Morgane Herculano talks about her feelings after the Italian stage of the World Cup from great heights in Porto Flavia. “It makes me feel alive.” The story of Switzerland which has three hundred thousand followers and important sponsors and of a group of guys who tour the most beautiful places on the planet with a free spirit
What drives a Swiss girl with a degree in Economics from Harvard to dive from a height of 20 meters from a platform onto the sea in Sardinia? “It makes me feel alive.” He has no doubts Morgane Herculano who participated in the Italian stage of the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup. It’s an easy world for these kids, thirty-seven men and women who dive from great heights (20 meters for women and 27 meters for men). A traveling circus where everyone is friends, at the end of the races we eat together in large buffets and when the races are over no one misses a beer at the after party. Like the one on Sunday evening in the gardens of Inglesias, the town of Sulcis which seeks a bit of visibility through this event to increase tourism. Don’t expect five star resorts and hotels, in Porto Flavia everything has remained as it was many years ago and sometimes progress and innovation are not necessary. The charm remains uncontaminated, the sea water is crystal clear and in front of Porto Flavia which holds the secrets of a hundred years of a mine, there is the Sugar Loaf, a promontory in the middle of the sea which, they say in these parts, was called this because it is similar to that of Rio de Janeiro. Coves and caves, a mine to discover to understand how the world went one hundred years ago and then the dives that brought SUPs and boats of all kinds in front of the competition field on Sunday.
Between professionalism and social
The prizes for these competitions are reduced, but in recent times the visibility has increased and then if you are the queen of social media how Morgane Herculano (about three hundred thousand) then some important contracts arrive such as that of the Swiss athlete with the Arena. Yet that degree in economics will have to be useful sooner or later, even if Morgane at the moment only thinks about diving and all those emotions that diving causes her: “The happiness, the fear, the excitement. I like diving, but I know it’s scary. But I also like doing things that scare me. So I feel alive. But I also know that the consequences of a bad dive can be serious. And it doesn’t matter whether you have experience or not. At night I dream of my bad dives”. Maximum concentration and small superstitious rituals. The small wet towel to wring out and then throw away before the dive, the water to throw on the hot platform before the dive. And then down at ninety mph in three seconds. A dive where the water is bluer like in Porto Flavia.
Tourism and growth
World Acquatics has chosen Marmeeting as a partner and the company led by Franco Arese has organized the event for the second consecutive year, the contract has a three-year expiration and given the success, who knows whether it may still be extended. “Hosting the World Cup in Porto Flavia for the second consecutive year – Franco Arese tells us – confirms the solidity of a project born to last. This second event consolidates the indissoluble link between great sport, tourism and culture, demonstrating that Sardinia is no longer a surprise, but an absolute certainty in the panorama of great heights worldwide”. Aidan Heslop (Great Britain) And Kaylea Arnett (United States) they were crowned as new absolute rulers of the great heights. Sports councilor Vito Spiga enjoyed the three days of diving, the event cost 650 thousand euros and will have an important return in terms of visibility after the live broadcast on RaiSport. “It was an extraordinary tool for promoting tourism as only sport can do”.
