In Italy surfing is emerging, a sport widely practiced in some world nations but much less in Italy, also due to its geographical position that does not allow for sea areas suitable for the waves of surfers. It is also a sport that has always been labeled as American and here in Italy it has never attracted young people especially in the 80s and 90s. But luckily the discipline began in the new millennium to be practiced more and more in Italy, it really fascinated many young people and girls.
In my city, a country in southern Italy, a sports association has been created for surfers only and in recent years they have the habit of gathering in a particularly favorable area of the marine coast, a pebble beach but with a sandy bottom that allows to the waves not to break immediately and to create a width that allows the ride by long surfboards.
It is really nice to watch them because they convey a sense of freedom as they scurry from one side of the wave to the other.
It is confirmed that surfing (shortboard style) will be one of the new entry sports during the next Tokyo 2020 Olympics, skidded in 2021. Confirmed for surfing, the dates for the next Olympic games in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028. One specialized jury will determine the performance of each rider, with a score from 1 to 10. The score value will be based on the difficulty of the maneuvers performed with focus on: speed, power and flow of each maneuver. The category will include 40 surfers some of which are already confirmed, being the most important of the World Surf League including: Gabriel Medina, J.J. Florence, S. Gilmore and the champion Italo Ferreira. Other surfers will have to face a qualification to be held this spring.
In Italy, the Federation that promotes the development of surfing is FISURF, which has allowed the Peninsula to be permanently among the top twenty nations in international tournaments and which has created a new generation of world surfing promises. Among the young promises there is Leonardo Fioravanti, class of '97, a young promise of Italian surfing (and not only) and 2016 Under21 World Champion: a business card certainly not just to be presented to the waves of the Tokyo 2021 Games!
As a child Leonardo developed a passion for surfing, followed by his brother instructor, and at the age of 6 he began to travel the world to train between the coasts of Brazil, France, Australia, trying to improve technique and speed. At the age of 10 he began to win the first races and the first under 14 trophies. In 2013 he obtained his first important trophy by winning the under 21 European championship which immediately projects him in the international professional panorama and in 2017 it is certainly a year to remember. Leonardo gets access to the World Surf League. He is the first Italian to reach the surfing world championship.
In March 2020, before the stop due to the pandemic, also in the World Surf League, Leonardo achieved the biggest victory of his career in March with a first place at the Sydney Pro Surf. Italy has a really good chance to inaugurate the debut of the new Olympic discipline in the best possible way.