Yesterday, December 11, the opening ceremony of the 26th World Winter Universiade took place: 3,600 people from 61 countries of the world arrived in Trentino to participate in the event - athletes, their coaches and technical staff.
After the summer Universiade in Kazan, held from July 6 to 17, the winter Universiade has moved to Trentino, and will be held from December 11 to 21, 2013. Competitions will be held in various winter sports: skiing and cross-country skiing, biathlon, biathlon, ice hockey, speed skating and figure skating, curling and snowboarding. An exceptional event will combine the excitement of struggle and the entertainment of expertly executed sports elements, and all this surrounded by the magnificent scenery of the Dolomites.
Event
The 26th World Winter Olympics is officially opened; in Trentino, such an event is held for the first time. It will become the largest winter sporting event in Italy until 2020, involving 3,600 people from 61 countries of the world (athletes themselves, coaches and technical staff). Italy is becoming the organizer of the Universiade for the sixth time, and in this sense is the absolute record holder: for the first time this happened back in 1966 in Sestiera, then there were Livigno in 1975, Belluno in 1985, Tarviso in 2003 and Turin in 2007. This year 79 medals will be played in 12 sports: skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, curling, figure skating, freestyle, ice hockey, Nordic combined, speed skating, short track, ski jumping springboard and snowboard.
Universiade Program
Competitions will be held in Trento (figure skating and short track), Monte Bondone (snowboard and freestyle), Pergine (women's hockey), Baselga di Pine (speed skating and curling), Val di Fiemme (ski biathlon, biathlon and men's hockey) and in Val di Fassa (skiing and men's hockey). Already on the 12th the first medalists will appear after five finals: two in skiing, two in snowboarding and one in figure skating. It expects to become the most interesting day of the competition on December 20, when it will be distributed as many as 20 medals, and on the final day of the Universiade, the owners will gain the last four gold medals. This year's program will close the final of men's hockey.
Location
In choosing Trentino the venue for the Winter Universiade 2013, an important role was played by its convenient geographical location on a map of Europe, as well as the recent inclusion of the Dolomites in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Trentino turned out to be an ideal region for holding competitions under the slogan of full social and environmental responsibility. In addition, all conditions for winter sports have been created in Trentino: from fully equipped ski slopes to international-level sports stadiums, where future champions such as Franco Nones (ski races), David Simoncelli and Christian Deville ( skiing), level skaters Roberto Siegel and Matteo Anesi.
A short drive from Trento is the Monte Bondone ski resort, a symbol of the region with indescribable mountain landscapes, sightseeing trails and Via Ferrata (Via ferrata - A term adopted in the field of mountaineering.
It indicates a rocky area, specially equipped with metal structures that help to overcome it with greater speed and lower energy costs than climbing in its usual sense. - Wikipedia).
