Bergamo is the capital of figure skating. Malagò: ‘The Games will pass from here’

Bergamo, for two days, is the capital of figure skating: thanks to Icelab, a diamond in some ways still rough, to be exploited and valued – for its uniqueness and functionality – more than it already is. It is here that the representatives of the six world centers of excellence of the discipline, chosen by the international federation, meet for the first time in attendance, for a workshop that looks to the future. The HDI, as part of its development programs, launched the Centers of Excellence initiative in 2019, just before the Covid pandemic stopped the world. And this is why the occasion becomes even more significant.

For Milan-Cortina

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Together with the representatives of the Orobico club led by the president Federica Pesenti and the technical director Franca Bianconi, there are the managers of the tracks of Oberstdorf (Germany), Champery (Switzerland), Detroit (United States), Bangkok (Thailand) and Beijing (China) . And, for the ISU itself, the Norwegian Jildou Gemser, head of the development commission and the Canadian Benoit Lavoie, vice-president and contact person for the figure for four months. The meeting also serves to outline and plan new forms of development and cooperation over the four-year period leading to the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics. number, starting with the European bronzes in charge of dance, Charlene Guignard-Marco Fabbri), also in this sense will be able to play an important role. The presence of Giovanni Malagò, president of Coni and that of Andrea Gios, number one of the Federghiaccio, only confirms this. It is not by chance that Valentina Marchei is moderating. She ended her career training on the ice of Bergamo and is now a pawn on the organizing committee of the Games.

Olympic circles

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“It is one of my first releases in the new role – says Lavoie – and it is an honor for me to happen here”. “This – says Gemser – is an absolute quality system, as I have rarely seen in the world. I’m just surprised not to find the five Olympic circles represented somewhere… ”. The “flaw” will soon be corrected: “Giovanni – Mrs. Pesenti jokes, but not too much, referring to Malagò – I want you here with a hammer and nails to engrave the circles on our facade”. And to reinforce the Olympic concept, he honors Arianna Fontana, the blue with the most medals in the history of the Games (11), a member of the club, in turn present. “We started six years ago with a track and a half – recalls the president – and, despite the very difficult economic moment, also in a Milan-Cortina key, we dream of expanding on adjacent land owned. It is obvious, however, that the collaboration and goodwill of everyone will be needed, the Municipality in the lead, free from normal technical times. I throw a stone into the pond: the relative circles that can be formed will certainly be Olympic ”.

The future

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“Icelab – underlines Malagò – is a unicum at the center of the Italian sports system and this fills us with pride. It arose thanks to an intuition and a vision of the Pesenti family. Now it is easy to say that many protagonists of the next Italian Games will come from here. Surely many delegations will also want to take advantage of such an avant-garde structure to better prepare the appointment ”. Gios thinks precisely of them, of the athletes: “Icelab – he suggests – is an ideal tool for achieving sports dreams”.