AREZZO – An evening to celebrate the values of sport expressed in everyday life. The city of Arezzo will be home to the fourth edition of the “Golden Eagle” award which will renew a unique format of its kind aimed at celebrating and telling the virtuous stories of athletes and personalities from civil society who, with their action, have proven to be positive examples of commitment and determination, resilience, ethics and fair play. The event, organized by Ginnastica Petrarca in synergy with the Municipality of Arezzo and CONI, is scheduled with free entry at 9.15pm on Monday 8 July in the evocative setting of the Medici Fortress and was presented during a conference hosted by Estra which further consolidated its closeness and commitment to supporting the award for its sporting and social importance.
One of the innovations, from this perspective, is represented by the choice to name one of the awards given during the evening after the multi-utility: the “Estra Golden Eagle” award will be given to the athlete identified as a testimonial of the values of commitment and determination. «Estra has always had a special relationship with sport – explains Francesco Macrì, president of Estra, – which represents the most important social network in this country because it involves everyone more or less directly: families, third sector, businesses, institutions. It is therefore essential to reward those who, with their example, exalt the highest values of sport».
The great protagonist of the fourth edition of the event will be the gymnast Igor Cassina who will receive the “Golden Eagle – Value in success” award, succeeding Sara Simeoni and Daniele Bennati in the roll of honor. The guest will share anecdotes, memories and stories of a sporting journey that found its heart in winning gold on the bar at the Athens Olympics in 2004, winning the five hundredth Italian medal at the Games and becoming the first Italian athlete to win in this apparatus with an innovative exercise that the international federation has called by its name: “Cassina Movement”.
The evening will then propose an alternation between sports stories and moments of entertainment and entertainment which will find their fulcrum in the extraordinary presence on stage of national-level guests. The event program will be coordinated by the actor, comedian and singer Sergio Sgrilli who, among the most beloved protagonists in the history of Zelig and artistic guest of the “Golden Eagle” award in 2023, has embraced the aims of the event by assuming responsibility for it directing and conducting. «We are very happy to present this edition of the award – comments Federico Scapecchi, sports councilor of the Municipality of Arezzo, – which responds to the objective of the municipal administration and of Petrarca Gymnastics, the oldest club in the city, to reward the values of all Arezzo sport, associated with the values of civil society. The champions of sport, in fact, are also the champions of life. The level of artistic and sporting guests will allow the prize to attract the public for major occasions at the opening of the Arezzo summer cycle of events».
During the evening, the “Golden Eagle” award will be awarded to three athletes and three representatives of civil society for the categories “Commitment and determination”, “Resilience” and “Ethics and fair play”, values identified as fundamental in practice sport intended as an education and training tool for future generations. The names will be announced in the days preceding the event and will be identified by a jury representing the municipal administration, Coni, journalism and civil society, as well as the Petrarca Gymnastics which inspired the initiative. Finally, another recognition will be the special prize awarded by CONI and named after Giorgio Cerbai which will be awarded to a young athlete chosen with the involvement of citizens following a vote on the Petrarca Gymnastics Facebook page between Sunday 19th and Sunday 26th May. The event, promoted with the collaboration of the Guido d’Arezzo Foundation and the Arezzo Intour Foundation, will once again rely on the support of numerous local entities including Atam, Banca di Anghiari e Stia, Ercolani, Fabbroni, Arezzo Municipal Pharmacies, Menchetti, Moka Più, Np Preziosi and Pastorelli. «The choice to reward not results but values – adds Simone Rossi, president of Petrarca Gymnastics, – represents a unicum for the attention to training, education and development of sports culture, and this can be the key to explaining the reasons for the exponential growth of this event in just a few years. We thank Estra, the institutions and commercial partners for their renewed closeness and consolidated support for the “Golden Eagle” award in favor of the development path of an event that aspires to an increasingly broader scope, as confirmed by the level of guests and the collaborations with artists of the caliber of Sergio Sgrilli».
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Petrarca gymnastics
