FIPPA Newsletter - December 2007.
Welcome to this edition of the FIPPA Newsletter.
CARLO FARIOLI - FIPPA Board Member, President- Italian Pitch and Putt Association
AN ITALIAN COLOSSUS
Carlo Farioli, the President of the Federazione Italiana Pitch and Putt, has been an international Pitch and Putt pioneer since 1998, when he hosted the first Italian international event at Cetraro in the south of Italy. How fitting then that he should be a joint organiser of the 5th European Team Championships.
He explained to www.fippa.net how he had embarked on organising a major event of this nature.
Q1. What is the most important element in ensuring the success of a venture such as this?
Setting up a team of professional specialists with clear areas of responsibility and competence. In the Chia Laguna resort, such a team was already in place and that was a great advantage. Overseeing the whole project was the strategic marketing manager of Chia Laguna resort, Mike Eivers, who has been of tremendous help in co-ordinating the preparation and the running of the event. Elia and I have travelled here several times during the year but it was important to be able to delegate to someone on the spot. Elisabetta Serafini, the Communications Manager at the resort, has been invaluable to us in publicising the event.
Q2. Who else has been involved?
During the actual event, Alessandra Penna, the events manager of the hotel, dealt with all the day-to-day details and helped us solve many last minute issues.
Q3. Such as?
They would be too numerous to mention because when you have 150 people arriving from twelve different countries, there is no shortage of problems! All the staff here have been wonderfully co-operative in ensuring that all the needs of such a large and varied group of people have been catered for. Luckily, most of our staff speak several languages, which is essential in a situation like this.
Carlo Farioli
Q4. What about the organisation of the Championships per se?
The manager of the golf course, Mara Cogoni, together with Franco Sfregola, FIP&P's international referee, have been in charge of the details of the most important aspect - the competition itself. They have done a great job and have worked extremely hard in quite difficult conditions. It has been an enormous relief to see 163 tee times respected over the three days, with very few rulings from the referee. Our EPPA internationals are well-disciplined and the team managers were a big help in this respect.
Q5. How much does it cost to organise an event like this?
Total expenditure, including travel, will probably exceed €150,000 and this is met by the organisers, the federations and the participants themselves. We have contributed over €50,000 in cash, thanks mainly to the excellent work on sponsorship carried out by Elia in San Marino. We have also received many generous contributions in kind by various sponsors in Sardinia.
Q6. How is Pitch and Putt developing in Italy generally?
In Italy, there are now over 40 courses where the game is played competitively and 23 of these are purpose-built Pitch and Putt courses; the others are adapted executive courses. FIP&P oversees 50 ranking competitions a year and we now have over 3,000 licensed members.
Q7. When and where is the next major international in Italy?
The Italian Open will be on the Virginia course near Lake Como in late September 2008. We are also planning a major event in collaboration with Angelo Llopis in Catalonia and possibly La Grande Motte in France in the shape of a beach Pitch & Putt tournament with a grand final in Northern Sardinia.
Thank you for facilitating a magnificent European Championship!
(with John Manning)
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