpaires del Montagut, from the Montagut School in Vilafranca.
As for the Oriol Rossell trophy, a prize awarded by the JOVErd jury, in this edition Castellers del Foix took it for the high participation of the center with 250 boys and girls, the effort and work shown throughout the contest and for the respect shown towards the other gangs and the organization.
JOVERD 2016
7th Edition, April 16, 2016
Throughout the 2015-16 school year, while the JOVErd "phenomenon" was being consolidated in the schools of Alt Penedès with a large number of castellers integrated into the Colla coming from this initiative and with a clear interest in their schools, it aroused interest outside our Region to be able to participate: Figueres, Tarragona Ciutat, and Andorra... For this reason, it was decided that year to be able to open the participation to a center and invite it to participate, in that edition he opted for an EN CAMP Andorra school.
They, like the rest of the participants, assessed their participation very positively.
In that edition there was a participation of 8 schools, with a total of more than 1000 students, the final classification was: 1st Els Bordegassos de l'Alt Penedès, 2nd Els Castellers d'El Foix (from Els Monjos) , 3rd Els Tirallongues del Pou de l'Eugeni, 4th Grimpaires del Montagut, 5th Arreplegats del Milà, 6th Vailets del Sant Josep, 7th Menairons d'Encamp and Nous de Vilafranca in 8th position.
On that occasion the Jury decided to award the ORIOL ROSSELL TROPHY to the ENCAMP MENAIRONS, thus valuing the effort to bring this initiative so many KM away and with all the difficulties it entails.
JOVERD 2017
8th edition, March 18, 2017
The 8th edition of JOVErd began with a meeting with all the teachers, this meeting in the framework of a dinner. In this, an assessment of the previous edition is made and a date is sought for the celebration of the edition that must be carried out. In this case and given the school calendar, with the Easter holidays it was decided to advance almost a month, so that the date of the competition was set for Saturday 18 March. This year, the day of the JOVErd competition was brought forward one more time, so upon returning from the Christmas holidays, the workshops were carried out, a total of 10 workshops were held, in which a technician from the gang
The participation by center was as follows: Alt Penedès 310, El Foix (Els Monjos) 291, St Josep de Vilafranca 62, Eugeni d'Ors 205, St Elies 76, Ins Nou de Vilafranca 52, Montagut 154 and Milà and Fontanals 89, a total of 1259 participants.
As always, it was a morning where great moments of conviviality could be experienced between the students of each center and among all of them. There was a healthy competitive atmosphere between all the centres.
The podium in this edition was as follows: in 3rd place Arreplegats del Milà, in 2nd Grimpaires del Montagut and as winners Bordegassos de l'Alt Penedès
In this edition the ORIOL ROSELL TROPHY went to Monjos as it was awarded to Castellers d'El Foix.
JOVERD 2018
9th edition, March 10, 2018
The ninth edition of JOVErd de la necessitat made a virtue of it, as far as space is concerned. Due to the works of Cal Figarot, the competition was moved outside, on Carrer General Prim, in front of the headquarters of Castellers de Vilafranca. With this change, space was gained for the gangs and in agility when performing the castells, which generated a more dynamic competition, and in addition, it allowed the attendance of a large number of public, since the regular JOVErd fans were joined by curious and new interested ones.
On this occasion the number of gangs was reduced, which were 5, but not the casteller level, rather the opposite. For the first time, four pillars of 5 with lining, from four different gangs, were seen, a very complex castle due to the technique and the participants needed to make it. All the gangs offered a very high standard, achieving a contest that was as successful as it was contested.
The Castellers del Foix were rewarded for their efforts in recent years and were again in the first position, together with the merit of having mobilized more than 300 castellers from an institute outside Vilafranca. The Oriol Rosell award went to Jove de Sant Elies, which despite being a group with humble potential, has persevered and collected the fruit of many years of work in the practice of castells reaching a very good level.
Objectives and results obtained
The objectives that we set ourselves when starting this initiative, we can now assure that they have been more than achieved, in these last years:
- Bring the castells to the Joves de Vilafranca.
- Getting to strengthen the image of the Casteller de facto and the Castellers de Vilafranca and being part of it.
- Nurturing the Youth Group and for them to be integrated in its operation and in its day-to-day life.
Other considerations
It is clear that not all the young people who participate in the JOVErd will end up being part of a Castellera Gang, but from Castellers de Vilafranca we try to integrate these young people into the social mass and feel comfortable, which is what we would like it to be his home, Cal Figarot. It is for this reason that a special test was created for them, the YOUTH TEST, this is the entrance, or the first step that should allow them to integrate with the rest of castellers.
The young essay is designed with the objectives of teaching the basic technique of the castells, the different positions and their characteristics, the history of the castells and specifically of our Colla. This rehearsal, which is scheduled on Fridays from the month of May until the end of the season, just before the general rehearsal of the Colla, allows the new members to learn about the dynamics of the rehearsals in a small format, and then they can gradually join in the tests that will be carried out in the general rehearsals, in this way and without pressure they have the opportunity to find their place and what role they want to play there.
This project has been carried out thanks to the work and involvement of the teachers of the participating schools, who have adopted the competition as their own, and have been collaborators at all times. Together we have made evaluations at the end of each edition to be able to polish this initiative until we reach the current edition that responds to the best formula found so far.
At this point, we would also like to outline what the Directors and cloisters of the different participating centers highlight as very positive aspects that derive from the participation of their students in the workshops and JOVErd. All of them agree to highlight and value very positively the relationships and dynamics that are created between the students of the different courses, they see JOVErd as the only activity that allows them to work on certain values and attitudes such as belonging to a group, as well as the possibility to work on aspects of leadership, integration, communication... which, as the teachers tell us, is really difficult to do in the classroom.
