Karin Oberhofer, strong biathlon athlete of the Army Sports Center, will turn on the tripod in Piazza del Magistrato in San Candido on Monday afternoon, officially starting the 69 ^ edition of the "Alpine Olympics", with 11 Nations military athletes competing the Trophies at stake.
The opening ceremony, which will be attended by the highest civil and military authorities, will start at 15.30 on Monday, preceded by a parade of athletes through the streets of the town and a musical carousel by the band of the Alpine Brigade Julia (live streaming on the sites www.meteomont.org e www.ana.it).
A week of sporting events, with over 1500 soldiers competing from all over the world to verify, through a fair competitive comparison, the level of training achieved in knowing how to operate in a mountain environment and in snow conditions.
The Defense Chief of Staff, General Claudio Graziano, and the Army Chief of Staff, Army Corps General Danilo Errico, will attend the opening ceremony which will officially start a week of sporting events with over race 1500 soldiers from all over the world to verify, through a fair competitive comparison, the level of training achieved in knowing how to operate in a mountain environment and in snow conditions.
Speaking of the importance of the military ski championships, he stressed how this opportunity is "a precious training moment during which the military's ability to operate in a mountain environment and in extreme conditions is verified".
"As I have pointed out recently - added General Graziano - the mountain is an excellent training ground for life and the high professionalism of our alpine troops has allowed delicate interventions during the exceptional wave of bad weather that hit central Italy. But in addition to the great sporting value, the CaSTAs are also a precious opportunity for aggregation and a vehicle for cooperation and dialogue between soldiers of different nations."
Alongside the competitions, there are numerous moments of entertainment open to the public, including two beneficial events (with free admission tickets) organized at the Dobbiaco Ice Rink and made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Federation of Ice Sports (FISG) and the Sports Groups of Aeronautica Militare and Fiamme Azzurre.
The first, a Para Ice Hockey game between the national teams of Italy and Slovakia, will be on stage already Monday afternoon (start at 17.30 and delayed on RAI Sport shortly after midnight), while the next evening (from 18 with delayed on RAI Sport from 00.30) will be Valentina Marchei with Ondrej Hotarek and Charlene Giugnard with Marco Fabbri to enchant the public with an exceptional performance of figure skating.
Furthermore, on Monday afternoon, a temporary philatelic service will be activated at the Sala Resch of San Candido (from 14 to 19), where enthusiasts and collectors will be able to purchase the Championships postcard with a special postmark cancellation (available in limited editions until stocks last ). Also in this case the proceeds of the initiative, made possible thanks to the interest of the South Tyrol Section of the National Alpine Association, will be entirely donated to charity.
