Marco Collinetti, Antonio Squizzato and Massimo Venturini are 2.4 Meter Sailors.

 

They met while sailing 2.4 Meters against one anther at Uguali Nel Vento, a disabled sailing facility between Venice and Trieste, Italy. Uguale Nel Vento means equal with the wind.

 

All of them gravitated to that area of Italy to be near Uguale Nel Vento so that they could sail out of a nice facility that could accommodate the needs of their disabilities while at the same time compete against able-bodied sailors.

 

They continue to sail 2.4 Meters against other disabled sailors and able-bodied sailors.

 

Collinetti and Venturini started sailing Sonars in 2006 when Uguale Nel Vento purchased a Sonar. At the 2007 IFDS World Championships they were the 13^th country to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta, making them the final team to qualify. That is quite an accomplishment for newcomers to the Sonar.

 

The 2.4 Meter sailors have been training in a Sonar three days a week and are the first Italian Paralympic Sonar team. In the past, Italy has only competed in the 2.4 Meter class.

 

While they have not traveled to many of the international regattas, the team is fortunate have two Sonars with which to train. One is owned by Provencia de Venato and the other by Uguale Nel Vento.

 

 

This story was returned because it was not “newsworthy” and should be incorporated into a news piece. 

 

The response was that the Italian team is not likely to be a factor in the regatta, but they have overcome a number of obstacles and have a number of supporters back home who would appreciate mention of their team.

 

The story sat in the system from September 5^th until after the 2008 Paralympic Sailing Regatta was over. The Italians never had results that commanded mention in the short seven to nine paragraph articles that included two to three sharp quotes that were prescribed by the Paralympic News Service to recap each day’s racing.

 

Fabrizio Olmi, the Italian 2.4 Meter Paralympic sailor comes from a different area of the country. He sails on Lake Iseo, near Lake Como and Lake Garda. He may be in a wheelchair but that did not stop him from enjoying the art of negotiations with the Chinese merchants and wheeling away from the crafts store at the venue with numerous bags.