Garda Centomiglia Games: Sailing Fleets, International Teams, and Lottery Draw
The countdown is almost complete for the starting grid of the Centomiglia Games on August 24-25, the Garda regattas that will be paired with the billion-euro tickets of the National Lottery, with the drawing scheduled for August 26. The events are promoted by the Comunità del Garda and the Circolo Vela Gargnano.
The fleets and boats
The competing fleets will be four, each consisting of six boats, all built in Garda craftsmanship. The largest squadron will be the Asso 99 monotype, 10 meters in length with a crew of six, three of whom will be on trapeze. The six teams participating will represent Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, Switzerland, and Italy.
The Austrian and Slovenian boats will have all-female crews. Germany will be represented by the Konig Ludwig of Luitpold von Bayern, the great-grandson of King Ludwig of Bavaria. Hungary will be represented by the Detre brothers’ team from Lake Balaton, former world champions and Olympic gold medalists from Moscow 1980.
Italy will be represented by the Italian champions of Simo, with skippers Luca Valerio and Daniele Cassinari.
The competitions and teams
The Dolphin match-race boats of the Pedrini Cento Cup, 8.10 meters long with a crew of four, will represent Garda towns such as Torbole with European champion Silvio Santoni, Brenzone withFederica Salvà, a two-time Olympian, Torri del Benaco with Sydney 2000 sailor Nicola Celon, Desenzano with multiple Italian champions Fezzardi and Borzani, Limone with Simone Bianchetti—the first Italian navigator to complete the Vendee Globe, solo nonstop circumnavigation—and Gargnano with vice European champion Asso 99 Carlo Fracassoli.
The Protagonist 7.50 class, a cruising-racing monotype, will be represented by VIPs and partner associations of the National Lottery such as Goletta Verde, the group of visually impaired young people from Homerus, plus Garda actress Barbara Blanc, star of the soap opera Un posto al sole, Veneto industrialist Giovanni Rana, and a prominent figure from a major institution.
The youth teams and races
The fourth fleet will be the Under 15 groups sailing in small Optimist dinghies, featuring young sailors from Riva, Torbole, Peschiera, Salò, Maderno, and Gargnano. Races will take place on the afternoons of Friday, August 24, and Saturday, August 25.
Each class will have its own ranking, while the billion-euro tickets will be awarded based on the overall standings of the six teams. The national radio coverage will be provided by Radio 24-Il Sole 24 Ore, and the television broadcast will be a live transmission on Teletutto on Sunday, August 26.
An extensive summary will be broadcast by Odeon Tv in the program Controvento, airing Monday, August 27 at 10 p.m. In subsequent days, coverage is planned on satellite TV channels including Ntv Germania, Eurosport, 24oreTv, Sailing Channel, and in September on Fox Sport in the USA, Sky Sport 2 in the UK, Star Tv in Asia, and JskyB in Japan.
Conclusions
The Centomiglia Games thus emerge as a grand celebration of Garda sailing, the largest and most navigated lake in Europe.