体坛英语新闻：Interview: "Sports mind" lies behind organization of Winter Universiade 2013

By Sportswriter Marzia De Giuli

TRENTO, Italy, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The 26th Winter Universiade which runs from Dec. 11-21 in northern Italy was made ready in the record time of one and a half year while it usually takes six years to prepare the international event.

Who was the mastermind behind this feat? In an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Organizing Committee President Sergio Anesi described himself as "an amateur athlete" who has practiced "all kind of sports" in the course of an intense, grassroots life story.

"A CHALLENGE OF CHALLENGES"

"The organization of this Universiade was a challenge of challenges because of the role that I have had in the sports world for so many years," Anesi said.

The key to success, he explained to Xinhua, was creating a " network" among different institutions to value the characteristics of the Italian northern region, which is endowed with extraordinary environment, high-level infrastructures and sports experts.

"I put all these things together, and our small group of people rose to become a committee that counts on some 2,500 members including 2,000 volunteers," he said. "Transferring our experience to the many youngsters who enthusiastically work here was the most fulfilling emotion."

And to think that everything started "almost by chance," Anesi pointed out. Trentino had originally submitted a bid for the 2017 Winter Universiade, but days before the official presentation,the then government led by Mario Monti said there were not funds to host the event.

"However, the International University Sports Federation (FISU) had seen how we worked and when it realized that Maribor, Slovenia, could not guarantee the Universiade, asked us to secure it," Anesi said.

FROM EVENT ORGANIZER TO MAYOR AND CONI MEMBER

"I had the good fortune to start my career as director of a tourism promotion bureau. There was a frozen lake close to my home town Baselga di Pine, so I begun to organize races there," Anesi said.

From then on, his involvement in sports activities continued to increase. From 1986, Anesi contributed to organize several events in Trentino including heats of world cup, a European championship, a world all-around championship and a world junior championship.

When from 2000 to 2010 Anesi was the mayor of Baselga di Pine as well as the president of the surrounding district, sports funding accounted for more than 20 percent of his budget. The small town built an Ince Rink Pine composed by a 400m speed ring and a 30x60m indoor stadium.

Anesi also commented on several speed skating races for Italy' s state television Rai and Eurosport, including the Winter Olympics in Nagano, the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and the Winter Olympics in Turin where he hardly restrained his urge to yell when his son Matteo won the gold.

"My grassroots story with skating was extraordinary because it was built step after step, until this year I was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI)," he said.

NEVER GIVE UP

Alesi's main challenge in the organization of the Universiade, he highlighted, was to compensate an initial very limited budget.

"I only had 2.4 million euros plus another 2 million euros in service from Trentino, and nothing from the central government," he said.

"But then we asked for sponsorships and got some more money. An Universiade costs between 15 and 18 million euros but we had some services provided by FISU and Trentino, while the organizing committee raised a total of six to seven million euros," he noted.

Yet, many were still not confident in the event's success. There were "some doubts as we did not have the Olympic Village we had planned to build before 2017. Yet, we managed to build a network of some 100 hotels and accommodate all the athletes," Anesi explained to Xinhua.

Though the toughest challenges of his life were related to family situations, "from the sporting point of view, this Universiade certainly was the most challenging event," Anesi said. "I never thought of giving up. I would rather slam against an obstacle if I cannot overcome it," he stressed.

Anesi added his committee was not currently thinking about organizing a Winter Olympics. "However, after having held this Universiade, surely we would be able to organize such a big event, "he noted. "I do not rule out anything, so it maybe," Anesi said.

POOR ROOTS AND CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY

"I come from a very poor family, which makes me feel proud. My father was a worker who extracted porphyry. Yet, during the winter he used to hold a skating rink for tourists on the nearby frozen lake, which was my first encounter with skating," he said.

Life was hard with Anesi. His father died at 65, while his mother had Alzheimer for 23 years. Anesi has a 50-year-old sister in a wheelchair whom he looks after every day. "Sports has helped me and my family overcome all these difficulties, it taught us to be stronger especially in defeats," he said.

Anesi said he has always tried to set an example for his three children. He encouraged Matteo, who is a professional athlete and an economics student at university, also by showing to him all the problems that Anesi's sister had.

"I have always told Matteo that life had been more generous with him, therefore he had to give his best also at school if he wanted to become a good athlete," Anesi said.

A LAND OF "SPORT-MINDED" CHAMPIONS

Matteo was not the only champion from Baselga di Pine, which gave birth to various top athletes including Roberto Sighel, who won the 1992 World Allround Championships, and new emerging talents such as Andrea Giovannini, who took the gold at the World Junior Speed Skating this year.

The harshness of mountain life, which pushes into doing one's best, as well as a well-established sports culture have been fundamental ingredients for these athletes, Anesi noted.

But at large, he also added, commitment to sport is not enhanced in Italian universities and "this is a goal that we are trying to pursue now with the new course of CONI."

Being sports transversal to health, well-being and quality of life, much more money should be invested to both provide sports for all citizens and cultivate the talented athletes who are lifestyle models in society.

"I think that sports practice should be included in the Constitution not only as a right of all citizens but also as a duty of the State to support and encourage it," Anesi said.