TRIESTE RESPIRA RUGBY / June 14th - 18th 2012 // Play at Egor 2012

The European Golden Oldies Rugby Festival began in the Netherlands in 1992, when 18 teams from 8 different countries decided to challenge each other on the pitch. From the very start, the spirit of the tournament has been one of friendship and brotherhood, playing for the joy of game, regardless of the results. Whether rugby is practiced by amateurs, semi-professionals or professionals, there always are unwritten gentlemen rules of behaviour: this specific code of conduct is considered to be character forming and fosters social integration. Since 1992, the event has taken place every two years, and in June 2012 Trieste will host the 11th edition. This is the second time Italy will hold the event, the first being in Verona in 1996. Trieste will therefore open itself up to 3000 participants from all over the world, but Egor 2012 will not mean only rugby. In fact, the tournament will be played on Friday and Sunday, whereas on Saturday all participants will have the chance to choose among several different package tours. History, landscapes, seaside relax, food and wine: all destinations will offer an insight of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia and its breathtaking peculiarities. Egor 2012 guarantees five days of fun, both inside and outside the pitch: a unique opportunity to reunite with old friend and to make new ones, contributing to promote rugby and its values on an international scale. Moreover, the opening party, the stalls near the pitches and on the waterfront, and the closing gala dinner will represent the highlights of a long party, all wrapped up in music and entertainment. At the end of the event, the renewed Prosecco Sport Centre will become the hub for rugby players of all ages, enhancing good open-air training for life.

50 teams are getting ready to rumble!

Egor 2012: vehicle of territorial growth
Economy, sport, tourism and social: this morning’s workshop, organized by the Pro EGOR 2012 Committee together with the local Chamber of Commerce and the University of Trieste and held in the Chamber of Commerce’s Sala Maggiore, has pointed the spotlight on the many opportunities offered from events such as June’s European Rugby over 35s in terms both of development of the area and promotion of those deep human values which have always marked this sport. \"Horizons beyond the touch down” is the first of two appointments, the second set April 17, designed to open the tournament to the city: not only a reunion for enthusiasts, but a party for Trieste. The two panels, presided respectively by the Regional Councilor for Sport Elio De Anna and the Municipal Councilor for Trade Elena Pellaschiar, have called the reporters to illustrate on one hand the history of the festival and its growth over the years and on the other hand the impact generated by similar initiatives on the local socio-economic fabric. Thus, while the President of the Chamber of Commerce Paoletti highlighted \"the uniqueness of Trieste, an ideal location for hosting international events\", underlining that rugby is the \"sport of values in an era of unbridled individualism\", the Regional Councilor for Tourism Federica Seganti placed the emphasis on the million of visitors recorded in 2011: \"a record that events such as EGOR may contribute to beat this year\". Whereas Igor Dolenc, Vice President of the Province, stated that \"rugby is a model of life\", underlining the training values included in the discipline, the Municipal Councilor for Sport Emiliano Edera focused on the three forwards \"tourist promotion, rugby’s growth in popularity and the development of sport centres\". Elio De Anna emphasized the centrality of Trieste in Europe and its role as the gateway to the Balkans, with the possibility that arise in terms of new partnerships with neighbors who have not been considered much, closing with the parting shot: \"we are working on the organization of a great international event linked to the oval ball to be held after the EGOR at the Rocco stadium, right in the centenary of the paròn’s birth\". Edi Sommariva -general manager of Tourism FVG- shifted the attention on the investments stimulated by the event, which EGOR will leave as a gift to the territory a legacy of renewed facilities. Marko Protega -supervisor of three EGOR editions- spoke about the long road of the oldies in the organization of the World and European tournaments, and Sergio Caggia -Vice-President of EGOR- provided interesting insights on the management of the financial side of the event. Inputs which were useful to introduce the speeches held by Andrea Fabiani –representing the Pro EGOR 2012 Committee- who summarized the 2010 edition held in Caernarfon, Wales, and its implications and the Super Beach 5s Rugby organizer Cesare Zambelli, who brought his experience as a promoter of international events. During the second panel, opened by the promise of Elena Pellaschiar to involve commercial activities whose hub will be piazza Ponterosso’s downtown EGOR village, Professor Romano Isler -CUS Trieste’s president and past president of Panathlon- emphasized the fostering of deep cultural values through the participation of people of great intellectuality: a reality which is particularly effective when talking about rugby. Giacomo Borruso, Professor in Economics and Rector Emeritus of the Trieste University, focused instead his analysis on the benefits to the tertiary sector and on the stimulus favored by events such as EGOR in the consolidation of accommodation facilities, with the final aim to develop on an international scale all the potentials of an area such as Trieste. Closing the workshop, Mario Besi -past president of the Florence Rugby Club 1931- returned to the theme of the values of rugby, quoting between these \"teamwork, respect, pleasure, discipline and solidarity\" and underlining the prevalence of fair play over exasperated competitiveness: \"all useful elements –according to Besi- to develop in the new generations behavioral qualities otherwise hardly acquirable\".

02/04/2012 16:18:25 -