Sergio Olivares, facing an impossible challenge is what motivates him. The 46 year old Mexico City native, leading his national Inline team here at the Masters for the first time, knew he was up against an immense challenge. “I learned that the Masters tournament existed, so when I returned to Mexico following my travels abroad, playing in France and England, I immediately began to try and bring the Mexican team. I realised that there were many skilled players who could be ready and in shape to compete”. But that was just the beginning of the challenge: “I gave myself the task of finding the means with all the authorities within Mexico”. For six years, Sergio battled and lobbied to create an over 38’s side. But the challenge seemed overwhelming. Just when about to give up, he found inspiration from some enthusiastic players, and with the support of MIHWA finally achieved the impossible. “The Mexican people have a culture of never giving up, never resting, always going forward even when things are very complicated…”. “ So it’s not just one person, it’s one of the eight guys who cheered me onwards. So I say thanks to all the players who also supported the project, because this project is not done alone, it is done as a team. And the most important thing is that we want to continue participating, and we do not want to miss any of our best Inline Hockey dreams”.

And dreams Sergio has aplenty, when asked about his prospects for this years debut, he said: “Well, the majority of the players live in Mexico. Two of them live abroad, one in the United States, and one in France. We’ve known each other for many years, because when we were young, we played together in Mexico. After each of us had enjoyed a career on wheels around the world (In the USA, France, and others) We were able to meet in three occasions, and create a team capable of competing here”. He is of course realistic, and understands the level of competition here at the masters is very high. “I’ll be very honest: we came to enjoy it. Yes we want to be competitive, because we have people with the level. We have only come to have the experience for the first time with much humility, much simplicity, to participate and live the dream I had six years ago. But, maybe the next year we want to have a longer process, go out to play NARCH in the United States, go out to play in Colombia, and come back here, with all three categories”. MIHWA is delighted to have the Mexicans here at the games, and thrilled to welcome more passionate and enthusiastic masters of Inline into the family. Sergio concluded: ”Many people who know us are very happy that we are doing this great path so that all Mexicans, in all the years that follow, have the opportunity to continue playing with Mexico”! Congratulations on winning your battle Sergio, but the next one is now before you. We can’t wait to see how they progress, and we know that with the Mexican tenacity, they won’t stop until they get it!