The idea of “Sport For Nature” was initiated by Stefano Tirelli: Professor at the Catholic University of Milan and Doctor of Sport and Sport Sciences, mental coach of top international athletes and commentator-presenter of television and radio programs; where issues such as mental and physical sports preparation are topics of main discussion. Stefano Tirelli is also a great traveler and explorer in the different continents of our planet.
Professor Tirelli, since the age of 15, has always been passionate about environmental issues and problems inherent to defending Nature; he was a member of international associations and over time, became an activist-spokesperson. In 1994, he founded the Ecolife Center in Milan which, in addition to recommending techniques for the maintaining of natural well-being, laid the foundation for the divulgation and organization of activities aimed at protecting the environment.
At the age of 50, he decided to combine the two main activities of his life by creating a concept and an Association called “Sport For Nature” that attempts to enhance the important and powerful communicative effect of internationally renowned sportsmen towards the new generations, inviting many of his athletes to become testimonials of documentaries that Tirelli himself has filmed in the world and in the Arctic. Images collected and scientific studies show how the effects of Global Warming are threatening the survival of glaciers and the environment overall. In January 2018, he went to the Svalbard Islands, remaining for 10 days alone in the polar night to study the metabolic effects on himself, the absence of constant light, the typical daily rhythms of the metropolis and traditional social life. It is precisely in this circumstance that he personally ascertained how fast the effects of global warming at the most extreme latitudes are at the disadvantage of flora, fauna and consequently on man himself.
That is when he decided to create the first documentary in collaboration with Sky Sport in October of the same year called 'Sport For Nature Svalbard' in which he shows the alarming situation that the archipelago of the Svalbard Islands is experiencing. He interviewed scientists and representatives of local institutions supported by soccer and volleyball players of the Italian A Series and the French Ligue 1. The documentary was followed live on different social networks by thousands of people and broadcasted for four months on the Sky channels and covered by national press and radio.
In June 2019, he produced the second program in collaboration with Sky in Iceland, supported by dozens of top international soccer players and coaches called 'Sport For Nature Iceland' which was also broadcasted for months and was also visible on Sky Sport On Demand. The second edition largely exceeded 200,000 followers on social media and won the 'Books For Peace Special Award' in September 2019 for the Lazio Region and the First Prize of Overtime as the best documentary at the ten-year film festival and sports documentaries in Macerata.
Sport For Nature has also been discussed and published by SportWeek, Gazzetta Dello Sport, Tuttosport, Runner's World and Men's Health, as well as broadcasted in various Italian schools and universities. Among the institutions that Professor Tirelli of Sport For Nature has been invited to speak to, there are Panathlon Pesaro, Lions Club Pavia, Civic Aquarium of Milan, where he was present as a speaker and organizer of the Blau art exhibition by Maestro Elia Festa in favor of sea protection awareness.
In November 2019, Professor Tirelli was a guest and a speaker at the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Oceanographic Institute to present the Iceland docu film at the Earth Festival. He also presented the upcoming projects for 2020, that unfortunately were suspended due to the Covid pandemic that affected the whole world.
The Sport for Nature Association has had many initiatives for 2021; a three day photographic exhibition at Monaco’s Yacht Club in late September early October where pictures of the Svalbard Islands, Iceland and Patagonia expeditions will be exhibited together with photographs of Federica Brignone taken by Photographer Artist Giuseppe La Spada. In addition, the Association has planned a day event to create a waste recycling center in a neighbouring town of the Principality of Monaco. The radio show continues on Radio 24 Olympia Sport for Nature, interviews with top athletes who are committed and care about environmental issues have been broadcasted.
To name a few, Federica Brignone, Umberto Pelizzari, Giovanni Soldini and many other great athletes.
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