A system of fans to sail small boats on chlorinated water, bringing smiles to 350 astonished children who encounter the America's Cup even where there is no sea. It is a festive morning in Caivano, where Sport e Salute, in collaboration with the Ministry for Sport and Youth and the regional section of the Italian Sailing Federation, has promoted an initiative to bring the world's oldest international sporting competition still in existence — arriving next year in the shadow of Vesuvius — closer to the outlying suburbs. And so the swimming pool of the "Pino Daniele" sports centre is transformed into an original regatta course. Two Optimists, the quintessential training boat, were propelled across the water by artificial wind, giving the young participants the opportunity to experience the thrill of sailing in complete safety. Guiding the children were instructors from FIV Campania, joined by the Circolo Nautico Arcobaleno Torre Annunziata, the Mascalzone Latino Sailing School and the Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia. "The future is not something we wait for: it is something we build, every day. With one year to go until the America's Cup, the journey has already begun and we want the world's greatest sailing event to leave a legacy that goes well beyond the competition. Our challenge is to transform a major sporting occasion into an opportunity for growth for the country, opening new possibilities for young people, schools, local areas and suburbs, leaving no one behind," said Diego Nepi Molineris, chief executive of Sport e Salute, which manages in Caivano, together with the Fiamme Oro, what was once considered a "theatre of horrors" and is today a bastion of legality and a true sports hub used daily by the children of the Illumina Camp. "All of this is possible thanks to a shared vision and strong institutional collaboration," Nepi Molineris emphasised, accompanied by the head of the Sports Department of the Presidency of the Council, Flavio Siniscalchi, and by the president of FIV Campania, Pasquale Orofino. The Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, sent a message referring to "another promise kept," with "sailing reaching even the suburbs." This morning's event is "one of the many initiatives we are putting in place to make this wonderful discipline known and discovered. A different way," the minister added, "of preparing for the wonderful appointment with the America's Cup."
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