Lo sport has a great function of inclusion towards the people with frailtyas well as of social gathering e standard bearer of legality in the most peripheral places.
The experience of “Asd Penitentiary Police”
A Sondrioin the suburban district “The plate”from June 2020, the social judo gym called “Asd Penitentiary Police”. In it, the practice of sport at all levels joins the pursuit of the law and to help at people in troubleboth during the phase of greatest upsurge of the pandemic from Covid-19allowing children without means to have the tools of the distance learningwhich on the side ofUkrainian emergency, giving refugees the opportunity to play sports. Interris.it interviewed its founder about this social sport experience Maurice Duraretired State Police officer and coach of judo who has served in some of the toughest areas of Napoliincluding the Quartieri Spagnoli and Scampia, operating in the field as part of the investigative judicial police, on the front line in the fight against street crime and the Camorra.
The interview
How was it born and what objectives does “Asd Police Penitentiary” have?
“Asd Police Penitentiary” was born from a project called “Valtellina Judo”. Judo has been my activity for a long time and I started practicing it in the “Maddaloni” gym in Scampia. Our goal is to try to include young people through sport, trying above all to make them understand what is good and what is bad, without excluding anyone. Let’s continue the 360-degree inclusion of every fragility and disability. Judo should be for everyone. Everyone practices it as they can. In particular, in this sport, it is not important to win the opponent or knock him down, but the most important thing is to reach out to him to get up. I always say that, the last can be the first if they are properly supported. We have been collaborating for a long time with the Fiamme Azzurre, the sports group of the Penitentiary Police, therefore our aim is to transmit the values of legality through sport in a social gym in which everyone has the same opportunities as others, regardless of their economic and social status.
Based on your experience, what value does sport have in promoting the inclusion of people with different frailties?
“Sport is very important. I divide individual sports from team sports. Working with several children with disabilities, for example with autism and I had to face a rather particular situation, i.e. I was asked if there was a special course for them and I answered no because the other children must learn to respect and help the child with autism and his parameters. Also, if we have a competition and he can’t do certain exercises, we have to stay close to him and the boys are very happy. This is teamwork to do. Here the children who have helped others to become better than them have been rewarded. Even one of them, after winning a race, rejoiced but, when he came to the gym, he dedicated the medal to them and thanked them for their support. This represents the most beautiful victory in sport.”
What is your hope for the development of judo as a Paralympic discipline?
“As regards the other Paralympic sports, the kids who practice them at certain levels are absorbed by the various sports groups and consequently supported and therefore there is a greater incentive to practice these sports. Instead, for judo, this is not foreseen, despite the fact that it is a Paralympic discipline and I am sorry for the kids who practice it and I would like to underline the question to have an answer for them.”
