Lake Garda - Sport & outdoor

Residence Centro Vela 9th Country Cup

The "Residence Centro Vela Country Cup" will open the traditional Easter Lake Garda Meeting on 5th April

The Lake Garda regatta schedule is very busy – so busy that the first event, the third edition of the Youth Centenary Regatta, was held early (9-12 March).

 

But the event that, over time, has become the most important – as well the most eagerly awaited by the regatta teams – is without doubt the Easter Lake Garda Meeting. For the occasion, the athletes and their trainers (and often their families too) stay in Riva for over a week, taking the opportunity to improve their performance in the unique wind conditions that the lake always has to offer.

 

The most exciting part of the event is certainly the opening ceremony, which includes the young sailors parading through the streets of the town centre, proudly holding their national flags. Colours and smiling faces mingle, while drums accompany the athletes’ steps as they march through the centre of Riva. This energy boost has a truly heart-warming effect on tourists and locals – it is amazing how people join in, even if they are not really connected to the world of sailing, responding to the young people’s smiles with cheers and clapping.

 

 

In this festive atmosphere, the event that starts the Garda Meeting is the Residence Centro Vela Country Cup, scheduled for 5^th April. For the second year in a row, the Residence Centro Vela will be the partner starring next to the Fraglia Vela Riva Club, consolidating a ten-year collaboration that includes considerable sponsoring of young people’s activities. For several years now, the logo of the Residence Centro Vela sponsor has decorated the Optimist and ILCA boat trolleys of professional teams as they travel to compete round the world.

 

In the previous season, as if it had always been meant to be, on the 30^th anniversary of the Residence’s activities (which coincided with the 40^th anniversary of the Lake Garda meetings), this new synergy was born. Considering how very successful it was, we decided on seconds in the form of a unique regatta, with only one athlete per nation allowed to participate. Each athlete will be challenging every other competitor directly, leading to a performance that (weather permitting) will be held in the waters right in front of the Fraglia Vela Riva Club.

This is a celebration in the celebrations, to the beat of music, with entertainment and live comments by Mauro Melandri (Zerogradinord).

 

The competition itself consists of three challenges, and the wind will blow the sole winner right up to the spectators. Who knows, perhaps this year one of our Fraglia Vela Riva athletes could be called to sail for Italy…

Regardless, we are sure that everyone – athletes, spectators, trainers, organisers – will truly enjoy this week.

 

So all that is left for us to say is, MAY THE WIND BE AT YOUR BACK!