Debora Serracchiani is the current Governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the region whose capital Trieste is just about to host two rounds of the upcoming FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Italy 2014
Trieste, Italy, September 20, 2014 – “Personally I didn’t play volleyball, but I was a quite good tennis player and as a teenager I trained over three hours each day, so that I was seeded C1. I started for fun when I was 12 years old in order to accompany my father and six months later I was a member of the pre-competitive team.”
This sums up the competitive career of Debora Serracchiani, the current Governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia. She is the highest political authority of the region whose capital Trieste will host two rounds of the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship Italy 2014.
You didn’t play volleyball but tennis, also a sport with a net in the middle of the court……
Absolutely, but with a great difference: Tennis is a very individual sport whereas volleyball is a team sport, where the collective and not just one ‘star’ is the winning feature. But I see also a similarity between these two sports: the drive and the determination which in my opinion are typical of volleyball and tennis, because there is no physical contact.
Do you still have time to practice some sports?
Unfortunately I have almost no free time: the institutional commitment as Governor occupies much of my time and in my little spare time I hike in the mountains with my two dogs Matilda and Luna.
Do you still follow sports? Which sports are you interested in?
I watch sports mainly on TV and on Sundays I follow in particular the basketball and football results with special attention to my favorite team AS Roma.
Some years ago in an interview you said that it was a mistake to stop playing tennis. Is it an encouragement to your fellow citizens to continue practicing some sport?
Yes, it is. I stopped first because of my university studies and later when I started my career as a lawyer. I wouldn’t do it again; with hindsight, as an adult citizen and also as President of a Region, I have to stress that practicing a sport as a competitive or recreational activity is crucial for everyone, children, youth and adults. It’s also an opportunity to shape civic values, to learn to respect rules and other people. At the same time, sport is also a chance to promote mutual dialogue, knowledge and brotherhood. I say it in my capacity as Governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia, a territory that because of its geographical position and vocation has always been and is still a crossroads of people and cultures.
Hosting the World Championship must be good for the region?Such top events represent an opportunity to make Friuli Venezia Giulia known in Italy and all over the world, contributing to promote our tourism. On behalf of Friuli Venezia Giulia I warmly welcome all athletes, managers, team staff and journalists. I hope they will enjoy a unique sporting event, but I also hope that the supporters will discover a region rich in historical, cultural, artistic beauty with a beautiful landscape and an extraordinary choice of food and wine.
I’d like to stress that Friuli Venezia Giulia and its capital have been once more chosen to host such an important world event and this bears witness to the technical and organisational skills of our region. I think this is a great success for all of us, thanks to the good and close relationship that throughout the years we have developed among our Regional Administration, the local authorities, the Italian Olympic Committee and its Federations, sports clubs and private partners.