Barcolana Parasailing: Second day of racing
by Barcolana 8 Oct 18:09 UTC
8 October 2024
Barcolana Parasailing © Wordpower Media Barcolana56
Today was the second day dedicated to Parasailing in the Barcolana and Barcolana per il Sociale (Barcolana for the Community), which also registered a record number of participants.
The young sailors from Calicanto who will race on Arpege boats, those from the associations taking part in the Regata Fuori Vento, and those of the 2.4 and Hansa 303 classes have arrived at the Società Triestina della Vela (Sailing Society of Trieste), each of them with their own story, all ready to race and take one more step towards inclusion. Their stories were shared, along with the best practices for real inclusion in sports, during the conference held last night at the NH Hotel. In the meantime, an announcement that had been awaited for weeks has arrived: the Ocean has landed at the Barcolana. Giovanni Soldini, Ambrogio Beccaria, Alberto Bona and Alberto Riva, together with Caterina Banti - gold medalist at the Paris Olympics - will all be together in the Barcolana, on board Andrea Illy's boat, to support Emergency's causes and disseminate its activities. On Friday, Caterina Banti will also play a central role in the Women In Sailing race, the regatta for mixed crews that carries on the great mixed sailing project by Generali and Barcolana, at which the other Olympic gold medalist, Marta Maggetti, will also be present. After the first weather forecasts and the start of the Barcolana Sea Summit, which kicked off this morning and will get into full swing tomorrow, the Barcolana activities will descend into the Grotta Gigante tonight for the Marko Hatlak concert proposed by Siot-TAL, one of the events that contribute to extending the Barcolana to the whole local area and to promote Friuli-Venezia Giulia's notable points of interest for tourists.
EMERGENCY AND THE OLYMPIC AND OCEANIC SAILING CHAMPIONS - On 13 October Emergency will take part in the Barcolana 56, the world's largest sailing regatta taking place in the Gulf of Trieste, with the project 'A sail for EMERGENCY'. On the occasion of the association's 30th anniversary, the team will race on board Ancilla Domini, Andrea and Elisabetta Illy's 24.5-metre Farr 80. Sailing champions such as Caterina Banti, Giovanni Soldini, Ambrogio Beccaria, Alberto Bona, and Alberto Riva will be racing. The event, combining sports and solidarity, will include a public meeting scheduled for 12 October at 11 a.m. at the Teatro Miela.
FOLLOW ME - This morning the Barcolana was opened by the 90 students from the Nautical Technical Institute who took part in the Follow Me project, gathering, as per tradition, in Piazza Unità for the customary photo that marks a sort of rite of passage for them to enter the world of the Barcolana. For a week they will be working on the field, managing the moorings of the over 600 boats that have applied for a free mooring space along the dock of Trieste, from Porto Lido to Molo Zero.
SMILE @ ME - The students of the Galvani Technical Institute will also be taking part in the Barcolana, but with a different task: supporting the press office in reporting on the event. From yesterday until next Sunday, they will film and tell about the Barcolana56 through the lens of Gen Z with the objective of highlighting the stories told during the event.
INCLUSION: BEST PRACTICES - The first conference on inclusivity organised by the Barcolana with Unicredit, Società Triestina della Vela, FIV's Parasailing Academy, and World Sailing brought to attention a lot of topics and tools to improve inclusion in water sports, starting from the Paralympics. At the conference in Trieste, World Sailing - the International Sailing Federation - strongly reiterated its commitment to reintegrate sailing into the Paralympic sports. "Sailing is a sport that should have no limits. Our goal is to reintegrate it into the Paralympic Games, removing all obstacles and creating opportunities for everyone. Everyone must be on that boat with their weaknesses and strengths," said Hanna Stodel, Para World Sailing Manager.
"Our goal," said Mitja Gialuz, President of the Società Velica di Barcola e Grignano (SVBG, Sailing Club of Barcola and Grignano), "was precisely to bring attention to the topic of the Paralympics and to work together towards this goal. This conference showed how much is still to be done and how much we all have to work to do it, but it also gave us precious experiences of active inclusiveness that are a huge source of inspiration." Among the speakers was also Alberto Maiolo, Provincial Commander of Trieste's Firefighters Corps, who discussed the Corps' initiatives to ensure safety in sporting activities for people with disabilities. "Since 2002 we have been following a path of inclusion in the management of emergencies, ensuring that every individual, regardless of their abilities, can safely take part in the activities," he added.
Pinar Coskuner Genç, Vice President of Eurosaf, then explained how Parasailing, which initially had not been recognised in Turkey, has become a way towards inclusion for athletes from all over the world. "The Parasailing Academy has introduced sailing to places where it was previously unknown, providing boats and our means so that people who had never tried this sport could have this opportunity," said Fabio Colella, FIV's Parasailing Representative. "It is not just about competing, but also about passing down values and eradicating prejudice."
Renzo Chervatin, Unicredit's Head of Development for the North-Eastern Territories and Barcolana Parasailing's partner, also took part in the event, highlighting how sports can be powerful tools for social inclusion. Chervatin emphasised that Unicredit has always supported initiatives of this kind. "We have signed an agreement with the Italian Sailing Federation to support projects related to Parasailing because we firmly believe that sports should be accessible to everyone," he said.
Pantathlon asd with President Andrea Ceccotti, Duino 45 with President Dario Danese, and Lignano's Tiliaventum with Daniele Passoni were also present to tell about the associations' sporting and social commitment to the local area.
The conference included the touching experiences of some Paralympic athletes. Marco Frank, a rowing athlete who took part in the Paris 2024 Games, talked about the 'sporting rebirth' he experienced after a serious accident. "After my motorbike accident, I thought I would never again be able to experience the feeling that is offered by the sea. But thanks to the support of the Firefighters Corps and the Federation, I managed to get back onto the boat and achieve new goals, including my participation in the Paris Games," he said.
SOLARIS YACHTS AND FONDAZIONE AQUILEIA - Solaris Yachts and Fondazione Aquileia, Gold Sponsor of the Barcolana for the second year, are joining forces to enhance the maritime and cultural heritage of the local area. For the first time, the Solaris Yachts shipyard is showcasing a Solaris 50 boat in the heart of Trieste, Piazza Unità d'Italia, as a symbol of its 50-year-long history. The presence of the boat is enriched by a spectacular video mapping projection realised in collaboration with Fondazione Aquileia, which turns the boat into a screen to show the 'Aquileia, a gateway to the Mediterranean' project. The visual installation represents an emotional journey through the ancient Mediterranean routes and the modern nautical excellence of the shipyard, connecting Aquileia's historical identity to the current identity of a shipbuilding hub of excellence. At the same time, Fondazione Aquileia is curating a stand on the Rive to present Aquileia as a UNESCO site through multimedia content and to promote local food and wine excellence, with a view to working together and promoting the local area during an international event such as the Barcolana. Solaris will also play a central role in the Gulf of Trieste from Thursday, 10 and Friday, 11 October with the first edition of the Barcolana Solaris Adriatic Cup, in which the shipyard's boats will compete in a two-day regatta in Portopiccolo and then in Trieste, before continuing its sporting programme by taking part in the Barcolana regatta (the 'Autumn Cup') on Sunday, 13 September.
BARCOLANA PER IL SOCIALE - Inclusion and competition have been the main themes of the second day of the Barcolana per il Sociale, on which the regattas of the FIV's Parasailing Academy and the traditional Calicanto and Fuorivento Cups, the latter in its 21st edition, were wrapped up. It reached a record number of 80 participants, for the first time coming from all over the region. As many as 12 teams competed: 5 from Trieste and 7 from other locations (Grado, Udine with two teams, Treviso, and Pordenone), including Cooperativa ACLI from Pordenone, Castelmonte Onlus from Treviso, Cooperativa Itaca Udine, CISI Grado, Associazione I Girasoli Trieste, Fuoric'entro Trieste CSM, and Coop Lybra Centri diurni Comune Trieste.
Calicanto did not race, but one of the most eagerly awaited and joyful moments of the event took place in the late afternoon - after the prize-giving ceremony for the Parasailing Academy and the Fuorivento Cup, the Calicanto Band performed in a concert at the Società Triestina della Vela's headquarters, which has now become a tradition of the Barcolana's.
"You showed us that Parasailing truly is as good as traditional sailing," commented SVBG President Mitja Gialuz. "Athletes with disabilities participate in the Barcolana from the same starting line as able-bodied athletes - this is our philosophy and the path we want to continue following. I would like to sincerely thank the volunteers of the Società Triestina della Vela - the logistics were amazing, and from next Monday we will be back at work to make next year's event even more significant. Finally, a huge thank you to the athletes who, over these two days, have really made us feel the motto of this edition of the Barcolana: lots of positive energies."