Issue date: 27 May, 2004
Among the issues at the España 2004 World Philately Exhibition, to be held in Valencia, is a block page dedicated to Sports consisting of three stamps depicting Tennis (0.35 Euros), Motorcycling (0.52 Euros) and Golf (1.90 Euros), as well as three vignettes.
Tennis is a field sport. It is played with a racket and ball, on an indoor or outdoor court. The surface may be grass, artificial, wooden or gravel. The objective is to hit the ball over the net without the opponent returning it. The match is divided into sets and the winner is the best over five sets (men) or three sets (women). Among our tennis players, which appear in the vignette dedicated to the Spanish Davis Cup Team of 2003 , is Jordi Arrese, who has 6 ATP titles and has appeared in 6 finals. Juan Carlos Ferrero has 10 ATP titles and has appeared in 8 finals. Carlos Moyà has 16 ATP titles and has appeared in 17 finals. Feliciano López has 0 ATP titles and has appeared in 1 final. Alex Corretja has 17 ATP titles and has appeared in 13 finals. Finally, Albert Costa, who was part of the team in 2003, has 12 ATP titles and has appeared in 9 finals. Motorcycling is one of the most attractive sports on wheels. There are various types of motorcycle competition, in circuits and motocross. The major prizes are contested in circuits. Motorcycles in world championships are classified according to their power, ranging from 80 cm 3 to 500 cm 3 , as well as a sidecar class. This sport is represented by one of our most outstanding motorcyclists, Ricardo Tormo, who appears in the vignette in front of the Valencia Region Circuit . Golf is played with wooden and iron clubs or a putter. Putters have two faces for striking the ball. The balls are important to improve precision and distance in shots. They are supported on tees, small stands holding the ball for the drive. There are two types of competition play: stroke play , in which the player needing the fewest furious strokes to complete the round wins, and match play in which the player when the most holes wins. The technique consists of striking the ball with a single gentle and continuous movement. Among Spanish golfers is Severiano Ballesteros, who appears in the vignette, who is famous for his extensive sports career and human touch. The Jesús Sánchez Studio produced the design of this block page, which includes the logo of the España 2004 World Philately Exhibition.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
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Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.