Plogging. Six Messina players at the World Cup:

“The opponent is a wrong mentality”

TEMPOSTRETTO.IT article by Simone Milioti

Thursday, September 29, 2022 - 1:20 PM

The world plogging competition will take place on Saturday 1st October, with six athletes from the ASD ARB Messina taking part.

MESSINA – Plogging continues to grow in Messina, so much so that the organizers of the world championship have noticed and invited Sicilian athletes to participate. In the end, six will set off for Villar Perosa, Piedmont, with the aim of cleaning up the Olympic Valleys of Sestriere.

It is a practice of Swedish origin that consists of picking up waste found on the street while jogging.

ARB Messina President Davide Liotta recalled how a children's activity on May 29th marked the first Plogging event in the Messina area. Two more events for adults followed on July 31st in Peloro and then in Milazzo on August 25th, coinciding with the Allinparty.

The top finishers from those two training days are those called up for the World Cup. From the Messina event: Gabriele Cama, Paolo Alibrandi, and Nadiya Sukharyna. From the Milazzo event: Saverio Mancuno, Carmelo Bruno Priscoglio, Simone Orlando, and Salvatore Falzone. However, only six of the seven will travel; Priscoglio will not be making the trip for personal reasons.

Plogging: Sport and Civic Education

Participants will have to run, covering a 25 km course in 6 hours, collecting as much waste as possible. As Gabriele Cama, one of the next participants, explains, "Weight doesn't matter, but the judges evaluate how much CO2 is emitted by the collected waste." There are specific tables in which each type of waste is assigned a score; obviously, unsorted waste is worth more in the race.

However, President Liotta is keen to point out, the competition "is not against an opponent, but rather against a flawed mentality. Negligence and indolence towards the environment," which is why, upon returning from Piedmont, the focus will continue to be on environmental initiatives.

Participation in the UniMeGames, starting October 7th, is already planned, with a stand. A date for all nine Sicilian plogging capitals is also planned, organized with the help of the island's Italian Sports Centers. Finally, Liotta makes no secret of his plans to organize a city plogging competition on the streets of Messina.

Many partners of the initiative

Among those who fully supported the initiative was the Franza group. Present at the press conference was Pietro Franza, who explained that the problem is the mentality: "From cigarette butts thrown on the ground to paper out the window, we need to make cities and citizens better."

Another sponsor of the initiative is the Gestam group. The CEO noted that "it's difficult to call out a citizen" while littering, almost as if to emphasize that plogging is a more effective way to call out litter. Mediterranea Eventi and Pro Loco Peloro, which hosted the two events in recent weeks, were also present.

Professor Conforto, delegate of the rector of the University of Messina, also spoke, emphasizing that the University "must be there and take responsibility." Santino Smedile of the CSI, the Italian Sports Center, also attended the event.

The absence of the Municipality of Messina

The mayor was unable to attend, but the Municipality of Milazzo, among the partners, is keen to continue its plogging promotion efforts after the August event. This presence highlighted the absence of the Municipality of Messina.

When asked a specific question, President Liotta responded: "A deafening silence from the administration. We've been in touch via text, email, and certified email, but we haven't received an official response. I would have been happy to put the logo of my city's municipality on my jersey. They've made it clear they're available, but I'm still waiting for a response."

Today, September 28th, at 12 noon, a press conference was held at the Hotel Royal in Messina to present the PLOGGING team that will compete in the final of the world championship in Setriere Val di Perosa from September 30th to October 2nd 2022.

Present at the press conference from left:

Alfredo Finanze Nadiya Sukharyna Gabriele Cama Saverio Mancuso Paolo Alibrandi Pietro Franza Davide Liotta Mariano Perroni Nello Cutugno Smedile Santi Fiammetta Conforto Ettore Liotta

They were not physically present, but we know that they are in the team:

Pippo Midili, Mayor of Milazzo, and Antonio Nicosia, Councilor for Sports of Milazzo

THE TEAM:

Gabriele Cama

1st place in the Messina race

Paolo Alibrandi

2nd place in the Messina race

Nadiya Sukharyna

3rd place in the Messina race

Saverio Mancuso

1st place in the Milazzo race

Carmelo Bruno Priscoglio

2nd place in the Milazzo race

Simone Orlando

3rd place in the Milazzo race

Salvatore Falzone

4th place in the Milazzo race

SPONSOR:

ARB of Liotta Insurance

Franza Gestam Srl Ciemme Advertising Group

City of Milazzo

City of Milazzo

ASD ARB Messina 

ARB-ETS Cultural Association

Italian Sports Center Messina

Pro Loco Capo Peloro

Mediterranea Eventi - Sport Events Promoter