sport

‘We have the potential to do better next time’

Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, President of the Malta Olympic Committee explained to RAY ABDILLA how all parties involved in the Small Nations Games contributed to the astounding success of the Maltese athletes. The athletes and coaches were extremely dedicated to their sports disciplines both during the many months prior to the Games and in San Marino. The Government is being far more supportive than ever before and the effort by the various Federations proved to be a fundamental contribution towards this overall success in achieving so many medals by our athletes.

Did you ever think that we were going to do so well in these Games?
Yes, although one is always afraid of being overly optimistic. that he miscalculated somewhere. However, with the change of the MOC administration, back in 1997, new professional concepts were introduced to bring about better overall results. which meant that success could be achieved although one cannot always guarantee this.
A quick overview of past results shows that these were in fact achieved. In the 1997 Small Nations Games, held in Iceland we obtained the best overall results ever at the time. During the same year, Malta also fared very well during the Mediterranean Games in Bari. Two years later, in the Liechtenstein Small Nations Games, we achieved the second best results ever. In the Mediterranean Games in Bari in 1997 we obtained the best result ever in those Games. All this made us hopeful for good results this year in San Marino.
The Committee always referred to these Games as a stepping-stone for the next Games to be held in Malta in 2003. Was that a fair comment or a defensive one so the general public would not expect too much but then praise our athletes for what they would finally achieve?The Committee always considered these Games as a stepping-stone for 2003, but never said that it did not expect good results. We even specified where this was the case and specifically to swimming where the athletes did not acquire the standards laid down by the MOC and we still sent them on that basis. However we always selected the best athletes and did not just bank on the future. Naturally we always kept The Malta Games in mind.
What was the secret behind this success?
Hard work by all concerned. The athletes worked very hard and nearly all of them should be praised for their efforts. The coaches endeavoured to assist the athletes at all times. The Federations were successful in their efforts.
The MOC provided medical services as well physiotherapists, nutritionists, psychologists to support the athletes. Government helped financially, whereas the IOC and EOC contributed when they realised we were worthy of support. Sponsors were likewise important. The efforts of the Directors of the MOC and the fact of having new headquarters were also very important factors.
Was there a change of strategy to the previous Games?
There were modifications to the previous strategy. These were mainly the Elite and Aspirants Schemes, a mixture that is good for present and future athletes, as well as the fact that we cashed on the modifications of the law introduced by Government on Citizenship Laws.
The strategy also evolved around the advantages derived from the modifications in the Maltese Citizenship Laws.
I believe that if we want international success we should concentrate even more on those athletes who can land a Gold Medal.
Do you think schools are giving sports the support it needs or is it still regarded as a 'waste of time'?
Sports is never a waste of time, however short the time allocated to it. However, in most cases this is in now way enough. School support counts a great deal and in fact, this can be seen from which schools the majority of the athletes taking part in the Games came from.
Very often, the amount of time allocated to sports is far too limited. Certain schools emphasise more than others and this is clearly evident as athletes taking part in such Games are often from particular schools. When sports becomes more of an integral part of the scholastic curriculum, the calibre of Maltese athletes is bound to rise.
After doing so well at San Marino, everyone expects more in two years’ time in Malta. Will it be more difficult to obtain the same results or do you think that we could actually do better?
We certainly have the potential to do better and I hope that we shall, for the first time ever, place fourth overall. This is not easy to achieve. All concerned must give a greater contribution with Government providing more funds. available if it wants us to achieve more.
Are you getting enough help from the Government?
In sports, enough is a word that one can hardly use. Five years ago, the financial assistance provided by Government was more than doubled and this has been increased slightly though marginally every year since then. 45 Federations are affiliated or recognised by the MOC and the amount is definitely not sufficient to distribute amongst all. However, we feel that Government is being far more supportive than ever before.Besides the usual facilities, what do you think sports needs in Malta and start making a name even with the big guns?
Besides the obvious requirements, what else is required to make Malta a country to be reckoned with in world sports?
More support is necessary from various fronts. The issue of more financial backing has already been mentioned. Efforts have to be made to ensure that sports is more firmly ingrained in our culture. This could be achieved by setting up a school specialising in sports, offering more University credits in sports and encouraging both private and governmental enterprise to support athletes.
Funds, Government employees and perhaps some from the biggest companies on the Island seconded to the MOC, a Sports culture in the Country. University should give more credits to sports; a school specialised in sports should come into existence. The MOC should be involved in all major sports projects.
What about the change in a couple of sports disciplines that the Games have imposed? Would it be possible to increase disciplines instead of changing them? And have waterpolo and football ever been considered for inclusion discussed with other countries and organisers?
The MOC had to propose the 10 sports disciplines, bearing in mind the Statutes of the Games, international support, local success, chances of improvement, officiating teams, structure of Federations, expenses involved. We cannot increase the number of sports disciplines, as this has to be accepted by the International Executive. We have again asked to increase the number of sports but we are still finding opposition from the other countries. Regarding the change in a couple of sports
disciplines, Bocci was on the verge of being cancelled in San Marino, as there were not enough participants. The rules had to be changed in order to make it possible to hold this event.
Waterpolo is not popular with most of the other seven nations. When we tried to introduce football, back in 1993, we had a lot of opposition from the IOC and from some of the participating states.
What are your views about the ‘foreigners’, who represent Malta in some disciplines? Do you think it is helping our sports or hindering it?
If you are referring to the Maltese who live abroad, I do not consider these
foreigners. We had only one non-Maltese participant who resides in Malta real foreigner residing in Malta, who took part in these Games. All the other countries have many foreigners.
We need to distinguish between participants who are foreigners living in Malta and participants who are Maltese but living overseas. In these last Games there were statistics. This is the case with most participating countries and, in my opinion, the level of sports seen at these Games is enhanced by this policy. Yes, certain Maltese athletes, who also reside in Malta, were not chosen for the Games due to the level of their performance.
We still lack some real winners in certain sports, such as swimming. When one considers the improvement made in our sports facilities, particularly in swimming, we did not achieve the results we were expecting. What are your comments on this point?
I have still not solved the problem with swimming. When we attain the necessary standards, we should possibly place with the top three in the Games. In swimming, one athlete can win three or four medals, possibly even gold, thus making all the difference to our overall performance. I think that swimming is a very difficult sport and certainly, it is more difficult to win in some of its events than in others. Waterpolo could also be taking our best athletes away as Waterpolo provides more money and glory than Swimming. Since waterpolo provides more money and glory than swimming, it tends to attract the more promising swimmers.
What was your biggest satisfaction at San Marino and what was your greatest disappointment at the Games?
The biggest satisfaction is that we obtained the best result ever and won the highest number of Gold Medals and also the highest number of medals overall - 35. The greatest disappointment was seeing Jack Schiavone injured during an accident in the Cycling Race. Jack is a very dedicated athlete from a very hardworking Federation. It made me sad to see all those efforts wasted due to an accident. I am sure Jack will achieve success soon in some other important tournament.
Who do you think are the athletes for the future? Besides doing well at the Games of Small States of Europe, are there any Maltese athletes who can make a name for themselves in competitions such as the Olympic Games?
The level of the Olympic Games is very high and it will be difficult to achieve success there. But we should keep it in mind. We should not rule it out and one way to achieve some success may be to identify one or two youngsters and concentrate our efforts on them. My concern would be how to select the discipline since all Federations and athletes would like to compete in such an event. This is not easy as all the other Federations and athletes will not like it. So the only way is to be sure of success before implementing it.
What will happen between today and two years time, committee wise? Will there be any changes in tactics or will other coaches be lured to Malta for the good of our athletes?
In preparation for the Malta Games, what other tactics is the MOC considering to improve the standard of our athletes? Is employing foreign coaches an option?
Change is always necessary. We must not be complacent in our success. Discussions with the various Federations are already underway to determine our current position and how we can improve on it.
We shall certainly discuss with the Federations how to improve our standards especially changing some of the older athletes and some of the Coaches. One has to take stock of the situation and not be happy with the present success and do nothing to improve it.