In Support of Champions: World Class Event Turin, Italy
At Fox Meetings & Incentives, we love opportunities to create unforgettable client experiences. This August, we were fortunate enough to organize and travel with a large group of world-class athletes and their families. The event was the 2025 IBTF World Majorettes Championship, Technical Baton Twirling Championship, and Nations Cup. This year, the event took place in historic Turin, Italy.
For this group, 220 attendees would be traveling, including athletes, coaches, family members, and judges. While many had different arrival and departure dates, all could rest assured that the Fox Meetings & Incentives on-site coordinators would assist in any way we could. Guests could find us at our dedicated hospitality desk each day, ready to help with whatever they needed and to wish competitors luck as they left for the arena.
World Class Service for World Class Athletes
If you’ve never watched competitive baton twirling, do yourself a favor and search for some videos online. Batons aren’t just twirling; they are also launched, still spinning, high into the air. Twirlers catch them, spin them, and relaunch them. Sometimes they catch their own baton, sometimes from a teammate. At the same time, they’re performing carefully choreographed routines… all in front of judges, an arena crowd, and live-stream viewers worldwide. There are several categories, some for teams and some for solo competitors. Poetry in motion combines athleticism and deep concentration from everyone on the floor.
Traveling halfway around the world to compete on the world stage is stressful enough. With baton twirlers coming from around the world, hotel and ground transportation arrangements had to be complicated. Fox Meetings and Incentives staff were there to ensure that attendees could focus on the main event. We coordinated multiple hotels, transportation to the arena, transportation to practice facilities, and three welcome dinners for groups arriving at different times.
Surprise Opportunities
Extensive, thoughtful planning will take a long way, but unforeseen circumstances can arise. In this case, a surprise road closure meant the large bus we arranged wouldn’t get athletes all the way to the practice facility. The closest a bus that size could get would have been just over a mile from the venue. A long walk in the summer heat before and after practice wouldn’t help anyone’s performance, so that wasn’t an option.
Moving quickly, we arranged alternate transportation in two smaller buses to take athletes to the facility. With so many people visiting the city from all around the world, buses and drivers were in short supply. With fast thinking and expert know-how, we coordinated with on-site client representatives, stateside vendor partners, and Fox team members both on-site and back home. The athletes were dropped off at the door of the practice facility on time, without issue. When the unforeseen arises, the Fox Team has the expertise and support structure to meet challenges head-on, ensuring our guests have the best experience possible.
Elegance at the Foot of the Alps
The Italian Alps provide a stunning backdrop for the city. Once the capital of Italy, Turin is filled with elegant architecture, historic monuments, and sprawling squares. The friendly, easy-going residents can be seen cruising around on widely available rented e-scooters. In every direction, charming little cafes and eateries offer alfresco dining along the streets and arcades.
The Hilton Turin Center was our team’s base of operations. The hotel has been open since May, and it was in pristine condition. Beautiful marble and polished brass filled the lobby, where the Fox World Travel hospitality desk was situated. The hotel was immaculately clean and comfortable despite the near-record heat outside. The staff were courteous, helpful, and very patient with their non-Italian-speaking guests. High-quality recreations of famous paintings hung in halls, just outside the guest rooms. The rooms themselves were beautifully appointed, comfortable, and exceptionally quiet.
Our counterparts at the Hilton urged us to visit Monte dei Cappuccini for a great view of Turin. A short taxi ride took us across the River Po to our destination, and the sight was well worth the fare. The city looked like something from a dream as the sun set behind the Alps. Even Colby was wide-eyed with wonder at the beauty of the scene. If you find yourself in Turin, plan to visit Monte dei Cappuccini for the sunset. It’s a popular destination, so if you’d like a glass of wine and an alfresco dinner at the restaurant there, you must make reservations a month or more in advance.
Our team is hugely grateful to our clients and attendees for allowing us to serve their travel needs. We consider ourselves lucky that our work can take us to such amazing places to meet such amazing people. Here’s hoping we can make it back to Turin sooner than later!
Let’s chat if you’d like to learn more about how our Meetings and Incentives team can assist your team in planning your next event! Connect with our team here.
