Sports – The president of the provincial Fidal comments on the triumphs at the European Championships in Rome: “They will bring together many young people, we must welcome them with structures and mentality”
by Alessandro Castellani
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| Sport – Athletics – Alessandro Di Priamo, president of Fidal Viterbo |
Viterbo – A long wave of successes that has continued unabated since the Tokyo Olympics: for Italian athletics it is the most glorious moment in history, certified by first place in the medal table of the European championships just concluded in Rome. The president of Fidal of Viterbo, Alessandro Di Priamo, invites us to “exploit this phase to grow sport in our territory, which has suffered for years from a lack of facilities and planning”.
Di Priam, where did this extraordinary season of triumphs for Italian athletics come from?
“As an enthusiast, practitioner and coach, even before being a manager, I can say that the turning point coincided with the election of Stefano Mei as national president of Fidal, our sports federation. He was a champion and in my opinion the athletes recognize him as an authoritative figure, because he experienced firsthand what they experience today. Thanks to Mei, the Italian team is more cohesive and all the athletes are motivated and confident.”
But is it only thanks to Mei’s figure or is there something else?
“Obviously there’s more. Investments that had never been made before in the training of technicians, investments in training programs for prospective athletes, who feel more supported by the federation. Unfortunately, even today athletics is a poor sport and we are in a limiting system, where professionals are almost exclusively enrolled in military groups. Those with excellent qualities join military groups and become professionals, while those who aren’t able to immediately catch the right train have no future: to compete at certain levels you have to train twice a day and it’s impossible to do so if you don’t get paid. This is why I say that our kids are all phenomena, they make a life of sacrifices to almost never receive the right reward. For the general public, we only exist for two weeks every four years, when the Olympics are on. So let’s welcome Tamberi who puts on a show: if he can allow it because he wins, he doesn’t offend anyone and above all he gets people talking about athletics even outside the sports fields”.
Speaking of sports fields, how are we doing in terms of facilities?
“This is a more serious flaw. Things have improved slightly in recent years, but we are still lacking. I often find cities that don’t have an athletics track. For example, as a boy I lived in Tivoli, an important centre, yet I had to go to Rome every day to train, because there wasn’t a track in Tivoli, they only built it a few years ago”.
A problem that we also have in Tuscia?
“Let’s say that the situation in the province of Viterbo is within the national average: not dramatic, but insufficient. The structures are there, but almost all of them have functional deficiencies: there are slopes that do not have stripes, others with broken systems or that are falling to pieces. I am thinking of the school camp in Santa Barbara, in Viterbo, which should be the flagship of our province and whose changing rooms have been closed since 2016. We have pushed hard with the institutions and we hope that they will finally be reopened within a few months”.
Are there any kids from Viterbo who have the potential to become great champions?
“In my experience, we don’t immediately have male or female athletes who can achieve extraordinary results. However, it is very important that the average level is high and that the number of practitioners increases, because the most competitive contexts stimulate everyone to improve and consequently encourage the release of talent”.
How many members does Fidal of Viterbo have?
“Since I was elected provincial president in 2021, we have gone from 10 to 14 affiliated clubs, each of which has an average of around 80 athletes. Furthermore, there is a huge underground world of those who go running for leisure, without membership. I believe that a province as large as Viterbo should have at least 20 companies active in the area and I hope that this is the objective of whoever succeeds me as president of the committee, as I will not be running for re-election at the end of the year”.
The reason?
“I have to give priority to my real work. As I have already said, athletics is a poor sport, which lives almost exclusively on the voluntary work of the enthusiasts who are part of it. But with passion you don’t go shopping, so you necessarily have to dedicate yourself to something else. This is a great limit for athletes, coaches and managers and, unfortunately, I no longer have time to continue acting as provincial president with the right dedication. However, I believe I am leaving a healthier committee than I found it.”
How important is the success of today’s champions for future athletics?
“There will be many young people who will approach our sport driven by the results they see on television, it has already happened after the five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. It will be up to us to know how to take advantage of the opportunity. The watchwords for Tuscia athletics must be functioning structures, more affiliated clubs and an open mentality on the part of those who will find themselves managing the sport: not thinking about their own backyard, but being as inclusive and engaging as possible ”.
Alessandro Castellani
June 16, 2024
