Backgrounding Piedmont

 The purpose of this post (and others that will follow) is to introduce you to the Piedmont Region and Turin.

Piedmont is a region in the northwest of Italy, next to the border with France. The main city is Turin (Torino), which was host to the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.  Piedmont is surrounded on three sides by the Alps, including the Monviso, where the Po River rises, and the Monte Rosa. It borders with France, Switzerland and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Aosta Valley.

The area is justly famous for its wines, which include some of the best produced from Italy, such as Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Dolcetto and Moscato D'Asti. Its local cuisine is renowned throughout Italy and the precious white truffles of the region have been compared to gold because of their cost and delicacy.

Piedmont consists of the provinces of Alessandria, Asti, Biella, Cuneo, Novara, Turin, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, Vercelli.

Click on the image below to view a YouTube video highlighting the features of Turin.  

Link to Zoom Meeting Recording

Zoom Meeting Recording Link

It was fantastic to see so many people on our Zoom call today. If you were unable to make it, copy and paste the link below and watch at your leisure.

Let me know if you have any questions!

 https://zoom.us/rec/share/Bhc7441ZejHfph0IaSfLbB86AUvvQwVcsYrNWcK8bCg_QGbpPhTeJpIuBYjhfB9G.enq_qUzoQXq8DmUU

Passcode: Jri%20wN

Mark

 

The Official Final Leg Logo

Hello Team,

We are very excited to share with you the Official Final Leg logo for 2025. We have shifted from our traditional red banner/ribbon to colors that match the official colors of the 2025 Special Olympics World Games.

We would kindly ask that you not yet share this logo. There are a couple of minor legal hurdles that must be cleared before we can truly make it public.

This logo, along with the official Games logo, will be on our uniform kit pieces, trading pins, challenge coins, etc. 

As soon as we get notice from SOI, we will let you know so you can use it in your own communications.

See you all soon!

Mark

First Meeting with the Italian Local Organizing Committee

 

Meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) & SO Italia

Hello Team,

We had our first meeting with Special Olympics Italia and the LOC on Thursday, and it was an excellent meeting. The LOC and SO Italia shared with us their proposed schedule for the Final Leg and for a first try, we were very pleased. There are some tweaks to be made, but we are gearing for a spectacular, life-changing event for all of you. We will have another meeting with them before we meet next Thursday. 

Now, I'm not going to provide any spoilers here, but I am going to tease you and say that during our Zoom, we will not only share the tentative schedule, BUT share a combination of opportunities that have never been offered before. So, if I were in your shoes, I would do anything and everything I could to attend our Zoom meeting on Thursday.

OK, I have harped for months about the importance of being in good physical shape for the Final Leg. Please remember that we are going to be running at the base of, and likely into, the Italian Alps. That means we may have runs with inclines and declines. I would strongly recommend you add hill repeats into your training regimen. As I've said before, I want all of you to enjoy every single minute of this extraordinary opportunity.  

"We are the Guardians of the Flame,

Final Leg Torch Run is our name;

We carry that Torch, and we carry it high,

running with the Athletes by our side;

We carry that Torch all night and day,

Running that Flame to the Turin Games;

UP THE HILL,

DOWN THE HILL,

'ROUND THE HILL,

THROUGH THE HILL;

We are the Guardians of the Flame,

Final Leg Torch Run is our name"

I am also hoping to unveil our new Final Leg logo at our meeting. See everyone on Thursday!

Mark

 

Torch Runner Speeches

During each of our ceremony stops on the Final Leg, we will get to hear from an Athlete and a Torch Runner, who will share their LETR and Special Olympics journey with the attendees. 

For our athletes, each of them will have the opportunity to speak multiple times at ceremonies and special events as we traverse Italy. Because we have many more Torch Runners (74), only a handful will have an opportunity to speak.

Now, I know some of you HATE public speaking, but don't worry, we're not going to force anyone to give a speech. BUT I also know there are many of you who would love to share your story with the world - literally!

So, if you are interested in speaking to a crowd while we're in Italy, please inform your Team Leader. As soon as we nail down the number of ceremonies and special events, we'll make selections from those who have expressed interest, allowing as many as possible the chance to speak.

During the ceremonies, we will also hear speeches from a local government official (usually a mayor), and a high-ranking police official. 

At the conclusion of the speeches, there will be a gift exchange. Our athlete will present a very nice, encased medallion to the mayor, and the Torch Runner will provide a small gift to the police official. That small gift can be a shoulder patch from your agency, something representative of your region (a Vermont Torch Runner brought a small bottle of maple syrup), or some other item you think would be appreciated, or a combination of all of the above - it's up to you. It is not supposed to be lavish, so no Tiffany jewelry is necessary (you can save that for the Team Captain - just kidding!). In exchange, the athlete and Torch Runner will receive a small gift from the city officials.

Hope that all makes sense!

Can't wait to see a bunch of you on June 20th!

Mark

 

2025 World Games Logos

 

The Official 2025 World Games Logos

We are very excited to share with you the official logos for the 2025 Special Olympics World Games in Turin, Italy!

The unveiling of the official logo and formal naming convention for the Games now allows us to finalize our Final Leg logo. The 2025 Final Leg Team will have a logo unlike previous Final Leg logos and we'll be very excited to share it with you in the coming weeks. The basic structure of our logo will be the same, but there will be some exciting variations that we believe you will appreciate.

Additionally, we have had a few preliminary conversations with Special Olympics Italia regarding the Final Leg and I am confident by our meeting on June 20th we will have some substantive information to share.

In the meantime, stay safe, stay healthy, and RUN, RUN, RUN!!

Full Team Meeting

 

Full Final Leg Team Meeting

Hello 2025 Final Leg Team.

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, at 4:30 PM EDT (USA), we will be hosting a full team zoom meeting. This call will include the following individuals:

• Final Leg Management Team
• Advance Teams
• Torch Operators
• Documentation Team
• Team Leaders
• Athlete Torch Runners
• Law Enforcement Torch Runners

The purpose of the meeting will be to put faces to names and share information about our trip to Italy in March 2025. We will share as much information as we know at the time of the meeting, and answer some of the questions you likely have.

The time of the meeting was selected to accommodate our very international team and allows teammates in Australia and Europe an opportunity to join at a time that's not too outrageous. We realize that not everyone will be able to make the meeting, so it will be recorded and posted for your review at a later time.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible on June 20th (21st for those in Australia).

The link is below:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/9458736772?omn=92820190621

Meeting ID: 945 873 6772

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