Cosenza will host Italy’s senior and youth para athletics national teams from November 5 to 8 for a planning camp focused on the 2027 competition season. The main goal is the World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, scheduled for June, where the first qualification slots for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games will be awarded, according to national senior team technical director Orazio Scarpa.
The build-up is set to include the WPA Grand Prix in Grosseto in April and the Italian Senior Championships in May. The camp will bring athletes together with their personal coaches and the federation’s technical staff to coordinate preparation and discuss the season’s plans.
Scarpa described the gathering as a monitoring camp rather than a setting for performance assessments, as it comes at the start of the season. Maxcel Amo Manu and Assunta Legnante will be absent while recovering from injuries, while Francesco Loragno is abroad for a training period. The squad will also include newcomers under observation, among them Beatrice Vio Grandis, sprinter Silvia Di Domenico and thrower Marcelo Jacome Navas.
The youth programme will also focus on long-term planning. Technical director Chiara Vulcan said the meeting would allow staff to review the first year under the current structure and adjust strategies for the development of the sport.
The camp is supported by the Calabria regional government and forms part of the Paralympic Days programme, promoted by FISPES Calabria with ASD Anzianotti Ability and CIP Calabria. Alongside the sporting activities, the programme includes a conference at the University of Calabria in Rende on para athletics as a model for inclusion, addressing sport, accessibility and social participation. Participants are also scheduled to take a guided tour of Cosenza.
Sources: ANSA Sport.