Vince Scicluna’s perspective

Mark Strijbosch

Behind every successful team lies a handful of dedicated personnel, whose work, though often overlooked by the media, can be described as literally critical, as without it, there would be absolutely no chance of any success.

At the Maltese Olympic Committee, the team strives to achieve its targets and goals, both on and off the field, and one man in particular who can be easily described as an asset to the team is the director of marketing Vincent Scicluna.

Mr Scicluna’s role at the MOC does not stop at the complicated title of his work. He also works alongside sports director Mark Cutajar and plays a role in most of the decision making processes, and yet again, he doesn’t just stop there.

Mr Scicluna has been appointed as the Chef de Mission for the up and coming GSSE Games in Cyprus and has made it clear that “there will be nothing lacking in what concerns the administration and well being of the contingent participating in Cyprus.”

He has always been proud of the Maltese teams in these events as “the Maltese athletes and officials taking part in such manifestations in the past have always risen to the occasion and proved to be very good ambassadors for Malta”.

And he is hopeful the

successful tradition will carry on in Cyprus.

Commitment is the key for him, as “success does not come in the form of medals alone”. Each athlete will have to do his/her part, but naturally the administrative board must ensure the machine is well oiled at all times.

Joining him in Cyprus will be sports psychologist Adele Muscat, and they will also be assisted by Mark Cutajar; so a formidable team has been formed. Vince knows that in every company, teamwork is vital, and horizontal as well as vertical communication is a key factor to the forging of a great team. With an administrative line up boasting such big names, the athletes can only be grateful they will be given the best care available.

Constant improvement within the MOC has been visible throughout recent years: however, Vince believes that there is still a lot of hard work ahead of them. He says: “Improving on what already exists is an ongoing process”.

One resource which would help maintain improvements is that of finances. Vince believes that “financial resources are imperative” however it is a two-way process. He argues that “the government would be willing to allocate more funds to the MOC should Malta obtain better results in international events.” The formula is simple and can be described as a win-win situation. If Malta can achieve a decent result in Cyprus, then the government will further its investment and a cycle will begin.

Success, he believes, is not only down to business. A massive change in tactics will be seen in the up and coming events, as one of Mark Cutajar’s cunning plans will be to allow non-resident Maltese athletes fly our flag in any event, permitting of course, they are good enough. This new tactic raised a few eyebrows: however, Vince was quick to ensure that “Maltese athletes are not being replaced or left out” and it is simply “a question of having the best eligible athletes in the contingent.”

Naturally, schools can play a vital role in developing more successful athletes, and Vince’s advice for any budding athlete is simple: “sports is fun, so practising it keeps one healthy, helps socialising, gets one to meet people, be independent, respect others and get others to respect one, the benefits are innumerable. If one makes the grade so much the better, but one thing is for sure, everyone ends up a better person for having been there.”

Good advice for any athlete, whose ambitions can be realised thanks to the hard working team at the Maltese Olympic Committee.

Women’s fun run/walk in Valletta

The Maltese Olympic Committee Women in Sport Commission, in collaboration with the Valletta local council and the Malta Amateur Athletics Association, will be organising a fun run/walk activity for Women.

This will take place on Sunday, 3 May at 9am and will start and finish in Freedom Square, Valletta. From the start line the route will head towards the Grand Hotel Excelsior and continue along the scenic route around the Valletta bastions turning up Republic Street near the Evan’s building and finishing at the start line. The route is 3km in total and will take around 30 minutes for those who wish to run, 45 minutes for those who wish to jog and around an hour for those wanting to walk.

The objective of this event is to attract women of all ages including youngsters to come and be part of this celebration of women in sport. The event is a fun activity and an ideal platform for highlighting the benefits of physical activity and its contribution to general wellbeing.

As part of the celebrations a health expo will also be set up around Freedom Square. Participants and supporters are invited to come early to experience the exciting atmosphere and to visit the various stands. Stands will include the Health Promotion Unit, Starbene Health Shop, Alli from GlaxoSmithKline, TipTop Sports and ProHealth with Vichy products.

No entrance fee will be charged. Water stations will be available and goodie bags will be given to all participants. Organisations are encouraged to form a team and come along and join fun. Applications will be readily available from the websites of the MOC (www.nocmalta.org) and the Valletta local council (www.cityofvalletta.org).

Registration can be sent by email or alternatively handed in or completed on the day. For more information contact the MOC on Tel. 2133-2801 or by email: [email protected].

IOC panel chair praises Tokyo bid for 2016 Games

JIM ARMSTRONG

AP sports writer

The chairwoman of the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission said its members were “most impressed” by Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.

Nawal el Moutawakel praised the city’s vision, concept and high quality presentation at a news conference last Sunday marking the end of the IOC team’s four-day inspection of Tokyo. Tokyo is competing with Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid to host the 2016 Olympics. The IOC inspection team has already visited Chicago, and the full IOC will vote on the host city at Copenhagen on 2 October.

Tokyo organisers say their bid offers the most compact games, with almost all venues located less than eight kilometres from the main stadium.

“We thought it was a very compact concept, and we’re pleased with the presentation,” said El Moutawakel, who won a gold medal in hurdles for Morocco at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.

The 13-member IOC inspection team toured the proposed games venues and examined the city’s transport system and infrastructure during its visit.

“We were given a lot of information and we are very comfortable about what was given to us,” El Moutawakel said. “Tokyo did really well. That’s why it was chosen among the top four cities.”

Tokyo organisers are also pushing the financial stability of their bid amid the economic downturn. The city has an annual budget of about $66 billion and has already secured a $4 billion special budget in cash for the games.

MIA Olympic Special – What’s On

Wednesday, 22 April on TVM at 5.15pm and on E22 at 7pm; Thursday, 23 April on E22 at 10am (RPT), Friday, 24 April on TVM at 10am (RPT) and Saturday, 25 April on E22 at 3pm (RPT) will feature the following:

Featured Event – Athletics International Meeting

Each year, the MAAA organises and sanctions several track and field events together with a significant number of road races. During the past week international meetings were held at the Matthew Micallef St John Stadium coveraging various age groups.

Highlighted Events – Swimming Easter Int. Meeting / Shooting Trap Selection

The 16th Easter International Swimming Meeting was held between 16 and 18 April at the National Pool Complex, Tal-Qroqq. Swimmers from the national swimming team and various affiliated clubs participated in this event. MIA Olympic Magazine will give an in depth coverage of this annual event.

At the Malta Shooting Sport Federation ranges in Bidnija another trap selection shoot was held. Over 30 trap shooters took part in this selection where each shooter had to shoot on three rounds of 25 clays on Saturday and another two rounds on Sunday.

MOC Section – Press Conference

The Maltese Olympic Committee held a media conference providing an update on Team Malta’s preparations for the forthcoming Games of the Small States of Europe. This was addressed by Joseph Cassar, MOC secretary general, Mark Cutajar, MOC director of sport, Vince Scicluna, Chef de Mission at the Games and Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, MOC president