L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 7 Diego native Gian-Marco Ciallella, who is now based out of Garden Grove in Orange County. "Our team is comprised of 20 Native Italian lacrosse players located throughout Italy," Ciallella explained by e-mail. "Currently there are 8 teams competing in the Federazione Italiana Giuoco Lacrosse. Rome, Torino, Perugia, Bologna, Merate, San Marino, La Spezia, Bocconi (Milan), and the newest one is Prato. We have also added 2 women teams in Rome and Milan in the past calendar year. We also have 4 Italian- Americans who are eligible for Italian Passports and 2 Dual Citizens on the squad." Currently, Ciallella said an estimated minimum of $30,000 is needed in order to fly the Italian members to the States, provide uniforms and other apparel needs for the team, lodg- ing and other various expenses involved in the tournament. The team has attempted several The first written record of Lacrosse dates back to the 1636 when a French Jesuit priest by the name of Jean de Brebeuf observed a group of Huron Indians playing a sport called stickball in the St. Lawrence Valley. It was originally played by the Algonquian tribe and quickly gained popularity amongst other Native American tribes. Stickball was considered a major event by the tribes who played it and teams were usually comprised of large groups of people. Estimates reflected any- where from 100 players to up into the thousands participating in a single game. When Brebeuf wrote about his experience watching the game, he dubbed it "lacrosse." The sport's history is still fairly young in Italy - dating back only to 2003 when Italian Fabio Antonelli and Italian-American Robert Corna teamed up to form "Roma Leones Club," the first Italian lacrosse team - but its young age does not diminish its popularity. Today, the Men's Italian National Lacrosse team is preparing for the upcoming 2014 World Lacrosse Championship in Denver, Co. July 10-19 hosted by the Federation of International Lacrosse. Theirs is a situation, however, unique from the other teams planning to fly in from around the world: They have no sponsors to help fund their participation in the tournament. After losing their sponsor fol- lowing the 2012 European Championships tournament, members of the Italian National team have been working tireless- ly to raise funds and find new sponsors for this upcoming tour- nament in Denver, according to starting goalkeeper and San Italian National Lacrosse team reaches out to public to reach goal different ways to raise the funds - creating an online donation page and promoting it through social media, approaching com- panies directly for possible spon- sorship, even reaching out to friends and family for donations - but have been met with "very little success," Ciallella says. To date, their GoFundMe online donations page has raised only 80 Euro - just over $100. "We want everyone who's earned a spot on the Italian National team to be able to play," Ciallella said. "If we can't find some sort of help, we're worried that some of the guys who have the best talent and they deserve to be on the team are gonna have to watch [the tourna- ment] streamed online instead of participating because they can't afford it." Ciallella expressed that partici- pating in the tournament goes beyond simply competing for medals and trophies for the Italian team; it is "an honor to represent Italy in the best way MIchELE PLuSS The Italian National Lacrosse Team at the 2012 European Lacrosse Championship possible." Donations can continue to be made on the team's GoFundMe page in any given amount. Those interested in making donations can view the online fundraising page at http://www.gofundme. com/43o4ck Mar. 21, Fri. - Italian Cultural Center hosts "I Grandi Vini D'Italia" by Michele Buccelletti at 7 p.m. at ICC (1669 Columbia St., San Diego). RSVP at info@icc-sd.org by March 19th. Event is open to current ICC members only. For more information, please visit http://icc-sd.org/events/calendar. Mar. 21, Fri. - Convivio Society hosts "Grand Slam Italiano!" at 7 p.m. at the Convivio Center (2157 India St., San Diego, CA 92101). It is a musical and literary tribute to America's Pastime. For more information, please visit https://convivio.yapsody.com/event/index/1869/grand_slam_ita liano Mar. 30, Sun. - Rising Star Series: Point Loma Opera at Convivio Center: A troupe of opera students from Point Loma Nazarene University will step into the spotlight at the Convivio Center! (2157 India St., San Diego, CA 92101) at 7 p.m. General admission tickets are $10. For more information, please visit https://convivio. yapsody.com/event/index/1990/ rising_stars_series_ point_loma_opera. Apr. 4, Fri. - The Lacemakers at Convivio (2157 India St., San Diego, CA 92101) at 8 p.m. This trio of performers interlaces three-part harmonies of traditional Irish, Scottish, and Appalachian roots, as well as original songs recapturing the stories and sounds of the past. General admission is $10. For more information about the event, please visit https://convi- vio.yapsody.com/event/index/2109/the_lacemakers. Apr. 6, Sun. - GranFondo San Diego at Little Italy at 7:15 a.m. in Little Italy under the Little Italy sign. Join thousands of avid cyclists and experience the Italian-inspired phenomenon while riding the GranFondo (105 miles) or the MedioFondo (60 miles). For more information about the event and registration details, please visit http://www.littleitalysd.com/events/master- calendar/. Apr. 10, Thurs. - Screening of Scialla! (Easy!) by San Diego Italian Film Festival at La Paloma Theatre (471 S. Coast Hwy. 101, Encinitas, CA 92024) at 7 p.m. General admission is $10; SDIFF members, Students and Military - $8. For more infor- mation about the film and location, please visit http://www.san- diegoitalianfilmfestival.com/film/scialla-2.

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