Having recently shifted my existence to the vicinity of what once was the undeclared capital of Maltese water polo, I couldn’t help reflecting on the sad state of the game at this moment in time. This is not meant to be a sporting commentary like you will find in the latter pages of this newspaper. It is more of a social salvo on behalf of the thousands of enthusiasts who seem to have lost contact with the sport since it was fully concentrated on the national swimming complex at Tal-Qroqq.

The decision to move all water polo schedules to Tal-Qroqq was made with all the good intentions, in the sense that it was felt that with our teams participating against each other in the new fresh-water pools, as opposed to the sea-water pitches of the individual participating clubs, would automatically help improve the quality of our national squad. It probably did, because since the move, Malta’s national water polo team has achieved some remarkable results. But that’s where it stops.

Sadly, the decision to leap forward had the rest – clubs, players, officials and supporters – actually going backwards. Suddenly, gone was the annual summer attraction of huge crowds watching each and every game on the calendar, as were the exciting derby matches and the colourful and noisy displays of support, which revelry sometimes had both locals and visitors involved.

Having killed the idea of playing the games on a home-and-away basis, the organisers somehow removed the very soul out of the game. They created an unwarranted football situation. In truth, over the years Tal-Qroqq did see some huge crowds on selected days, but nothing compared to the weekly fare that was provided in so many different seaside localities before. Many will still recall the excitement and the rivalry that built up in the preceding days to an important fixture. Club coffers filled up and the game took on a particularly Maltese trait, submerged referees included. But people flocked to each and every game, actually making a social summer event of it all. I remember even finding it difficult, in my early days as a reporter, to get in if somewhat – and typically, my wife would tell you – late on arrival.

This unique atmosphere was lost forever. Club pitches and complexes took on a more businesslike atmosphere to life in summer, and water polo was the obvious orphan. The national squad may have made some great strides forward when playing against foreign opposition, but let’s be frank, given our limitations in both human resources and expertise, no one can expect more than the odd good result here or overseas. Was it worth losing the unique character of the local game for that? I very much doubt it.

The local “Bocci” federation gives the perfect example of how things could have been worked out. While it has rightly felt the need to participate in the game at an international level and according to international rules, this was not done at the expense of the game as it is played and ruled here. Yes, while others use round balls (bocci were originally invented as spheres, which is after all why they were called so), here tourists are shocked when they see our players throwing strange-looking, cylindrical objects! There’s an amusing story attached to the shape and size of these balls, but that’s for another day.

Even worse, from the perspective of a Bowls enthusiast from overseas, our Bocci pitches are often rugged, dotted with gravel and covered with loose earth. The players casually sip their beer as they play and the crowds still watch with interest and excitement. Despite everything, the national Bocci squad has continued to make progress and it has regularly won medals at both the Mediterranean Games and the Small Nations’ Games. They finished as semi-finalists in the European Championships, something that would have been rewarded with more sainthoods from the Vatican had it been achieved on the football field.

Yet another example. The idea was once mooted for Malta to compete in international rowing events, with the Olympics as a final, albeit distant, destination. There have been some great rowers whose sheer talent and dedication to the sport would have seen the dream come true had the challenge been taken up, but, of course, not on the traditional Maltese dghajsa! At the time there had been foreign embassies willing to provide the standard regulation boats, but the differences in the style of rowing as well as the water ambience finally and disappointingly put an end to all the short-lived fantasy.

Water polo could have done the same. Is it too late to revive the old leagues set-up and breathe life back into the local game?

It is much easier for the clubs to attract new players from the cream of local youngsters by staging their home-and-away fixtures. There was a time, for example, when the Valletta water polo team in its heyday was followed to the various venues of the game in the St Julian’s/Sliema, St Paul’s Bay, Marsascala and Marsaxlokk areas by a flotilla of supporter-laden boats as well as a train of nine buses filled to capacity. Today it does not exist.

Summer in the water polo areas then was fun. Not just for swimming, walking or sightseeing, drinking beer and/or devouring an ice cream. There was a sporting tint to the whole scene that has been lost, seemingly forever. Malta may have earned the respect of some same-category competitors in the sport, but in the process it has also more or less lost the spirit of the game, which in the end is what makes people, and players, tick.

Now turn to the sports pages for the results.