«For me it is a great honor to be able to bring FISDIR judo to Palermo and to be the Organizational Manager of an unprecedented event for the city. My hope is that the Meeting will then become a fixed appointment in the FISDIR National Calendar».
The words of Joshua GiglioFISDIR national judo technician and creator of the creation of this event entrusted to Conca d’Oro SSD ARL, well describe the expectations placed on the Sicilian appointment, dedicated to one of the most active disciplines on the island. They will be 38 athletes competing to “Palamangano”, an expression of eight companies and of these five will come from outside the region. An important result when compared with the last edition of the Italian Championship, in which 54 athletes took part.
«We are talking about a great numerical response, if you think that it is the first time that a FISDIR Judo event is organized in Palermo»Continues Giglio. “This is also due to the fact that Sicilian judo represents an important slice of the movement at a national level. This Meeting has several objectives: certainly to launch a strong message of inclusion, because on Friday morning there will be an inclusive training to demonstrate the fact that ours are athletes, who train like others and therefore must work with others. Consequently, the reflection is that sport must belong to everyone“. Then there is another objective, equally ambitious. “Given the participation of various cultural associations in the area, it will be important to involve families and children with relational intellectual disabilities to show them, live, that martial arts as a violent sport is only a stereotype and that, indeed, judo is a discipline that it fits in well with the world of relational intellectual disability. The message here shifts to parents and to people who are distant from our world. We want not only to tell but also to show that, with the right guidance of the FISDIR companies, it is possible to grow as athletes and get to participate in events of this caliber.».
The National Judo Meeting, after the inclusive training, will be divided into two parts: an institutional and a sports one. In the first case, on the afternoon of Friday 21 October, the clubs will parade through the streets of Palermo to reach Palazzo delle Aquile, where the Mayor of Palermo and other city politicians will welcome the athletes. Following the press conference, the participants will join the Gazzetta dello Sport event, i Sports Awards Gazette. A first level context, which will see Gigi Buffon, Marcell Jacobs and Bebe Vio among the winners, just to name a few.
«On Saturday we will get to the heart of the races– explains Giglio – with the athletes who will compete in the various categories under the watchful eye of the institutions that will also follow the fights. Among these, I am very happy to have the National President of ENDAS on board Paolo Serapiglia, essential for the success of this event. His organization has always strongly believed in the promotion of FISDIR judo in the area, investing many resources. That the event is of a high level is then certified by the presence of the FISDIR National Councilor Gaspare Majelli and of the National Technical Referent Paola Baroncelli».
