The Third Edition of the Showdown Two-Tower Tournament
took place during the first weekend of February (see also the June 2010
edition of the webzine). Despite quite unfavourable weather conditions in
Bologna, eight groups of sportspersons from all over Italy stayed at the
Institute for the Blind Francesco Cavazza and challenged themselves
relentlessly to win the podium in both men's and women's
competitions.
Competitions were taken up by 18 women and 26 men who
gave life to a considerable number of events, reaching peaks of
competitive intensity, given the extreme concentration and the physical
and mental energy that every Showdown event requires. Well taken care of
by the Cavazza staff and by people who accompanied them, as well as
referees and the federation's representatives, participants were able to
observe that the quality of the events is increasingly growing, the sports
in Italy becoming more and more popular (it is already widely popular in
many other countries).
Two players challenge themselves with brio at
each end of a rectangular table which has a raised edge all around, a
small goal on each end, and a net in the middle. Referees rigorously
applied the rules
in coaching the games, while players were fiercely involved in smashing with their racket the 6-cm sound ball into the opponent's goal having it passed underneath the net. The bad weather obligated a few groups of athletes to arrive with a certain delay, but that did not prevent the events to take place according to schedule. The weekend challenge was also a time of leisure and sharing, particularly at meal time. Meals were taken at the Istituto
Cavazza, all set and organized
for the occasion. Some people even audaciously braved the snow storm,
maybe to unleash some of the built up tension during the games. The
Two-Tower Tournament was won by Monica De Fazio from SGD in Milan; the
company also won in the male category, thanks to Maurizio Scarso. Bologna
held its own thanks to Marco Ferrigno and Irene Balbo taking third place
on the podium.
The Fourth Edition is in the future, as the
Istituto Cavazza as well as the City of Bologna take much pride in the
sporting event.