The Maltese Olympic Committee last week launched a Centre of Excellence for local athletes.
This Centre of Excellence has been established in order to provide outstanding Maltese athletes with access to a number of services, schemes and programmes brought together under one umbrella with one objective: to help them in achieving their ultimate goals and objectives to represent Malta in the international sphere of competitive sport and obtain good results in the international sphere.
The centre devised by the MOC president, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, will allow the MOC to centralise and run the athlete services under the responsibility of a newly appointed commission.
This apart from the MOC president will include Mr Joe Cassar, secretary-general, Ms Marie Therese Zammit, director of Athlete Support Programmes and Mr Envic Galea, director of Youth.
The aim of the MCE commission is to identify the most promising athletes who can represent Malta in the various international sports events and provide them with extra support services in order to help them further upgrade their level. These athletes shall still be entitled to the benefits National Team athletes are entitled to but shall also benefit from other advantages under the Athlete Programmes.
There are five schemes in which athletes can be drafted according to their potential and results.
The following is a list of the first athletes to be forming part of this Centre of Excellence:
Platinum: W. Chetcuti (shooting).
Gold: D. Borg, C. Attard, D. Gilford, F. Xuereb (all athletics), M. Bezzina, J. Camilleri (both judo), B. Borg (sailing), F. Pace (shooting), A. Galea (swimming), S. Gerada, A. Makowski (table tennis).
Silver: N. Portelli, M. Xuereb (athletics), M. Scerri (swimming).
Bronze: M. Debono, C. Walsh, R. Chouhal, T. Mallia, L. Scerri (athletics), P. Caruana Turner (gymnastics), E. Ulanov, B. Law (judo), R. Gambin (swimming).
Youth Athlete scheme: C. Sultana (squash), J. Pace Cocks, T. Vella (both athletics), J. Saywell (judo), S. Borg, E. Fleri Soler (both sailing), C. Farrugia (shooting), J. Dimech (cycling), K. Cassar (tennis), C. Bergedahl, J.J. Micallef (both golf), A. Buhagiar (wrestling).
16th international seminar on Olympic studies for postgraduate students
The International Olympic Committee is holding the 16th international seminar on Olympic studies for postgraduate students in Olympia between 3 and 30 July.
The Main Topic is: The Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement: Past, Present and Future – An analysis from the Historical, Philosophical and Social Perspective.
The Youth Olympic Games will be a special topic which will also be discussed.
The Maltese Olympic Committee is inviting applications from those interested in attending the above conference, who must be under the age of 40 and should have shown a special interest in the aims of the IOA as well as in current issues of Olympism.
They have to submit a relevant application, accompanied by a detailed CV with two passport sized photos. A recommendation letter from the student’s Supervising Professor at his/her National Sports University, the Olympic topic the student does research on as well as a two–page summary analysing the topic of the paper. Students recommended by the National Olympic Academies will be given priority. No participation form will be required in this respect.
The participants will be selected according to their qualifications, the topic of their paper and by strict order of priority of receipt of the relevant applications. The deadline for the submission of the applications is set for the 10 March, 2008. If the candidate is finally selected, he or she will have to send the complete draft of his/her paper by 31 May, 2008.
Accommodation/boarding expenses of the participants in both Athens and Olympia will be taken in charge by the International Olympic Academy.
Air fares – participants will pay their own round-trip ticket. All local transport will be paid by the IOA.
Application forms duly filled in for the above must reach Mr Anthony Chircop, Director Olympic Academy at MOC Head Quarters, by not later than Thursday, 10 March, 2008. Those requiring further details can contact Mr Anthony Chircop on email: aaachircop@nextgen. net.mt
Brazil’s soccer team to stay with other athletes at Olympic village this time
Contrary to past years, Brazil’s soccer team will not be given special treatment and will stay with other athletes at the Olympic village in Beijing.
Ricardo Teixeira, president of the Brazilian soccer confederation, said the team will receive the same treatment as all other Brazilian athletes even if stars including Kaka and Robinho are summoned to play, according to an interview with the O Globo newspaper on Sunday.
The Olympic gold medal is the only major title missing from Brazilian soccer’s trophy case, and in past Olympiads the confederation has sought to provide an edge at the Summer Games to end that omission.
Brazil was runner-up in 1988 in Seoul and 1984 in Los Angeles, when Dunga was a player. Brazil earned bronze in 1996 in Atlanta.
Beijing gears up to ‘green’ Olympic venues
The “Bird’s Nest,” “Water Cube,” Olympic Village, Olympic venues and neighbouring environment of the Olympic facilities will be fully greened around May. Urban landscaping with natural flowers will also be complete in mid-July.
To create a green environment for the forthcoming Games, a total of 1,026 hectares of areas and roads will be laid with green plants. The surrounding areas of the “Bird’s Nest” have been covered with arbors, and landscaping with grass and China rose will follow in early March. The total greening efforts for the “Bird’s Nest” will be completed by the end of April.
Greening efforts at the Olympic venues are not only meant to create “green Olympics” but also to implement a hi-tech and economical Olympic Games for Beijing. Fifty per cent of the greening areas and roads near Olympic venues can be irrigated by recycled water sources. And advanced irrigation devices will be adopted to water the Olympic plants and flowers.
During the Games, flowers, supported by solid plant sculptures in the city, will be the body of the landscaping decorations.
MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Friday, 7 March on E22 at 9pm, Sunday, 8 March on E22 at 10am (RPT) and on TVM at 5.25pm, and Monday, 9 March on E22 at 2.30pm (RPT) will feature the following:
Featured Event
– Cycling Road Race
The Malta Cycling Federation organised a road race with the start being at Zebbug. These races which are held on a regular monthly basis draw a good participation and interest among the cycling enthusiasts on our shores.
Highlighted Event – Baseball
The cameras of this programme made a visit to Marsa to get in touch with what’s going on in the Baseball Championship. During the past weekend two matches were played over there Mustangs – Gozo Tornadoes and Devils – Mellieha.
MOC Section
The MIA Olympic magazine crew met up with the president of the MOC Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco to get to know more about the recent IOC Conference he participated in.
Olympic Archive
A trip down memory lane will make us recall past editions of the Olympic Games.
Schedule available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.