Volunteers of the CAI (Italian Alpine Club) Section of La Spezia have trained on the trails of Colle del Telegrafo, during a training day for guides of the Joelette chair purchased with the contribution of the Carispezia Foundation. This tool will enable people with reduced mobility, too, to enjoy the one-of-a-kind trails of the La Spezia province. Participants were 25, including educators, associations, practitioners, nature guides and members of various CAI sections.
President Laila Ciardelli delivered the welcome speech at the beginning of the training, whose first phase took place in the hall kindly put at the participants’ disposal by the owner of the "Colle del Telegrafo” Restaurant; instructor Alessandro Galeffi from the training agency of the association of the municipalities of Versilia and project leader Gianmarco Simonini gave a theory class.
Participants were greatly interested in the various topics: how to prepare a hike, overview of the specific needs of disabled people, how to set up the joelette according to the type of disability and to the trail’s level of difficulty, and the repair kit to take with you in order to fix possible damages.
Participants then approached the joelette chair, mounting all its components and reviewing the details of each available setting.
The practice session covered the whole afternoon: several groups took turns in leading the two available joelettes (on which other training participants were sitting), walking on increasingly demanding stretches under the supervision of the expert who, with his explanations, made this initiative possible. At the end of the day, certificates of participation were awarded; a second meeting should soon take place to verify how the joelettes are working.
