When I entered the gates

When I entered the gates of the Macina headquarters, I only had a rough idea of what the WIN project was: I knew it focused on women in sports, but I didn’t know how or what other opportunities it would open up. But from the first few hours of activity, I had the feeling I was in the right place.

The first activities

My colleague Lisa, along with the Spanish group coordinator, Annabel, had us play group games designed to allow each of us to get to know each participant better. It was fun from the start, but the game that left the greatest impression on me was the circle of trust.

The circle of trust

Together, we had to hold on tightly to a circular rope, each pulling it toward ourselves. Each participant took turns passing through the rope, making sure not to let go of it and trusting the rest of the group, who would adjust the rope’s tension to allow them to pass through easily. Once inside, we could let go of the rope with our hands and lean on it with only our body weight, letting the other women support our weight.

At the end of the game, we all entered the circle of trust, none of us holding on to the rope but letting our bodies, along with those of all the others, hold the rope taut to support us all.

The feeling of being inside the circle all together was beautiful. We looked at each other and smiled with a look of pride for ourselves and for the group. We raised our hands in the air all together, shouting with joy and applauding, to celebrate the success of the game but above all to celebrate ourselves.

The meaning of the circle

As in an ancient ritual, the strong ancestral feminine call of this circle of women smiling, chattering, and shouting filled us with a strong sense of confidence in ourselves and in the community of women to which we felt we belonged.

The solidarity and sense of sisterhood that has united women since the dawn of time was immediately evident, even in a seemingly simple game like this.

I smiled and laughed a lot, and I thought to myself, “This is truly our strength: solidarity, the strength of the female community, which arises among us almost spontaneously, instinctively, starting simply from the fact of being women.”

This same bond, shared by who knows how many women before us throughout thousands of years of human history, accompanied us throughout the rest of the project.

Lessons from the first day

I personally believe that a game like this should be played at the beginning of any type of group activity. The strong physical component of this game directly impacts the mind and spirit, benefiting the individual as a whole and the group, and reminding us of the indissoluble bond between these three components, which are actually one.

From the first day of the project, I also learned how crucial it is for a group’s unity and harmony to be built from the outset. It’s from that first impression and trust that we can create such harmony that the group can then become independent in their activities.

Activities and experiences

In the following days, we participated in sports activities such as trekking, canoeing, and yoga, as well as outreach activities such as a guided tour of the Furlo Gorge Landscape Ecomuseum, or workshops and lessons on nutrition, training, and Ayurvedic practices.