The former national badminton champion takes to the field for solidarity and sport. Important signal for Pantelleria
“A shot of solidarity for the Blue Tree” is the name of the event which took place on 2 November 2024 at the Zubebi tensile structure in Pantelleria, thanks to the stubbornness and enthusiasm of Felice Pantano, President of the ASD ‘L’Airone dei Twenty’ as well as former national para-badminton champion 2018/2019.
Supported and encouraged by professionals from the world of sport, on this sunny day and a harbinger of warm promises, all the participants were able to animate the spaces of the tent, enlivened not only by the proactive energy of the young people from Pantelleria, but by young people who, having arrived on the island at their expense from Palermo and the province, they would like to see a real sports center built in Pantelleria for carrying out diversified activities.
“We do all this out of passion, and not to make a profit”declared Felice Pantano, who made clear the importance of an alternative to everyone and everything, showing us the joyful enthusiasm and dedication of our young people to action in the game of Tamburello, a team sport whose origins are lost in the night of the times and whose matches are refereed by the same boys, with zero risks in terms of health and inconsistent costs in terms of economic investments.
“Today we are here for demonstration purposes, and we owe it to Felice, who brought badminton to the island and with whom we want to collaborate by involving the Association in tambourine ball. – he explained Save PlaiaProvincial Delegate of Palermo, member of the Commission and Coach of the National Para-Badminton Team – It is not the first time that we promote and organize ‘different’ sports, there are not only football, tennis and other usual activities, and we want to involve disciplines in which fair play is more evident. We are returning from a trip to Sardinia and it will be a huge pleasure to launch the first course for referees on the island. The Plaia-Pantano combination works wonderfully, and so does the Sports Councilor, Benedetta Culoma, it gave us a lot of incentive to continue, supporting us where necessary. I like Pantelleria because it is ‘wild’ and hospitable, and I would like it to be at the center of a wide-ranging sports project, with the possibility of promoting regional and national tournaments: why go elsewhere?”
To the question “What are you asking as an Association operating on the island that collaborates and intervenes with its peculiarities?”, Felice Pantano replied that it is necessary, first of all, to extend greater attention and awareness towards those people who, for various reasons, they face life with various daily difficulties, first and foremost the evident inequity in access to social and health services, and all types of architectural barriers; effective collaboration on the part of the municipal administration (concessions on accommodation facilities and flight rates) in seasonal phases of light tourist attraction, so as to be able to revive the influx of people in the so-called ‘dead’ periods and give impetus to deseasonalization: considerations , also shared by Gino Dioguardi, regional secretary of the Badminton Federation and regional delegate of FIPT (Italian Tamburello Ball Federation), great collaborator and motivator of the group.
Also present at the event as protagonists of the day were the young people belonging to the “L’Albero Azzurro” Association, whose President, Aange Rizzoexpressed the happiness of the children in having been contacted and involved by the “L’Airone dei Venti” Association in this experience whose intent was to participate and continue together to achieve shared objectives.
“Our kids have different kinds of difficulties, but they always know how to get involved. We will treasure this experience and encourage them to participate in new sporting activities, always respecting their inclinations.”
The organized event also embraced a fundamental cause for the implementation of the project ideas and, again Angela Rizzo, showed us the beautiful and colorful display of ceramic creations with the proceeds of which the Association will cover what is needed to continue in intent; in particular, this time, for the purchase of a defibrillator, after having completed the First Aid course offered by the Misericordia, aimed at adequately dealing with every possible complication.
The organizers did not forget to thank those who facilitated the implementation of the event: the Red Cross, the DAT, the Kirani and our singer Charlotte, who donated, with great generosity, her precious musical time.
“We are seeing that ‘together we can’ – declared Pantano – andToday it is an immense joy to see the gym full, but we would like it to be truly full of Pantelleria and everything that will potentially be possible to build and accomplish in reality. We will make a lot of ‘crushing’ and bring many people from the mainland, creating movement and opportunities in our territory.”
“I care about this island”, he concluded.
And it would really be time, we add, for Pantelleria to be in the hearts of all of us, for dignified space to be given to the recognition of our differences with effective, not trivially abstract actions, with the offering of multiple perspectives, in order to truly experience the great gift of otherness.
Franca Zona
