Catania 2011: "Are You Ready?"

[gladius]

From the FIS web site http://www.federscherma.it/news.asp?i=91636&s=7 edited excerpts of Catania 2011 presentation press conference in Palermo, the capital of the Region of Sicily, the major sponsor of these championships


Messrs. Lombardo, Scarso, Manzoni

From the sponsor, the Region of Sicily

Raffaele Lombardo, President of the Region of Sicily, "Sicily must thank the sport of fencing for selecting this land for its 2011 World Championships... We are betting a lot on the organization of sporting events because we firmly believe that sports help tremendously the tourism business of Sicily. The figures say so. The return on the investment we decided to make in sports, in this case in the sport of fencing, turns out exceed our rosiest expectations."

The numbers:

25,000 visitors expected by the local hotel industry during the world championship with an average of EU 130 ($180) spent per person per day.

From the LOC

Sebastiano Manzoni, LOC President, "We are working day and night to be ready on opening day. The entire staff and the companies in charge of the various aspects have all the single objective to make this an unique event in full synergy with the FIE and FIS. Works at PalaGhiaccio [venue] are in full swing and online tickets sale continues."

From the FIS President address

(a) National and international TV coverage

"These world championships which are a fundamental stage in the race for the Olympics will be broadcast live on RaiSport and can be seen in 42 countries around the world, thanks to the most welcome decision of the main sponsor, the Region of Sicily, to release free of charge images rights to TV broadcasters of all countries with athletes competing in Catania. This is a unique situation and an excellent opportunity to promote fencing in the world," said Giorgio Scarso, FIS President.

(b) Opportunity for Sicily, Italy, and the world of fencing

"An opportunity for Sicily and the sport in Sicily, for Sicilian fencing to promote the sport on its territory."

"For Italian fencing which can use the "home court" advantage of the World Championships before the Olympics both to aim for and gain the Olympic qualification for London of the largest possible number of fencers, and to state once again the role of international leader not only on the strip but also as an organizer."

For the world fencing since the FIE has found a local administration--the Region of Sicily--which understood all the potential that a world championship can bring."

(c) A powerful social message

Scarso stressed the importance of the social message, "The integrated two championships represent for Italian fencing an arrival point of gradual steps of cooperation with the Paralympic Committee but also a starting point for the new way to understand the world of fencing, one and integrated."

(d) "Fency," the prickly pear, is these Championships' mascot

During the press conference the new mascot of these championships was unveiled, "Fency," a prickly pear [typical fruit of Sicily] which will be with the fencers and the public during the Catania championships.


Over 50 national teams at the pre-championships training camp in Enna

From http://www.federscherma.it/news.asp?i=91769&s=7

More than 50 national federations from all 5 continents will be hosted in Enna from the end of September until the start of the championships for a period of training and acclimatization. This is part of the FIE training program ahead of the world championships organized by the Sport Science department of the Kore University in Enna with the cooperation of the university, the FIS, and the city administration of Enna.

The organizers are preparing a program of collateral activities for the participants which will include a promotion/exhibition fencing tournament.

So far 11 European countries, 12 from Africa, 13 from the Americas, 17 from Asia, and 1 from Oceania will have their athletes, coaches, and national delegates in Enna.


Excerpts from the press conference in Rome at CONI (Italian Olympic Commission)

From: http://www.federscherma.it/news.asp?i=91835&s=

Raffaele Pagnozzi, Italian Olympic committee (CONI) general secretary, said, "Fencing is the safe of Italian sport. More than one medal out of five comes from fencing."

Ana Pascu, FIE Vice President said, "The Italian Fencing Federation has a leading role in the world both on and off the strip."

About 1,700 fencers representing 130+ countries together with 200 paralympic athletes from 30 countries will compete in Catania.

International TV coverage

International TV networks which have accepted to carry this event so far:

• Japan: TV Asahi Corporation
• Germany: Zwetes Deutches Fernsehen; WDR/ARD German radio; ARD German TV
• Great Britain: BBC TV
• Hungary: Hungarian TV and Radio
• South Korea: KBS
• USA: NBC Universal
• Brazil: Sports TV/Globosat
• Slovenia: RTV
• Spain: TVE Sports
• China: CCTV Sports
• Romania: Romanian Television

The commitment of the Region of Sicily, main sponsor

Total investment: EU 9 milion (2009 to 2011)

ROI: on average, each euro invested in the sport generates a return between 2.5 and 3 euro

25,000 people expected for the championships, 4,000 people involved in the organization of this event.

350 medals in total: 180 (50 gold, 50 silver, 80 bronze) for Olympic fencing and 170 (45 gold, 45 silver, 80 bronze) for Wheelchair fencing.

TV coverage in Italy

Rai Sport will have extensive daily live coverage on RaiSport2 plus interviews and commentaries. Jacopo Volpi, Vicedirector of RaiSport said, "For us the world championships in Catania are very important. We will have a live broadcast of 3 hours each day on Rai Sport 2, a digital channel... We will broadcast also through non digital channels."

The FIS public relations theme will debut in the next few days with the slogan (in English), "Are you ready?"

[Youssri]

Yaaaaaaaay! ♥Fency the prickly pear♥

I am HIGHLY skeptical of what it means that NBC is "covering" the event. I hope it comes out on Federscherma.tv, or the YouTubes quickly. I'm gonna watch EVERY event!

If only I still lived in the Sonoran desert I could have prickly pear snacks for game night =(

[MBalderson]

More on Fency the prickly pear:

http://cowidget.demotix.com/news/819...ess-conference

"FENCY, MASCOT OF THE "Catania 2011": An international mascot with a homegrown Sicilian flavor. Infact a prickly cactus pear by the name of “Fency” will be the symbol of the World Fencing Championships "Catania 2011." “Fency” was created by the winners of a competition open to young students and athletes from the national federations affiliated with FIE, and won by two young Sicilian fencers, Concetta Dell'Albani from Avola e Rosa Inzirillo from Mazara del Vallo, who presented the same creative concept : prickly pear. The motivation that led the jury, composed of representatives of the Regione Sicilia, the FIE, FIS and to reward the idea of the prickly pear is linked to its representation of Sicily and its sweetness. Full of energy, color and vitamins, the originality of this eye-catching completely Sicilian mascot (90% of Italian production of this fruit is concentrated in Sicily, particularly in Catania) will present the flavor of this fantastic fruit to all those who take part in the World Championships. And so, "Fency" is destined to become the "main character" of "Catania 2011", a good luck charm for Catania, for athletes and fencing enthusiasts from around the globe."

The link has more pictures of Fency

[D'Art]

I suppose it's a more positive representative than a machine gun, or brown bag would have been if they'd gone down the Mafia route...

[Gav]

International TV coverage

International TV networks which have accepted to carry this event so far:

Japan: TV Asahi Corporation
Germany: Zwetes Deutches Fernsehen; WDR/ARD German radio; ARD German TV
Great Britain: BBC TV
Hungary: Hungarian TV and Radio
South Korea: KBS
USA: NBC Universal
Brazil: Sports TV/Globosat
Slovenia: RTV
Spain: TVE Sports
China: CCTV Sports
Romania: Romanian Television

Really???

[Gav]

Anyone know when we get to see the official website?

[jeremyb215]

Yaaaaaaaay! ♥Fency the prickly pear♥

I am HIGHLY skeptical of what it means that NBC is "covering" the event. I hope it comes out on Federscherma.tv, or the YouTubes quickly. I'm gonna watch EVERY event!

If only I still lived in the Sonoran desert I could have prickly pear snacks for game night =(

NBC Universal covers a lot of the less popular sporting events. Right now they're showing track and field (I'm home sick today so I just checked). They've shown curling, rugby, BMX racing etc. It would not suprise me a bit if the coverage was going to be fairly extensive.

Fency cracks me up.

[multum in parvo]

More on Fency the prickly pear:

http://cowidget.demotix.com/news/819...ess-conference

"FENCY, MASCOT OF THE "Catania 2011": An international mascot with a homegrown Sicilian flavor. Infact a prickly cactus pear by the name of “Fency” will be the symbol of the World Fencing Championships "Catania 2011." “Fency” was created by the winners of a competition open to young students and athletes from the national federations affiliated with FIE, and won by two young Sicilian fencers, Concetta Dell'Albani from Avola e Rosa Inzirillo from Mazara del Vallo, who presented the same creative concept : prickly pear. The motivation that led the jury, composed of representatives of the Regione Sicilia, the FIE, FIS and to reward the idea of the prickly pear is linked to its representation of Sicily and its sweetness. Full of energy, color and vitamins, the originality of this eye-catching completely Sicilian mascot (90% of Italian production of this fruit is concentrated in Sicily, particularly in Catania) will present the flavor of this fantastic fruit to all those who take part in the World Championships. And so, "Fency" is destined to become the "main character" of "Catania 2011", a good luck charm for Catania, for athletes and fencing enthusiasts from around the globe."

The link has more pictures of Fency

Fency for CEO! I love how all those execs managed to keep straight faces while Fency and mini-Fency were boppin' around.

[Inquartata]

I am HIGHLY skeptical of what it means that NBC is "covering" the event.

Alas, it's main significance is probably that it means no Cyrus of Chaos videos of it...

"FENCY, MASCOT OF THE "Catania 2011": An international mascot with a homegrown Sicilian flavor. In fact a prickly cactus pear by the name of “Fency” will be the symbol of the World Fencing Championships "Catania 2011."

... the idea of the prickly pear is linked to its representation of Sicily and its sweetness.

Indeed? In the same way that the potato is "homegrown" to Ireland, and the tobaccco plant to China?

[Youssri]

From cataniaescrime2011.com

"THE MEDALS
350 medals that award the best fencers in the world: 180 that will enrich the top Olympic athletes, out of which 50 are gold, 50 silver and 80 bronze.
70 millimeters in diameter with a border made of 3 millimeters of diamonds, finished in gold, silver and bronze. The logo of Catania, the design of a geographic map of the Region of Sicily holding a sword is featured in the center."

*Bling*

[gladius]

Great Britain: BBC TV

Really???

Yes, really! In the first part of my OP you can find that the sponsor of these championships, the Region of Sicily, has ceded the rights to images and rebroadcast for free to broadcasting entities in the countries represented at these championships. GBR is one such country and BBC TV took the deal. What BBC TV will do and whether it will broadcast hours of fencing on TV in the UK and when, that's something you ought to find out by contacting the BBC.

Indeed? In the same way that the potato is "homegrown" to Ireland, and the tobaccco plant to China?

About ficodindia, the "prickly pear," you may find this useful to widen your horticultural and history knowledge

http://italianmade.com/food-details/...na-19-346.html

Nowhere else in the Mediterranean basin is the ficodindia (prickly pear) so widespread as in Sicily where it is a constant leitmotiv of the natural landscape. It has become an iconography of the region, in particular the area around Mount Etna and Catania.

In Sicily it is often consumed for breakfast especially during the grape harvest (early October) when laborers picking grapes were traditionally given by the landlord a hearty breakfast of fichidindia to prevent them to eat too many of the grapes they were supposed to harvest (this is how the Sicilian mind works).

The prickly pear which originates from Mexico, appears also on the coat of arms on the Mexican flag.

The name of the old Aztec capital (today Mexico City), Tenochtitlan, derives from tetl = rock and nochtli = prickly pear, and means "prickly pears [growing] on rocks."

Why is it called fico d'India in Italian (and Opuntia ficus-indica in Linnaean taxonomy)? Because of the Italian born Christopher Columbus who didn't know where he was going when he set out, didn't know where he was when he got there, and didn't know where he had been when he got back... but he brought back from his trip(s) tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and... prickly pears (ficodindia).

But you already knew all that...

Incidentally, the 2008 Acireale Junior and Cadet World Championships had a lemon for mascot, another fruit for which that area is famous. Sicily has been a major agricultural producer ever since the Greek (about 500 years) and Roman (about 700 years) times. No surprise that their selection for a mascot is related to products of the earth.

From cataniaescrime2011.com

"THE MEDALS
350 medals that award the best fencers in the world: 180 that will enrich the top Olympic athletes, out of which 50 are gold, 50 silver and 80 bronze.
70 millimeters in diameter with a border made of 3 millimeters of diamonds, finished in gold, silver and bronze. The logo of Catania, the design of a geographic map of the Region of Sicily holding a sword is featured in the center."

*Bling*

Picture...

[KD5MDK]

What BBC TV will do and whether it will broadcast hours of fencing on TV in the UK and when, that's something you ought to find out by contacting the BBC.

I think this is the part he was skeptical of.

[Gav]

The BBC have declined to tell anyone what their plans are. It's under a month till the event now.. So it's almost certain that there will be no coverage outside of highlights - if at all. The BBC journalist who normally covers fencing has said that he's no idea what's going on either. In fact this journalist will be elsewhere in the world (though he says that there will be someone).

[gladius]

The BBC have declined to tell anyone what their plans are.

Well, you are better off than the French... No TV coverage of Catania 2011 in France.

From the FFE web site edited excerpts: http://www.escrime-ffe.fr/competitio...e-londres.html


Frédéric Pietruszka, Président de la Fédération française d'escrime (FFE) shared good news and bad news at the press conference ahead of Catania 2011.

The good news

Summary of Paris 2010 world championships.

• Maureen Nisima, WE, gold
• ME team, gold
• WS team, gold
• the magic venue of the Grand Palais
• EU 650,000 receipts from ticket sales which prevented the two federations (Olympic and wheelchair fencing) to incur a deficit.

The bad news

• The minimum importance and weight the [French] media give to minor sports like fencing.
• Some members still oppose the efforts to get media exposure [mediatisation] for fencing which in actuality fencing needs if it wants to expand and grow.

"Irrespective from the fact that fencing in France is the top earner of Olympic medals, the Olympic qualification process in our sport does not elicit any interest among the media outlets, and Catania will not be rebroadcast on French TV," laments Frédéric Pietruszka before asking, "What should we do to be acknowledged [by the media]? What role should the media play in French sports? Expose and highlight the failures/scandals or educate on the respect of the rules and highlight the victories? What role should the public [broadcasting] service play? Show the sport as it is practiced every day or be guided only by its [potential commercial] value?"

This lack of interest on the part of the media about fencing is not just a French peculiarity. This is why the FIE has set up a commission on fencing media exposure, said Pietruszka. "The commission is conducting an international debate to democratize our sport. I think we should try to attract most people with what is at play rather than focusing only on the play/game itself."

Even if Frédéric Pietruszka suggests ways to ensure that fencing gets out from the anonymity into which it is slowly sinking, even if the fencers are showing friendliness, spontaneity, and are at ease in interviews with journalists, this game is far from being won.

One who wants to win on the other hand is Eric Srecki; an Olympic qualification for the four weapons with a team event in London (WE, WF, MF, and MS) and of course the qualification of two French fencers for ME and WS.

"I don't want to present you with the eternal goal of 4 to 6 medals which everybody by now knows," said the National Technical Director (DTN). "I wish to emphasize the principles of having fun and a good fighting spirit. We need to find fun on the piste," hammered Eric Srecki, before reminding reporters who may harbor some doubts, that France is a great fencing nation.

"In the last two world championships, we didn't run into much luck," concedes the DTN, "but the wheel turns and a podium or a title can be gained or lost by so little."

Next week, all teams will go to Vittel in France to participate in the traditional final-stage preparation. A special period utilized by the coaching staff of Team France to fine tune the fencers and their mental preparation in view of the Catania world championships.

Catania 2011 will not be seen on France TV but can be followed through flash news on the FFE website.



Eric Srecki DTN and Frédéric Pietruszka, FFE President

[pillow]

I must say, it is excellent to be brought up to date on the French Federation and their problems. It is very comforting to know that the USFA is not the only NGB having trouble. If only the French Federation and the USFA were run by the great Giorgio Scarso all our problems would be solved.

I have invited my friends in France to come to the USA to watch the Worlds on NBC/Universal. I'm sure the coverage will be comprehensive.

[Gav]

I'm fairly certain, given they're listed as "partners", that the full event will be available on Eurosport. I've been badgering the Beeb - to no avail.

[jeremyb215]

I'm fairly certain, given they're listed as "partners", that the full event will be available on Eurosport. I've been badgering the Beeb - to no avail.

I'm thinking of shooting NBC Universal an e-mail to see how extensive the coverage will be.

Lucky for me, though, there's a ROKU box in my house, a nice little piece of technology that gets Nexflix streams, Pandora and most importantly, Youtube fed directly to the big HD-TV in the living room. It's so much better watching fencing on a big tv than a laptop monitor.

[Gav]

[QUOTE=jeremyb215;939928]I'm thinking of shooting NBC Universal an e-mail to see how extensive the coverage will be. [\quote]

Don't think do.

The rest of the Brits just don't appear to be all that interested. And if UK fencers aren't interested there's bog all chance of getting the event on telly.

Lucky for me, though, there's a ROKU box in my house, a nice little piece of technology that gets Nexflix streams, Pandora and most importantly, Youtube fed directly to the big HD-TV in the living room. It's so much better watching fencing on a big tv than a laptop monitor.

Yeah media streaming is pretty cool. I still prefer watching anything like that on my hi res monitor though - much better quality than a telly (which I don't own anyway).

[jeremyb215]

[QUOTE=Gav;939932]

I'm thinking of shooting NBC Universal an e-mail to see how extensive the coverage will be. [\quote]

Don't think do.

The rest of the Brits just don't appear to be all that interested. And if UK fencers aren't interested there's bog all chance of getting the event on telly.



Yeah media streaming is pretty cool. I still prefer watching anything like that on my hi res monitor though - much better quality than a telly (which I don't own anyway).

I'll e-mail NBC soon, and keep everyone updated about the schedule, if there is one.
A hi-def tv is a sweet thing to own. When watching fencing on my small laptop monitor, I feel as though I'm losing too much detail.

[Youssri]

You know Imma slap that HDMI cable from the laptop to the flatscreen for this one! Viva scherma!