(Image courtesy of Agencia Brasil)
Pope Francis will light up Trentino Winter Universiade 2013 ’s torch at the Vatican next week on November 6th.
The torch will then start a tour of Italy five weeks before the 26th Winter Universiade begins. It is being billed as the greatest university sporting event ever held in Trentino, in the heart of the Italian Dolomites, and runs from the 11th to 21st December, 2013.
The famous Italian ski province will welcome over 3,000 participants from around 60 countries supported by 1700 volunteers, with athletes competing in wintry locations around Trento and surrounding valleys. The venues include Trento and Monte Bondone, along with the Fassa and Fiemme Valleys, Baselga di Pinè and Valsugana – each venue selected for its suitability for a particular sport.
It is the first time Trentino has played host to the bi-annual university games although Italy has hosted the summer and winter versions of the event four times, most recently in Turin in 2007.
“This great honour is a tribute to the majesty of our mountains, to the excellence of our sporting venues, and to our long-standing passion for sport,” said a statement from Trentino.
Many of the world’s top athletes already choose Trentino as their training base. The Val di Fassa is the headquarter of the Italian Alpine Ski team while neighbouring Val di Fiemme is the national team’s Nordic and Cross-Country base. Andalo and Paganella welcome the Norwegian Alpine Ski team, with Svindal moving into the base vacated by the US Ski team, including Bode Miller and Ted Ligety. In summer the valleys are home to major football teams, from Bayern to Inter Milan, Naples.
The Universiade is also being seen as a stepping stone to Italy hosting the Olympics again in a decade’s time, ,”The Universiade is an amazing opportunity to launch Italy’s nomination as seat of 2024 Olympic Games,” said Sergio Anesi, Trentino WU’s OC president.
The Trentino Winter Universiade 2013 will be a zero emission event.