Archery: The Great Falcon’s Victory

RIO — The LAM National Championship (Medieval Archers’ League) competition on 12 October took place in the morning in Rio Elba, while the afternoon’s City Trophy was held in the Mines Amphitheater of Rio Marina.

“New route of 15 targets through the alleys and squares of Rio Elba, new scenery and a very welcoming town, with great availability from the councilor Mattia Guerrini who immediately gets serious and gives us full support to realize our requests such as the request of the flag-wavers and musicians of Pescia from the Rione S. Francesco, well known to us for three years with their professionalism and skill and their medieval square games which are very attractive for children and not. – explains Patrizio Bolano, president of the Archi del Grande Falco – A beautiful sunny day in which the morning competition, preceded by a splendid parade in the main square of Rio Elba and by the beautiful performance of the flag-wavers and musicians of the Rione S. Francesco di Pescia, took place in a quiet and relaxed atmosphere in which the archers who came from all over Italy were able to admire the streets and the beautiful panoramas of Rio Elba and its history medieval”.

“Let’s now move on to the competitions; – continues Bolano – the one in the morning was very beautiful and demanding as it was the penultimate of the national championship, which also contributed to determining the final ranking for each individual archer and by category. The equipped alleys and squares were filled with people to see the targets, with the archers busy trying to hit the mark and their curious friends following them taking photos and complimenting them. Throughout the course the target was undoubtedly the the most evocative was the one inside the public wash houses of the Rio, in the stupendous ancient structure which had been refurbished a long time ago, with the tubs still functioning, which allowed us to breathe in the ancient washing of the clothes of the Riesi women, our great-grandmothers and great-great-grandmothers who also washed the estates of their children and grandchildren who worked in the mine, because the whole territory in which the two competitions were organized has an important mining history”.

“Beyond the little square of the “Dama” with the target in which the metals were drawn, the “gardens” with the target of the Witch, Piazza Grifi with the flaps, the town was filled with targets and all our boys did themselves honour. – adds Bolano – Once the competition was over, everything moved to the Multipurpose Center of Rio Marina for the delicious lunch, for which we thank the kitchen group and in particular the Cignoni family. Then there were the awards. It’s immediately obvious that Edoardo Ciomei is in the front row and in fact wins the Gold for its unique Under 14 category and Lorenzo Nuccetelli wins Bronze in the same category and good positions always in the Under 14 category also for, Gioia Imbrisca, Dora Cafaro, Sveva Giunchino, Filippo Peria. Ciomei Melissa wins the Gold in the Cat Under 10. Ivan Voloshchuk vince l’Oro in the Under 17 category Foggia Storica followed by Tommaso Mazzi just one point away from winning silver in the same category. Still in the Under 17 category, but Arco Storico, Guenda and Irene Peria arrive 1st and 2nd respectively”.

“Among adults Claudia SchezziniRiese, also goes to the front row, winning at home in the Cat. Dame Foggia Senza Finestra. – continues Bolano – Alfonso Li Calzi conquers the Silver in the thick Cat. Messeri Foggia Con Finestra e Patrizio Bolano the Bronze Fabio Mazzi, Andrea Schezzini and Fabio Nuccetelli also had a good race in the same category. Jens Hasscomes second in the Cat. Messeri Foggia Senza Finestra. They also have a good race in the Messeri Arco Storico category; William Cignoni as well as Marco Ciomei and Natalia Cignoni in Ladies and Salvina De Fazio”.

“In the afternoon, the match was held Trophy of the cities, – continues the president – which was anticipated as a good omen by the performance of the flag-wavers of the San Francesco district of Pescia. It took place in the splendid setting of the Amphitheater, a spectacular location, which brought everything to life, creating a truly Roman Theater atmosphere, as if the Olympic Games of the past were performing. To welcome the competitors there were the last “spectacular” launches of the flag-wavers, who honored the event and who then greeted us with great applause. The competitors formed the trio of teams already announced on the morning of arrival, which were, in addition to ours, those of many companies such as: The Archers of the Civetta of Cortona, The Archers of the Castello di Peschiera Borromeo, The Archers of the Antica Contrada il Dentro di Scansano, The Archers of Borro, The Archers of Certaldo, The Archers of the Pigna, The Archers Civitas Ducalis of Cittaducale, The Archers of the Wolves of the Maremma, the Archers of the Forest and the Archers of the Ferraja District of Pescia”.

“After the preparations by putting up the lists of the competitors, the members of the Grande Falco position the targets, that is, the largest circle where the arrows are stuck in the first round and whoever puts the most arrows in passes the turn, and everything goes smoothly. The shooting director Federica Fossetti gives the go-ahead and for the first pass with the 27 cm circle, the very good competitors go to the pass of the first teams, then everything is repeated with the 20 cm circle for the passage of 6 teams and is repeated again with the 20 cm circle for passage of 3 teams. – explains Bolano – Then the dreamed final which sees our archers from the Grande Falco clash with the archers from the Civetta, a very strong team, and the archers from the Pigna who are also very expert. After a tough final competition the last arrows were really difficult to shoot and insert into the 10cm circle positioned at the distance of 14 meters, and with so many spectators it is not easy. At the end of the contest it was the Archers of our team made up of Alfonso Li Calzi, Patrizio Bolano and Andrea Schezzini, supported by coach Williams Cignoni, who won with huge applause from the public and the challengers; 5 arrows ended up in the target and we become Italian champions. Beautiful match and honor to the opponents, who are both Italian vice-champions.”

“October 12th was our day, we competed like never before, the Drappo won, long awaited for 10 years, ends up in our hands this year and we became National Champions of the LAM City Trophy. The whole event therefore ended splendidly”, adds Bolano.

“We thank all the participating archers who came from all over Italy, the Municipality of Rio, first of all the Mayor and the councilor Mattia Guerrini, the municipal offices in charge, Dr. Barbagli who supported us during both competitions, the Tuscan Archipelago Park for the Book prizes, the Mining Park, Don Mattia and therefore the Parish of Rio Elba for allowing us to install a target in the Canonica area, the Proloco Rio, The flag-wavers of the San Francesco district of Pescia, the Proloco of Lacona, the Bottega del pane di Rio bakery for the two schiacce briache, L’Acqua dell’Elba Srl for the “Profumi” awards, the Conad Nocentini of Rio Marina and its Director Andrea Fratti for the Elba products basket, Helen Tallinucci for the photos and for providing the drone, our entire group jobs he has worked hard for months for the conception and organization of the event, the cooking group, in particular the entire Cignoni family, all the Public Assistance of Rio, first of all Debora Soldani and all the Misericordia of Rio, first and foremost Walter Signorini. Honor and long life to the Great Falcon!”, concludes Bolano.