The Malta Olympic Committee consists of a board of 13 executive directors’ five of which form the Management board. The MOC directors are elected from representatives on the MOC Sports Council who come from the 47 affiliated associations.

The MOC is a non-profit organisation and strives for the advancement of local sport at elite level. The MOC participates at the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Mediterranean Games, Games of the Small States of Europe, EYOF and Iles des Jeux.

The MOC Council meets three times a year. The Council is the highest organ of the MOC is comprised of two representatives of all the National Associations and the MOC Executive

At a recent MOC Council meeting, members were given an overview of 2005 which was a year full of meetings, activities and international competitions which has kept the MOC busy and which gave local sports and the MOC many satisfactions.

A summary of the year of the MOC can be summed up as follows:

Local and international meetings

The MOC Executive held 19 meetings this year and the MOC Management Board officially met seven times and there were three Council Meetings. MOC representatives also attended various general meetings of the respective associations.

The Technical department of the MOC has held over 90 technical meetings with the respective associations including elite athlete meetings, weekly FDL meetings, monthly collegiate meetings regarding GSSE Andorra, Mediterranean Games Almeria and presently Commonwealth Games, Melbourne and GSSE Monaco 2007.

MOC officials attended several meetings abroad which included the EOC General Assembly, the Mediterranean Games General Assembly, EOC Technical Seminars, Medical Seminar, Doping Seminar and EOC Athletes’ Meeting.

Sport was also on the agenda where Dr L. Gonzi, Prime Minister of Malta and Mr Mike Fennell, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, hosted the CHOGM Sports Breakfast which was attended by various Prime Ministers and Heads of Governments attending the Conference.

Dr L. Galea, Minister of Education for Malta, and Dr M. Frendo, Minister for Foreign Affairs for Malta, and Malta Olympic Committee Directors also attended the CHOGM Sports Breakfast.

International representation

During 2005 MOC officials were elected on to international committees and this included, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco who was elected on the Mediterranean Games Executive Committee; Mr Joseph Cassar who was elected as the European Representative on the Commonwealth Games Sports Committee; Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace who was elected on the European Sports Medicine Committee and Ms Laurie Pace who was elected to be the Athletes’ Representative for the Games of Small States of Europe.

International competitions

The MOC took part at the Games of the Small States of Europe, Andorra where the Malta team won seven gold medals, 13 silver medals and 18 bronze medals giving a total of 38 medals.

At the Mediterranean Games in Almeria, William Chetcuti won a bronze medal at these high ranking Games.

Young athletes represented Malta at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Lignano Sabbia d’Oro and at the Jeux des Iles in Crete where they successfully managed to win one gold, one silver and 3 bronze medals.

The Queen’s Baton relay

For the second time the MOC organised successfully the Queen’s Baton Relay in Malta. The relay is what the Olympic Torch Relay is for the Olympic Games, but this is for the Commonwealth Games which will be held in Melbourne next March.

Olympic Day Run

This year’s edition was even more successful than that of the previous year with the number of participants registered over 550. Associations and athletes are encouraged to take part in this Run, since we believe it is a good and positive image to Sports in Malta.

IOC Literature competition

In collaboration with The Malta Independent Newspaper and the Edward De Bono Foundation (Malta) the MOC launched an IOC Literature competition in July, targeting school children.

This included featuring a weekly page in The Malta Independent which focused on different themes on this competition. Published materials was also distributed to all schools and made available on the MOC website.

Seminars and courses

The MOC this year organised a Medical Seminar, Marketing Seminar and Sports Seminar with the objective being that of helping associations, athletes, coaches and the general public to have a better understanding of Sports Science and Sports Marketing. For these seminars the MOC had invited personalities of fame and prestige. The MOC also organised specific coaching/administrative courses to enhance our members and strengthen the building blocks of local sport.

Currently the MOC is carrying out a National Course for Sports Administrators under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee. The MOC also offers numerous international scholarships which this year included a representative being sent to the IOC International Youth Session held in Olympia and two athletes at the Mediterranean Youth Camp.

MOC director Ms Laurie Pace successfully finished her IOC Masters in Sports Management and Ms. Marie Therese Zammit is currently undergoing this same scholarship. MOC Youth Director Envic Galea is currently undergoing a Masters in International Sports Management at Southern Cross University in Australia.

Valletta premises

The old premises at Valletta are currently being renovated to make way for the MOC Sports Museum, Library as well as the MOC Hall of Fame. The official inauguration should take place soon.

Athlete programmes

Over 100 athletes currently benefit under a number of specific schemes that help them in their technical preparations; this includes functional diagnostic lab tests, gym attendance and medical facilities at the St. James Hospital. This year also saw the launch of the ‘Outstanding Athlete Scheme’ where it was announced that a three-year exclusive agreement has been signed with the MOC and Outstanding Athlete William Chetcuti. The MOC appreciates that William Chetcuti is really outstanding and we all have to be behind him and assist in whatever way we can.

MOC website

The MOC website is an ongoing project and the website is being continuously maintained and updated. The number of the daily hits on our website reaches in the thousands from over 90 countries around the world.

Malta Sports Awards

The Malta Sports Awards were again very successfully and very elegantly organised on 8 December. 31 athletes received recognition and 10 sporting heroes were elected to the Hall of Fame.