{"id":271460,"date":"2023-06-16T15:26:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T19:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=271460"},"modified":"2023-06-16T15:26:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T19:26:48","slug":"yumilka-ruiz-up-to-the-sky-in-a-kite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/sports\/yumilka-ruiz-up-to-the-sky-in-a-kite\/","title":{"rendered":"Yumilka Ruiz, up to the sky in a kite"},"content":{"rendered":"

It does not matter that it is the penultimate month of the calendar; the intersection of Santa Catalina and Primelles is boiling with heat and she is there, a few meters away, at the Manuel Fajardo University of Physical Culture and Sports Sciences, at the Cuban Sports Research Center (CIDC). She has been there for several years as a collaborator and specialist in the technological observatory. She looks somewhat different from the image we all know. It\u2019s strange but she looks younger, taller. She instantly makes a joke and immediately clings to the first technical timeout:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHey skinny, a meeting has come up at 10. How do we do it: do we start and then continue?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe better wait until it\u2019s over. I\u2019ll stay here, you call me and I\u2019ll come back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOkay,\u201d she says as she checks the number. \u201cGot it. I\u2019ll call you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Yumilka Daysi Ruiz Luaces was born on May 8, 1978, in Camag\u00fcey and, like almost all of her teammates, she grew up in a humble family. The El Modelo neighborhood of the provincial capital saw her run, kick balls and fly a kite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Yumilka Ruiz, one of the most outstanding exponents of the Morenas del Caribe, was the national volleyball team captain for several years. Photo: Jorge Luis Coll Untoria.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI was lucky to learn to play almost everything. At home, we were taught to play board games: checkers,<\/span> pachisi, dominoes. I played with marbles, tops, bags, stilts, burrito 21, catch, four corners… I had a childhood that I remember a lot, I keep it very present. At that time there was no technology at all; I enjoyed it to the fullest,\u201d she recalls.<\/span><\/p>\n

She was an active and restless girl, who was instilled from a young age with a love for the game of high nets. Yumilka does not forget when the family would get together to watch volleyball. Twenty-five people and a single television. She evokes those moments and talks about how they all lived in the same patio, in very bad little houses, always together.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was a volleyball fan. When it was on TV, the channel was changed and we enjoyed the game. That was a continuous influence for me, and then my family\u2019s support.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBack then there were special areas where one started in the sport. Calls were made for the children to play the discipline they wanted. From the beginning I liked volleyball. I did the skills tests and I was automatically recruited for the Cerro Pelado EIDE. I entered when I was 8 and spent four years there. Later I was part of the national preselection of cadets, the junior team, here in Havana.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n