It was the most attended edition ever: 400 people, including athletes, companions and volunteers who made Giocando Senza Frontiere 2024 a unique experience for the Romagna area.
The event was held in recent days in Ravenna, at the Marfoglia athletics field, after a 4-year stop caused by the covid epidemic. The initiative is aimed at people with disabilities who attend daytime and socio-occupational centers in the area, and is organized by the social cooperative La Pieve and the Csi committee of Ravenna, in full collaboration with social cooperatives and sports clubs from Romagna and beyond.
“Giocando Senza Frontiere has existed since 2015 – says project coordinator Gabriella Zivanov, from the La Pieve cooperative -. This year, despite 2 centers not being able to participate due to logistical problems, we had record attendance. The desire to meet was really great. The kids literally went crazy with joy. And also for us organizers, for the educators and for all the people who gave us a hand, it was a unique experience. It took a lot of effort to make it happen, but seeing the joy and smiles of our kids repaid us amply. A heartfelt thank you to all the people, organizations, schools and associations who gave us a hand.”
There are 5 disciplines included in the Playing Without Borders regulation: speed 25 metres, walk 400 metres, team route with passing of the baton, vortex launch and wheelchair race. “Some athletes prepare during the year – continues Zivanov -, while participating in the sporting activities offered by their day centers and by the CSI, but for those who do not have the opportunity to practice sport ‘Giocando’ is an opportunity to try, to try your hand at a competition, to compete with other classmates and friends. Sport is a unique tool in our work as educators. It attracts kids a lot and manages to keep them present and active. This, obviously, when the activities are adapted and organized on the person, highlighting his potential. It is not the person who adapts to the context, but vice versa. The disciplines we propose at Giocando Senza Frontiere make the kids feel like protagonists; they realize that sport is truly for everyone and this helps us to raise awareness even among the most reluctant families to introduce their son or daughter to sports.”
Sport is not the main objective of Giocando Senza Frontiere, the event has always been thought of as a moment of sociality and inclusion: “This meeting is a way to show the world of disability to a larger audience – concludes Zivanov -, it also gives us social cooperatives who deal with disabilities the opportunity to meet and network. For many kids it is an opportunity to meet and discuss, for new experiences and new friendships.”
