Beyond disability. A gym where you can be reborn and become Life Champions in the name of …

by Maurizio Costanzo

A great archery champion like Simone Borgheresi, a well-known and loved Florentine character. A serious accident, the long hospitalization, the painful rehabilitation. Then the sporting rebirth and a dream born during the lockdown: to help those who, after an accident, have been most unfortunate, whose spinal injuries have resulted in severe disabilities. This was Simone’s dream, but she didn’t have time to realize it. But her dreams, you know, are contagious, and her partner Simona Spini she is making it for him. He has set up an association, he has found a facility to be inaugurated soon where to allow patients and the disabled to practice rehabilitative motor activity, so as to help people return to normal, both physical and social. And this is the extraordinary story of him.

Simona Spini, who was Simone Borgheresi for you?

“He and I met in 2010 and it was love at first sight, love at first sight. He was a special person, and everyone recognizes this. He had the ability to bring people together, to act as a glue between everyone. He always went against prejudices and divisions. Although he was tall, big and strong, for him strength did not count, the strongest did not win. He was a special person because he was able to give love without asking for anything in return, if not sincere friendship and love ”.

How was this project born?

“It was born out of Simone’s personality and during the lockdown. When we met he was already an archer, he had already had very good results, including a third place in the Italian championship. Then, in 2011, he suffered a very serious accident. He was hit while he was on a motorcycle, he was hospitalized for two months. Then began a very painful rehabilitation. He had the courage of a lion to be reborn. The accident occurred in September 2011, and in July 2012 Simone was already starting to compete again in official competitions. I remember that time when he came back to compete, he finished last, but in reality for him and for all of us who were there, it was a great, wonderful victory. Covid, which forced us to a period not only of seclusion but also, in my opinion, of reflection, and I say this as a doctor, we found ourselves talking about a dream of him. He wanted to find a Florentine space to redevelop, to make available and to use for those who had been less fortunate than him. Simone knew he had had a very serious accident from which he had miraculously emerged unharmed from a neurological point of view. He always said: I could not get out, or go out in a different way. And he thought about who had been less fortunate than him, about the people who have had major neurological damage. Hence the idea of ​​redeveloping a Florentine place to be dedicated to those who leave the spinal center. To ordinary people, not to champions or necessarily to sportsmen, but to patients who perhaps are an employee or a bricklayer, and who come out of an accident with paraplegics or quadriplegics. And in all of this he would have liked to use archery, because he is officially and scientifically believed to be one sport suitable for spinal rehabilitation”.

But then Simone passed away

“At that point I felt a strength inside me, a will that led me to say to myself: I have to make Simone’s dream come true. It wasn’t easy, even from a bureaucratic point of view, but I met wonderful people who helped me in making Simone’s dream come true and come true. Wonderful people like Professor Piero Amati of the Spinal Unit of Careggi, Gioia Brogi of the sports group of the Spinal Unit Firenze Onlus. A fundamental help came from the councilor for sport of the Municipality of Florence, Cosimo Guccione, who is an archer, took the project to heart and found us the headquarters in via Lunga which is the Palarcobaleno. A little girl won the competition to give the name to the structure, which is perfect for welcoming those with disabilities, is located in a beautiful green area. It has been restored and an artist has created a mural on the wall and embellished the facade. Another fundamental contribution came from Colonel Giuseppe Marascia degli Arcieri Asd Frecce Azzurre, who will lend his work and his ability within the Association. An important contribution came from the Arcieri della Signoria, our historic Florentine archery club, from the president Riccardo Sborgi which together with Daniele Cassiani are awarded by Tropos. Among the founding members are Fabio Rossi, Sergio Vannacci, and Paolo Borgogni. We will inaugurate the activity of the structure between the end of June and September “.

In memory of Simone he also gave birth to an association that bears his name

“We called her Aps, Simone Borgheresi Champions of Life Association and not by chance. Simone wanted to commit to making people champions of life, not of sport, because the competitive clubs that already exist and are suitable for doing this. What does not exist at national level is an association like ours. We are a first-fruits and we will do our best to carry it out, with the help of friends, colleagues, from the city. I say this as a doctor: there is no such reality in Italy. When patients start rehabilitation in the spinal center with Professor Amati, they have a gym and all the assistance available. However, when they are sent home, often in homes that are not suitable for their situation, and if they do not turn to private individuals, after a month or two they are not even able to push their wheelchair alone, to go to the bathroom. They do not have a social life and with our Aps we also think about this. We will do social events such as creative writing or painting. We will involve them in events: a Florentine music school has already proposed that we organize a concert with the music loved by Simone, who was also an excellent musician. We will think both of physical recovery but also of their social recovery “.

Simone has done a lot for many kids.

“He helped Daniele, who continued to shoot with the bow and is one of the founding members of our Aps, whose experience is very beautiful, humanly and clinically. Daniele is a boy who had a severe post-natal disability, Simone followed him personally, especially after the boy’s father passed away. Daniele is currently the Italian champion of his category, V1 in archery and world record holder. Simone followed, among others, a girl with a hip dysplasia that he took to the Italian championships. Together with Sborgi for Alessia, he worked hard to find a prosthesis that could be adapted to the child’s forearm to make her shoot with the bow. He helped Viola, who after having undergone many operations for hip dysplasia at one point she stopped shooting with the bow and continued with the dance. He also stopped when Simone, by the Archers of the Signoria, was called into the squad by the Fire Brigade (where he had been in the military, so he had them in his heart) and with them he became the Italian champion, both of the firefighters and of the joint flag “.

There is also a story behind it all, and it starts with a squad. Can you tell us?

“It’s a story that encouraged me a lot to move forward, thanks to the writer Maria Luisa Bianchi. Every 24th of the month, I put a rose on the scene of the accident with a ticket for Simone. One day I found a note in my turn, in which Maria Luisa gave me her number and asked me to tell her the story of the rose. I called her and a very nice and constructive friendship was born. Maria Luisa asked me to tell this story on Facebook, but at the beginning I was remains. The next month I found a red envelope with 800 comments from the group. At that point I decided to tell the story and I got over 1000 hits. Since then I have been on Facebook where I am known as’that of the rose‘. I created a small Facebook group which will be the official APS group, it’s called A flower for Simone”.

The testimony of Daniele Cassiani

Daniele Cassiani is a boy who had a severe post-natal disability, Simone Borghesi followed him personally, especially after the boy’s father passed away “From birth I have a spastic tetraparesis, archery since ’96 and apart from the two records I won four international medals, a team bronze at the World Championships, a mixteam bronze at the Europeans, an individual silver in the European Cup and a mixteam gold in the European Cup ”, explains Daniele Cassiani.

“I had known Simone Borgheresi practically always – he continues -, since I have been shooting since I was ten, and apart from the friendship that existed, he had the great sporting merit of introducing me to my current coach Giuseppe Marascia, with him last year I made the two world records “.