If it is true that Val di Fiemme is known as the “Valley of Sport” then Predazzo is to all intents and purposes the tangible proof. This is testified by the many facilities distributed throughout the territory, the facilities, from the swimming pool to indoor tennis, the many sports associations, from volleyball, to judo, and then, our pride and joy, the Predazzo Jumping Center, which has hosted no less than three world championships and many World Cup stages and which, in 2026 will be the venue for jumping and Nordic combined at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
No doubt about it, Predazzo is definitely a town with a strong sporting vocation, and after all, it seems to have always been so!
Who knows, perhaps it may have been its very conformation that favored the start of so many sporting activities, and just as the gentle slopes of Bellamonte accompanied the first descents on skis well before the appearance of the ski lifts, the wide flat area of Predazzo, what we confidentially call the “countryside,” must also have inspired the most dynamic people to practice cross-country skiing. On the other hand, there is no day when “the countryside” of Predazzo does not serve as a backdrop to running, skiroll and bicycle training, but also and above all to the long walks that many people, even from neighboring towns, choose to come here to take, where the thousands of shades of each season, paint a picture that is unique and wonderful from time to time.
But while the lay of the land may have inspired the first sports activities, it took all the work of those in sports who believed and invested in them to maintain and develop them.
And it is thanks to this commitment that the Municipality of Predazzo today is, for example, the only town in the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys to have an indoor tennis court: the courts on which hundreds of enthusiasts train and play all year round are housed inside the Sporting Center, a facility that, in addition to tennis courts, hosts other sporting activities, such as playing bocce.
Continuing along the same road in the direction of Bellamonte are the minigolf courts, built in 1963: they are a historical reality as well as the Minigolf Club association, which has been running its activities and competitions for more than fifty years, including internationally.
For volleyball enthusiasts, the reference point is the hall of the “La Rosa Bianca” school institute where the Fiemme Fassa Volleyball teams compete; here there are also mobile baskets for the game of basketball, used especially during summer campuses.
Among the oldest sports played in Predazzo is definitely the game of soccer. Initially, young local talents delighted in a small field at the Alpine School of the Guardia di Finanza, called “al Moro”; later, between the sixties/seventies, an important sports complex was built in the locality of Fontanelle, consisting of a grass soccer field and a state-of-the-art athletics track: the structure is still today, a very important reference point for sportsmen, local and not, of all ages.
Later, right next to the soccer field, a skatepark and an area equipped for outdoor calisthenics training were built. Since 2020 this location has been further enriched by the opening of the park that houses the new Biolago: here in the summer you can have fun with sup, improvise a game of “green volleyball” or take part in one of the yoga or pilates classes that are often organized early in the morning, before the opening.
And what about winter sports? Did you know that the first ski jump was built in this same area on February 27, 1955? The “Trieste” ski jump was built with the help of financiers and volunteers and was later used by athletes from the Dolomitica and Yellow Flames clubs. In 1967, not far from where the soccer field later arose, the second one, the “Fontanelle” trampoline, was opened. Since the beginning of the 1990s, ski jumping has found a new and attractive venue: the Centro del Salto, Giiuseppe Dal Ben, built in the locality of Stalimen to host the Nordic World Ski Championships: a permanent facility considered among the best in the world that has hosted countless international and national events starting with the 1990 World Cup races and that now, after a major renovation, will be the venue for the competitions of the XXV Olympic Winter Games Milan-Cortina 2026.
Stalimen is also the starting point of the lifts of the Ski Center Latemar ski area, the largest ski area in Val di Fiemme, one of the most beautiful ski resorts in Trentino Alto Adige: just a few minutes and the lifts take you up to altitude from where more than 50 km of snow-covered tracks, baby parks and ski slopes start, from easy ones for children to black ones for the more expert. The other fascinating ski carousel, however, is Alpe Lusia, also included in the Val di Fiemme Obereggen ski pass, has 30 km of ski slopes suitable for all levels. If you are a lover of winter trekking or snowshoeing, you can regenerate along the Nature Trail, an easy walk in the silent heart of the Paneveggio Nature Park, or try the engaging toboggan run, over 2 km long.
But it doesn’t end there, the sports offer in Predazzo is still very wide, just think that there are as many as eighteen registered sports clubs in our municipality: from paragliding to shooting, from free flight to Nordic walking, without forgetting the great contribution of Sportabili, the association committed to offering sports activities for people with physical sensory and intellectual disabilities.
About each of them and the endless opportunities to practice sports in Predazzo, we will soon tell in detail in future articles.