Amilcare Rotta (1 November 1911 – 17 August 1981) was an Italian

bobsled Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

der who became the second president of the

Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), originally known by the French name ''Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing'' (FIBT), is the international sports federation for bobsleigh and skeleton. It acts as ...

(FIBT – International Bobsleigh and Tobogganing Federation), serving from 1960 to 1978. Rotta was Italian champion in the four-man bobsleigh event who also competed in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, and

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, s ...

with success. From 1952 to 1960, he served as president of the Italian Bobsleigh Commission, part of the

Italian Winter Sports Federation The Italian Winter Sports Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Sport Invernali; FISI), is the winter sports federation for Italy. Part of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), it deals with all federations conducting sports for the Wint ...

. Following the refusal of the Organizing Committee at Squaw Valley to construct a bobsleigh track for the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

, he chaired the organization of the extraordinary event in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; lld, Anpezo, ; historical de-AT, Hayden) is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alp ...

that allowed bobsleigh to be held in spite of the 1960 Games. Rotta succeeded

Count Renaud de la Frégeolière Count Renaud de la Frégeolière (29 April 1886 – 16 April 1981) was a French author, bobsledder and veteran air force officer, who became the first president of the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT – Internatio ...

of France as FIBT President from 1960 until poor health forced his retirement in 1978. He served as a member of the Tripartite Commission of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) from 1974 to 1976 until illness forced him step down from the IOC.

References

*"Bobsleigh and Olympism". ''Olympic Review.'' December 1984. p. 1014. 1911 births 1981 deaths Italian male bobsledders Recipients of the Olympic Order {{Italy-bobsleigh-bio-stub