Having heard what Minister of Education, also responsible for Sport, Dr Louis Galea, had to say during last week’s presentation of certificates and tokens to the finalists in the sporting contests organised by the Sportswriters Association, I could not but confirm that our main problem in finding the right people for national teams is that our associations are limited in their selections.

This is obvious because, according to the Minister, just a few are practising sport seriously.

It was worrying to hear the Minister say that almost 90 per cent of our student population remains inactive after school hours, and this when a large number – 97.4 per cent – are aware of the benefits from sports and physical education.

These figures and others announced by the Minister after some research work by Ms Rose Ann Gatt B.Ed(Hons), Dip (PE), RSA (UK), 2004, from among children and youths between nine and 16 years in primary and secondary schools (there were 1,909 respondents)were not very encouraging in some areas like these mentioned above.

But it was satisfying to hear the Minister explaining what the government, or rather his Ministry, intends doing in the future to try and give sport and physical education the importance they really deserve, especially among our students.

I have been saying for a long time that it is a real pity that the facilities at local schools are not used after school hours. This has now also been accepted by the government but at the University, where there is a population of around 8,000, if not more, students, not much success has been reaped despite efforts from all concerned.

In fact, I am told that just a few students avail themselves of the facilities obtainable, especially the swimming pool. Of course, I am not referring to the present moment when the pool is close due to refurbishment works. I have been there on several occasions during different times of the day and I could note that there were absolutely no students taking part in any swimming activity. And this when one expects something better in the water which attracts so many thousands of swimmers in the summer months, though most of them in the blue Mediterranean Sea, enjoying it just for the fun of it.

What I did not agree with the Minister was the way which such an encouragement programme which he announced, will be dealt with. I agree that the government also wishes Maltese athletes to win more medals in the name of the country – I am sure everyone wants that – but this should be left in the hands of those who know better. Our top athletes do not need to be encouraged through a participation culture for the masses, including the veterans. I believe those have to be tackled separately as was the case in the recent past.

There should be different programmes for children and the elderly and, although I also agree that all children should take part in the practise of sport or physical education, special attention should be given to those youngsters who tend to show more interest and talent, perhaps in some particular sport.

It is then that these youngsters will be picked by their respective coaches and handed to the associations to be given more professional guidance.

Yet, even if this programme is successful, I still have a lot of doubt as to whether the Maltese population is genuinely interested in sport. Take a look at the pictures of local sport in any local newspaper and one will be able to understand what I’m saying. Empty terraces in our stadia – whether it is football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, netball, badminton or any other kind of sport. And that is certainly not an encouraging factor. It means that it will take more than an appeal from the Minister, the sporting authorities or us journalists to get the population, especially the youngsters on the right track.

Interest in local sport must also be included in the programme. If the youngsters practising sport are not given the support they need during their commitments, when will they be able to rise to the occasion?

The Minister must be commended for taking the bold step in starting this programme. One sincerely hopes that it takes off immediately without any delay.

We all wish to form part of a healthy nation but we also wish to see our youngsters being successful in the field of sport, obtaining some satisfactory results in international competitions.

Henry Brincat

Sports Editor

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