The Maltese Olympic Committee headquarters at Tal-Qroqq was the venue for two very important meetings related to Youth Sports last Friday.
In the first meeting, the president of the Maltese Olympic Committee, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, in the presence of the secretary general, Joe Cassar and the Youth director Envic Galea, presented the Bronze certificates to the clubs who qualified for Clubmark, developed by Sport England.
Clubmark is an accreditation scheme for high quality junior sports clubs. It is managed by the Youth Directorate of the MOC under the direction of Envic Galea and sets the standard for all high quality sports clubs in Malta.
Clubmark stands for higher standards of safety, fairness, coaching and management.
That way the nation’s sports club infrastructure will be safer, stronger and more successful.
This means that a club that has been awarded Clubmark has achieved minimum operating standards in safeguarding and protecting children, quality coaching, equal opportunities and good management. In essence, a club that qualifies for Clubmark is a well run club which is active and accessible. This means getting the best out of young people and giving everyone a sporting chance.
Clubmark provides recognition for high quality clubs. It is important that all clubs should strive to this quality standard. Clubmark is an important club development tool and provides a solid foundation for all clubs wishing to establish a youth structure.
Those clubs, recognised by their national federation, affiliated with the Maltese Olympic Committee, can all apply. All qualification is on line and all who qualify will be featured on the MOC’s website.
The second activity was the presentation of the Youth Olympic Games. The Olympic Federations were invited to submit their applications. During the presentation, the president gave a detailed
explanation of the origin of these games and conceived by the President of the IOC Jacques Rogge.
The President explained how the IOC is giving more importance to Youth events and in the same direction the MOC is following by giving Youth Development the required attention. The President highlighted the recent successes in the EYOF and the Youth Commonwealth Games.
The Youth Director then gave those present details about the age groups and categories of the Games. As soon as the submissions are made by the federations, the MOC will analyse the applications and agree with the national federations on the programme of preparation to help them qualify for these prestigious games.
Singapore 2010: education at the heart of the Youth Olympic Games
Preparations for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) gained further momentum at the end of the year with the launch of two new programmes: the Olympic Education Programme (OEP) and Friends@YOG.
Since Singapore won the bid to host the 2010 YOG, schools have been actively organising various activities to intensify the YOG buzz. These two new initiatives will further lay the foundation for a successful and memorable YOG event in 2010.
Under Friends@YOG, each of the 360 Singapore schools will be “twinned” with one of the 205 National Olympic Committees. It will be a fun and exciting learning journey for students as they cultivate a global mindset through the forging of international friendships, learning about other countries’ cultures and developing respect for cultural diversity.
Friends@YOG aims to achieve the following objectives:
• building international friendship through collaboration and cultural exchanges among young people;
• promulgating the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect;
• cultivating among young people a global outlook, a passion for sport and good habits that are part of a healthy lifestyle.
Olympic Education Programme
With the launch of the Olympic Education Programme (OEP), youngsters in Singapore will have more opportunities to experience and embrace the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect.
They will also get to better understand the diverse cultures of the world. All schools will receive the specially designed “Living Olympism” Education Resource Package as part of the associated teaching materials. Teachers can draw on the various interesting ideas in the package to develop innovative learning activities for students to acquire knowledge about the Olympic Games and understand the Olympic spirit in a fun way.
MOC to choose two youths for the 49th International session for young participants in Olympia
The Maltese Olympic Committee invites applications from anyone interested in attending the the 49th International Youth session in Olympia. Applicants must be between 20 to 35 years old, and should show a special interest in the aims of the International Olympic Academy as well as in current issues of Olympism.
Moreover, they should have a genuine interest in the educational aspects of the activities organised in the course of the session, as well as show interest in getting involved with the Maltese Olympic Movement.
The main topic of the session will be “Olympism”, with a special topic to be discussed in depth being “The Olympic Games as a Celebration: Evaluation of the Olympic Games of Beijing and the Course towards the Olympic Games of Vancouver.”
Participants must have an excellent knowledge of either English or French since they are expected to take active part in the discussion groups which follow the lectures.
The programme
Arrival in Athens: 10 June
Opening Ceremony (in Athens ): 11 June
Departure for Olympia (by coach ): 12 June
Works of the session: to 22 June
Departure from Olympia (by coach ): 23 June
Departure from Athens: 24 June
The Maltese Olympic Committee will cover 50 per cent of the cost of the air-ticket for one male and/or one female participant.
The participants’ accommodation/ boarding, both in Athens and in Olympia, will be at the charge of the MOC Olympic Academy for the duration of the session.
Applications together with a sport CV must reach Joseph Cassar, secretary general, Maltese Olympic Committee, at MOC Headquarters, c/o National Swimming Pool Complex, Maria Teresa Spinelli Street, Gzira GZR 1711, by not later than Friday, 30 January.
Those requiring further details can contact Ms Adele Muscat, director MOC Olympic Academy on mobile number: 9940-3166 or preferably by email: [email protected].
International seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate students
The Maltese Olympic Committee invites applications from anyone interested in attending an international seminar on Olympic Studies for Postgraduate students in Olympia.
Applicants must be studying for a postgraduate qualification and should show a special interest in the aims of the International Olympic Academy as well as in current issues of Olympism.
Moreover, the application should be accompanied by a detailed CV with two passport photos, a recommendation letter from the student’s supervisor, the Olympic topic the student does research on as well as a two-page summary analysing the topic of the paper.
The participant should show interest in getting involved with the Maltese Olympic Movement and must not be above 40 years of age. Participants must have an excellent knowledge of English.
The main topic of the seminar will be “The Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement: Past, Present and Future – an analysis from the Historical, Philosophical and Social Perspectives”, with a special topic to be discussed in depth being “The Olympic Games as a Celebration: Evaluation of the Olympic Games of Beijing and the Course towards the Olympic Games of Vancouver.”
The programme
Arrival in Athens: 1 July
Arrival in Olympia: 3 July
Works of the seminar: 4 – 28 July
Departure from Olympia: 29 July
Departure from Athens: 30 July
Participants must pay their own flight. Transport in Greece will be taken care of by the IOA.
The participants’ accommodation/ boarding both in Athens and in Olympia, will be at the charge of the MOC Olympic Academy for the duration of the session.
Applications must reach Joseph Cassar, secretary general, Maltese Olympic Committee, at MOC Headquarters, c/o National Swimming Pool Complex, Maria Teresa Spinelli Street, Gzira GZR 1711, by not later than Friday, 30 January.
Those requiring further details can contact Ms Adele Muscat, director MOC Olympic Academy on mobile number: 9940-3166 or preferably by email: [email protected].
MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Tomorrow on TVM at 5.15pm and on E22 at 7pm; Thursday 15 January on E22 at 10am (RPT), Friday 16 January on TVM at 10am (RPT) and Saturday 17 January on E22 at 3pm (RPT) will feature the following:
Special programme – MOC business breakfast
As is customary the Malta Olympic Committee organised a business breakfast in the first week of the New Year at the Excelsior Hotel.
President Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco after giving a look at the year 2008, put on the table the way ahead for 2009 which should be a very hectic year for the MOC and the affiliated associations.
During this special programme interviews with Judge Farrugia Sacco, secretary general Joe Cassar and Mark Cutajar, all from the Malta Olympic Committee, will be featured and will be on different subjects. Representatives from the Army and the Local Council Association will also feature in this programme who spoke about new projects in the pipeline involving their respective organisations.
Veteran journalist Twanny Buhagiar who was given due recognition for his sterling work by the MOC and other journalists gave their views to the cameras of MIA Olympic Magazine.
Schedule available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.