The competition was officially opened with the lighting of the brazier by Chosen Major Caporal Mara Zini, bronze medal in skating at the Winter Olympic Games in Turin 2006, in the presence of the Honorable Gioacchino Alfano, Undersecretary of State for Defense, of the General Claudio Graziano, Chief of Staff of the Army and Army Corps General Roberto Bernardini, commander of the Earth Operative Forces and Alberto Primicerj, Commander of the Alpine Troops.
In his speech, the Army Chief of Staff underlined the international dimension of this edition of the championships, with thirteen participating nations, "in a world where security has taken on a global dimension, this type of training becomes important for the safety of our countries. Even in healthy sporting competition, the championships also represent an opportunity for personal and human confrontation ". The Mountain - continued the general - is a training ground where values such as team spirit, discipline and moral integrity that are found both in the military world and in sport are exalted ".
General Graziano, meeting the journalists, then wanted to recall that today we celebrate the Day of Remembrance dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Shoah, against all racism and discrimination, expressing the solidarity of the Army and its staff to the Jewish community for the vile episode of intimidation carried out in Rome last Friday.
The Commander of the Alpine troops, General Primicerj underlined how "experience, human warmth, hard training, great physical preparation are skills that Italy can boast of internationally: all ingredients that we think can make this 66 beautiful and interesting" edition of our championships ".
The Mayor of Sestriere, Valter Marin, also spoke at the ceremony and addressed a greeting address to the participants.
There are about a thousand athletes competing, with representatives of thirteen nations beyond Italy. The event, organized by the Command of the Alpine Troops of Bolzano, includes among other things the women's European Cup, the platoon race - which represents a test of the operational level reached by the Alpine units - and various competitions in winter disciplines, valid for the title of Italian Army Champion. The "queen" race of the Championships is the one among the platoons, a very hard three-day tour de force in which the representatives of all the regiments of the Alpine Troops, of the participating foreign nations, of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps of Solbiate Olona and of the 4th ° Regiment of the Army Aviation. The platoons, fully equipped and armed for operational use, will face numerous tests such as movement on snowy ground with difference in height, shooting with the supplied weapon, precision throwing of an inert hand grenade, slalom, transporting a wounded person, topography, search for an avalanche victim and ski mountaineering relay.
There will also be numerous collateral activities that will alternate in sports competitions and which will be open to the public, thanks in fact to the local community for the kind hospitality offered. We will begin with the concert of the Fanfare of the Alpine Brigade Taurinense (Tuesday 28 January, from 21, at the cinema of Sestriere), to continue with the very interesting meeting "La Montagna - new technologies and equipment" in which the specialized companies will illustrate the industry news (Wednesday 29 January, at 16, at the APT of Sestriere). We will then continue with the Fanfare parade and the suggestive night torchlight procession (30 January in Sestriere, starting at 18.15) and the spectacular technical-tactical exercise (Friday 31 January, at 11, in Pragelato) in which the Alpine will show the public their ability to operate in the difficult winter scenario.
The closing ceremony (Friday 31 January, at 15.30, in Piazza Mercato in Sestriere) will decide the end of the Games and will crown the winners of this edition.
Source: General Office of the Army Chief of Staff - Public Information and Communication Office - Sz. PI
