Earlier this week a number of athletes and officials left our shores bound for Australia, namely Melbourne to be exact where they will be joined by other Australian-Maltese athletes so s to form our national contingent for the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
In the past days we have heard about a number of press conferences held by the MOC, where the Maltese prospects of success where put to evidence. It was evident, from the speeches made, that this time there are higher expectations of performance and great hopes that medals will arrive with shooter prodigy William Chetcuti placed at the top of the list.
From this column I hereby wish William that he rises up to the occasion and proves his true worth. If he does so, there is no doubt that success will follow instantly. His potential is amazing and I am sure that with the right state of mind and ideal environmental conditions, it is only a matter of time before he does Malta super proud. What I maybe disagree with is the (in my opinion) excess of pressure being put forward on this young lad by entities like the MOC.
We, as true patriots, really wish to see Malta’s colours stand proud during an important medal ceremony. However we should allow William to mature professionally with no hurry as after all he practices a sport that allows athletes to compete at their peak even at an older age.
Malta will be represented in a number of different sports disciplines, amongst which also basketball. In fact this is the first time that basketball will be played in these Games.
Personally, I had the honour to be nominated by FIBA, the world basketball governing body, as one of the referees for these Games and thus in the coming days I will be traveling to down under. I openly state that this nomination makes me very proud in that I will also be representing Malta in such a prestigious competition apart from having the opportunity to referee some of the world's best talents.
The basketball tournament should create some nice excitement for the fans and from my, and my fellow international colleagues’, part the general level of play should be a good experience to referee.
In the men’s competition the likes of Australia, New Zealand and Nigeria (all main contenders for Olympic places with Australia also winning Olympic medals) should battle out for the top places. Other participating countries (who could rise up to the occasion) are South Africa, England, Barbados, Scotland and India.
Malta will be represented in the women’s competition where the draw has teamed our local team with the likes of New Zealand, Nigeria (who have qualified for the World Cup to be played this year) and Malaysia, three countries which should make life tough for the locals. In fact both New Zealand and Nigeria have, in the past days, publicly stated their intentions to win a medal at these Games.
According to www.allafrica.com, the Nigerian women’s team coach, Scott Nnaji, was quoted as saying, “We are going for a medal. What I don’t know is which, but I know we are going to win a medal.”
The other group is comprised of world giants (behind USA and Russia) Australia, India, Mozambique and England. This probably is an easier group than Malta’s but only time will now tell.
Meanwhile, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) will record a documentary of the teams. The television package, which will be shot in Melbourne as the teams train and play will be used in the FIBA publicity build-up to the 2006 World Championships to be played in the coming months in Japan and Brazil.
Coming back to the local front, one expects all local sportsmen/women to give their very best and put that last extra effort given the circumstances (semi-professionalism or even pure amateurism, lack of adequate preparation time, facilities, technical expertise, funding, etc.) and to return home with no negative hindsight of possibly having done better.
These games are not a local meeting or game (or even the Games of Small States) and thus some of the athletes will be facing the real international stage pressure for the first time. Confidence, relaxation and a sound psychological balance will be important traits to search for on the day of competition so that they give their 100 per cent on the big international stage.
I conclude by wishing all the athletes the very best of luck, whilst hoping that most of them manage to improve on their own personal/team records. From initial reports, it seems the Maltese-Australian community is also warming up to give the best of greetings to the persons donning and representing Malta colours. I am sure that being so far away from their original homeland, these ‘cousins’ will support fully and enthusiastically even if Malta's representatives may not finish amongst the best but do make the very best of efforts.
After all, almost everyone (even those who may not be too sports-oriented) will notice when someone is putting all he can in his/he performance.
From my part, if circumstances allow me and I find the necessary technological resources available, I will try to keep you informed of the atmosphere in Melbourne in next week’s column.