From National Championships to the World Stage: Cassino Prepares for the FISU Cross Country Event

“We have reached the culmination of a journey that began one year ago. Cassino was hosting the Italian National Cross Country Championships, where some of the greatest athletes competed, including Olympic champion Nadia Battocletti, and our President was already thinking about the next goal: the World University Cross Country Championships. Together with Deputy Vice President Laurent Ottoz and the Mayor Enzo Salera, they flew to Lausanne to advocate for our bid. After a careful selection process, we won thanks, as President Calce said, to ‘our ability to welcome guests and our deep attachment to Cassino, demonstrated on that occasion by Mayor Salera, the only one proudly wearing his mayoral sash.’

So we can say without fear of contradiction that the CUS truly knows how to work as a team! And today we are just eleven days away from the opening of the Championships.”

Journalist Laura D’Onofrio opened the press conference for the presentation of the FISU World University Cross Country Championships with these words. The event took place in the San Benedetto Hall of the Banca Popolare del Cassinate, the main sponsor of the competition.

The hall was filled with attendees, including the Mayor of Cassino Enzo Salera, the President of the Banca Popolare del Cassinate Vincenzo Formisano, the Rector of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio Marco Dell’Isola, the Municipal Councillor for Sport Maria Concetta Tamburrini, the Regional Councillor Pasquale Ciacciarelli, the President of the CUS Cassino Carmine Calce, along with many representatives of political institutions and law enforcement authorities. Also present were students from the University of Cassino, who will contribute as volunteers to the organization of the event taking place in Cassino from March 13 to 15.

“An event that is now just around the corner,” said President Calce. “Delegations from nearly 30 nations around the world are arriving in Cassino, and there will be 12 international judges. The CUS has assembled a team of escorts and service staff who will take care of all the needs of our guests. On the field there will be 100 international trainees and 100 Italian trainees. All races will also be broadcast via live streaming on the FISU website.”

During the press conference, the Italian athletes selected for the World University Cross Country Championships were officially announced. Sixteen athletes have been called up in total: eight women and eight men. Among them are the Italian champion in short cross country and relay events Melissa Fracassini and the eighth-place finisher at the latest European Championships in Lagoa in the under-23 category, Lucia Arnoldo.

Starting on March 10, the various delegations will begin arriving in Cassino.

On March 12 at 11:00 a.m., a conference titled “Sport, University and Well-being” will take place in the Great Hall of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, organized by Professor Cristina Cortis, the Rector’s delegate for sport and health.

On March 13 at 5:00 p.m., the athletes—preceded by the historic procession Terra Sancti Benedicti—will parade from Nicholas Green Square to the Teatro Manzoni, where the opening ceremony of the World University Cross Country Championships will take place.

On March 14, the competitions will officially begin at 9:00 a.m. on the fields in the Folcara area, following the opening ceremony. The races will conclude with the awards ceremony at 12:50 p.m.

In the afternoon, delegations will visit the Roman Amphitheatre of Cassino and Rocca Janula. Later, starting at 4:30 p.m. in Piazza Corte, they will have the opportunity to witness the historical reenactment of the Oath of the Abbey Militia, followed by the parade of the historic procession Terra Sancti Benedicti through the streets of the city and a performance in Piazza Diamare.

On March 15, the final races of the Championships will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the awards ceremony scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

At 6:00 p.m. in Piazza Diamare, the closing ceremony of the Championships will take place. During the ceremony, awards will also be presented for the initiative “Cassino, a Showcase to the World.” Local businesses that decorated their shop windows with a World Championships theme will be introduced. The most original display will receive a reproduction of the “Athlete of Cassino.”

President Calce and the CUS received unanimous praise from all those present for bringing an international event of this scale to Cassino—an event that not only carries great sporting value but also represents an important opportunity to promote the territory and to inspire younger generations through sport and its values.