Debut edition
The first Italian Fossa Olimpica University Championship will be celebrated on November 7th at Tav Vetralla and Skeet: the event will be the first of its kind to officially award the championships, although the shooting disciplines can boast a long tradition of presence in universities which has materialized in the past years with the very popular Criteria which also revealed many champions of the Italian scene. “2022 was a turning point – explains Pierluigi Pescosolido who has been following university volleyball for almost twenty years and has participated with the Italian teams in four editions of the Universiade – because in the Umbriaverde Criterium we finally achieved that number of Cus present which led Federcusi to officially decree the birth of the Italian University Championship which will be played this year for the first time. There is a long history of intense and effective collaboration between Federcusi and Fitav which has translated into constant economic and organizational support for university sport from the Italian Shooting Federation. Professor Riccardo Massantini, responsible for relations between the two Federations, has carried out careful work over the years which has finally been rewarded by Federcusi's recent provision which officially welcomed our sport among its main disciplines."
International competition
“The practice of clay pigeon shooting at universities – specifies Pierluigi Pescosolido – has played a leading role for at least twenty years also in the context of international competition. It is necessary to remember that athletes, who subsequently achieved victories and won important medals for Italy in Trap and Skeet in the blue jersey, often had their international debut in the context of the Universiade and University World Championships: I want remember the world title won by Giancarlo Tazza in 2008 in China when Gigi Lodde was brilliant third place and the other world title won by Marco Sablone. But for example, the careers of Silvana Stanco, Tammaro Cassandro, Nino Barillà, Alessandro Chianese, Andrea Miotto Andrea Vescovi and Simone Prosperi were also formed in those events.”
Students competing
“With the Italian University Championship in Vetralla next November 7th we are naturally making another important leap in quality. There will certainly be around forty male and female students competing: still attending or with a degree obtained in 2023, but in any case in the maximum age group of twenty-eight. A considerable core will be made up of male and female athletes whom the undersigned has always urged to follow a professional path parallel to that of competitive volleyball. I always point out to my male and female athletes that the shooting activity will end sooner or later, even if, we agree, there are excellent and famous examples of great competitive longevity in clay shooting: concluding one's competitive phase being in However, possession of a qualification that qualifies you professionally will allow you to continue on your path more easily. In recent years our athletes have often obtained their degrees in online universities which have allowed a more rational distribution of time between study and athletic training and that on the platform. However, we are gradually also entering traditional universities with a massive recruitment effort."
The promotion of clay pigeon shooting
“What is really important at this moment – declares Pierluigi Pescosolido – is the transition that the ISSF is making thanks to the direct intervention of President Luciano Rossi. In more recent years, the disciplines of shooting have been systematically ignored by the Universiade and World Championships which no longer included the events of our sport in their programme. The last Universiade in which we were present was in fact the Italian one in 2019. However, the situation is changing radically. In fact, a few weeks ago I spoke at a meeting with an ISSF official and with the President of Federcusi Antonio Dima precisely to define the necessary steps to be taken towards Fisu, the International Federation of University Sports, to permanently include shooting. flight between the main sports of the Universiade and the University World Cup. Naturally, when this stable presence of clay shooting is recognised, it will also be easier for us to promote clay shooting in all Italian universities because in that case the possibility of a prestigious international activity and a possible future in the blue shirt.” (source: FITAV).