Sailing, Claudio Trophy returns: over one hundred athletes for the 2025 edition

There will be more than one hundred athletes in the third edition of the Claudio Trophy, a sailing event dedicated to the Optimist class that will take place on Thursday, September 25 and Friday, September 26, in Campione del Garda (Brescia, Italy) and will be a prelude to the 2026 European Championship, which will take place in the same waters. The Trophy, named in memory of sailor Claudio Brighenti, who died prematurely in early 2022, is organized by Univela Campione del Garda, with the support and institutional partnership of the Lombardy Region.

“Regione Lombardia – commented Federica Picchi, regional undersecretary for Sport – is proud to support an event that enhances our lakes and looks to the future with the assignment of the 2026 European Team Optimist Championship: an important goal that will make Lombardy’s role in international sailing even more central. The Claudio Trophy is also an extraordinary example of how sport can transmit fundamental values such as loyalty, mutual respect and passion to young people. Sailing, in particular, teaches how to work together, overcome difficulties and face challenges with determination and team spirit”.

So Arianna Mazzon, president of Univela: “The Claudio Trophy is for us an event of great sporting and human value. It is an opportunity to remember Claudio Brighenti and to celebrate the passion for sailing that unites athletes, families and communities. We are proud that this regatta precedes the European Championship of Team Racing Optimist 2026, an appointment that confirms Univela’s role as a center of reference not only for sports and sailing, but also for tourism for the entire Campione del Garda” territory.

“The Claudio Trophy will host more than one hundred athletes – added Tristano Vacondio, vice president of Univela – Italy is the strongest nation. They are teams of four athletes competing. The organization of this kind of regatta is always very complex, following the rules of World Sailing. We are proud to have obtained permission to organize the 2026 European Championship. It is a prestigious event that is entrusted to those who really know how to organize such a regatta. The Optimist is the boat most used by children, who will then become the future sailors”.

Marcello Meringolo, coach of the Italian National Optimist team, also spoke at the press conference: “We are exactly one year away from the European Championships. We are the strongest team in Europe, Campione is an ideal gym. I am happy that next year we will play at home. The Team Race is not an easy regatta to get your head around, it’s the summation of points that counts. It is a team game. It is a discipline that children really like as a team sport. THE four-on-four is also captivating for entertainment. As a representative of the Italian class association, we are talking about 1,800 representatives, I am proud that we will organize the European”.