Barcolana Parasailing: The first races and Panel on Best Practices in Inclusiveness start today
by Barcolana 7 Oct 2024 17:25 BST
7 October 2024
Barcolana Parasailing © Wordpower Media Barcolana56
On the first weekend of the Barcolana, more than 1,000 athletes were involved in many sports disciplines in anticipation of the big celebrations leading up to the regatta on Sunday.
The new week has kicked off in the name of inclusivity, with the start of the Barcolana Parasailing, which was organised with the Società Triestina della Vela (Sailing Society of Trieste), the Italian Sailing Federation (FIV), World Sailing and Unicredit.
The event will include two days of regattas for people with disabilities - athletes from all over Italy who will race aboard 2.4 and Hansa 303 boats - and two days of demos, on Wednesday and Thursday, in which people with disabilities will have the opportunity to try sailing. "We announced it," explained President Mitja Gialuz, "this will be the most inclusive Barcolana ever, both in terms of regattas and of the possibility to take part in events on land and in the Barcolana itself, thanks to a space for easy boarding."
Representatives from the FIV and from World Sailing, namely Hannah Stodel, Para World Sailing Manager, attended the event.
The light wind only allowed the races to start in the afternoon. Find the tracking system and rewatch the races here: www.metasail.it/live/627.
BEST PRACTICES IN PARASAILING - Alongside the regattas, the focus will be on best practices: the programme features a conference that will be held at 6 p.m., which was organised with the Vigili del Fuoco (the National Firefighters Corp), FIV, World Sailing, Unicredit, and many local organisations, and is aimed at analysing and spreading the best practices in the fields of inclusion, safety and sports for people with disabilities. "We witnessed this at the Olympics - not including sailing among the Paralympic disciplines has been really painful; it is then up to the Federations and Clubs to promote sailing as a way to integration," Gialuz said.
THE FIAMME GIALLE'S BOAT IS PRESENTED - Today the focus has also been on the Guardia di Finanza, who presented the Nice, the boat on which the Fiamme Gialle (Yellow Flames, from their logo) will take part in the Barcolana, as well as the many activities planned for the week, including many guests on land and on board. The crew of the Fiamme Gialle-Nice Team is composed of sailors who are members of the Corps and have had a prestigious past in Olympic and offshore sailing disciplines, proving the well-established tradition of the Guardia di Finanza in this sport.
BARCOLANA FOIL ACADEMY - Everything is ready for the arrival of FIV's 'Next Generation Foil Academy powered by Luna Rossa', which will bring energy sailing into the Barcolana. The regattas will take place in the morning's thermal wind, approximately between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., on Thursday, 10 and Friday, 11 October, and possibly on Saturday if needed. The regattas, which aim to promote fast and emerging sailing classes, will be dedicated to the Wazsp, IQ Foil and Wingfoil classes. Coordinating the activities at the Barcolana will be Olympian Alessandra Sensini, FIV's Technical Manager for Youth. The awards ceremony is scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Revoltella Museum. So as to promote this type of sailing to the general public, the last race will be a Stadium Race held in the Bacino San Giusto, in front of Piazza Unità.
MAKE ROOM FOR SCHOOLS - In the meantime, this morning was the time to make room for schools - almost 2,000 students will take part in many activities this week, including conferences, guided tours, and projects to earn credits, starting today with guided tours at the Deep Blue Exploration Zone in Piazza Unità and at the Barcolana Infopoint, where ARPA FVG (Regional Agency for Environmental Protection) will be welcoming students and offering weather forecasting activities by its meteorologists.
THE 25 YEARS OF ARPA - This year ARPA FVG, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Its participation in the Barcolana is part of the events organised by the Agency to celebrate this important milestone. The regatta in the Gulf of Trieste, a unique event in the international sailing scene, is an opportunity to highlight the deep connection between ARPA FVG and the natural elements, especially water and air, that are key to environmental monitoring activities. Ever since 1999, ARPA FVG has been offering its essential support to the Barcolana by providing live weather forecasts to all regatta participants. This year the Agency will be even more present - it will show visitors the many initiatives and services that, although essential for the community, are often carried out behind the scenes, either in labs or on the field.
From 5 to 13 October (at the Infopoint in the Barcolana Village, Piazza Unità d'Italia): Working with ARPA FVG: Exploring the weather, air and sea quality, environmental modelling. At 12:30 p.m. - Daily weather forecasts (reserved for the press only). 7-8-9 October: From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Educational workshops on the weather 'Let's forecast what the wind will be like' (for schools, reservation required). 10 October: 5:30 p.m. - A meeting on 'Synergies between ARPA FVG and Europe to understand our sea, presentation of ALIENA, AdriaClimPlus and MedSeaRise projects. The Adriatic Sea is a natural laboratory that allows us to understand many ecological processes taking place in an extremely important resource for our planet' (subject to availability). ARPA FVG staff and technicians will be at the Infopoint in the Barcolana Village every day and will be available to meet visitors and tell them more about the many daily activities carried out by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection.
