When it comes to snow and ice sports, few Friulian resorts churn out talent like Claut. Two very young Trieste girls with a Clautane heart stood their ground during the ConiI Winter 2022 Trophy which took place last weekend in Pinzolo, in Trentino Alto Adige.
Aurora and Valentina Ara, twins born in 2010, respectively won second and fourth place in the figure skating competitions for the 11-13 age group, basic novice silver category.
The two athletes, who have been practicing this discipline from an early age, joined Polisportiva Ghiaccio Claut at the beginning of this season. Living in Trieste, Valentina and Aurora have to make great sacrifices together with their mother to be able to train with Polisportiva: one of the reasons why it is worth it is the talented coach Maryna Barova, who arrived in Italy from Ukraine in October 2021.
The result of the two Trieste transplanted to Claut is also excellent for the regional Coni: Friuli ranked sixth among all the regions despite having brought athletes to the competition for just five disciplines, with a score of 19 points.
Suffice it to say that the region that precedes Fvg in the standings, Veneto, competed in nine different disciplines. Now the next challenge that awaits Valentina and Aurora is another silver race on the federal calendar scheduled for January.
“I am very pleased with this excellent result: the Ara twins are very happy with their placement” said the president of Polisportiva, Giovanna Di Daniel. “Right now the ice rink is busy with work ahead of the Eyof, so we had to train away from home”.
The municipal administration led by mayor Gionata Sturam and the Polisportiva Ghiaccio Claut are also evaluating an idea that could represent the starting point for further sporting and economic growth of the locality.
If it were possible to keep the ice rink open and operational even during the summer months, this could turn into a good driving force for tourism in the valley. In fact, many foreign skating and other winter sports teams are constantly looking for structures for summer retreats.