Lively ski race in Andalo: protests by Panathlon Club Carrara and Massa

It was a somewhat eventful ski race that will not be easily forgotten. Panathlon Club of Carrara and Massa he competed on the tracks of Andaloin Trentino, for the traditional appointment with the “Ski Championships“, organized by Panathlon International. A concentration of inconveniences that caused more than one protest among the Apuans present who were damaged by the lack or incorrect timing. And as if that were not enough, there was also the president of Panathlon International George Chinellato who publicly removed and denied the right to speak Anna Lorenzini who wanted to explain what happened.

"We at Panathlon know well that the greatest satisfaction for those who compete is not the prize or the victory, but rather having the opportunity to measure one's performance to know its value and evaluate personal progress and improvements – writes the club in a calm but resentful letter to Panathlon International, signed by the president Claudio Sartorio –. In this respect we believe it is legitimate and understandable to want to express and highlight, on the part of the young athletes not timed, the regret for what happened. Our club is laboriously creating a group of young people capable of continuing in the coming decades an important and healthy testimony of the panathletic values ​​and we felt uncomfortable in collecting complaints and finding effective justifications for the behavior of the international president".

These are the results of the Carrara and Massa clubs who competed in the giant slalom, divided by category: gold for Gabriella Santucci, Raffaella Vatteroni, Luca Falconi, Enrico Simonelli, Riccardo Padolecchia, Piero Vatteroni; silver for Arturo Andreoni, Nicola Foce, Marco Foce; bronze for Margherita Vannucci. Not without irony and a pinch of joviality, the Panathlon boys gave special prizes to the “disqualified” girls: Isabella Tongiani for speed, Anna Lorenzini for courage, Chiara Milani for elegance, Francesca Ferri for fair play, Chiara Falconi for technique. Also competing were Ilaria Pezzica, Mario Foce, Gianfranco Marchetti, Roberto Del Frate, Paolo Pasquali, Fabio Franchini.