Dr Lucienne Attard
Chairperson Women in Sport Commission
The Malta Olympic Committee has announced that it will be holding the third national seminar organised by the Women in Sport Commission (WIS).
This will take place on 27 and 28 October at the Grand Hotel Mercure San Antonio, St Paul’s Bay. The success of the previous seminars was instrumental in encouraging the WIS Commission to organise this third edition. The role of women in leadership positions in sport in Malta will be discussed and looked at during this seminar.
“Women and leadership in sport: barriers and solutions” will concentrate on issues relating to gender equality in sport, the scarcity of women in leadership positions in the present structure of local sports associations and how cultural change can be brought about. It is common knowledge that women are faced with a number of barriers in a number of fields and this applies equally to the field of sport.
It is with these issues in mind that the Women in Sport Commission is trying to create an open debate and bring about change for women who are under-represented at all levels of sport: in positions of leadership and in public recognition.
This is not because of a lack of interest on the part of women, but reflects a long history of direct and indirect forms of discrimination. It is important that men and women work together to enhance sport for everyone.
This is why in 1999, the commission was set up to tackle such shortcomings by promoting and encouraging the participation of Maltese women in all aspects of sporting life in accordance with the International Olympic Committee policies. The commission emphasises that women can give a valuable contribution in the sports sector, whether as athletes, coaches, officials or administrators.
Through seminars and conferences, representatives from sporting bodies, athletes, women themselves and the media can help to raise these issues and put them on the social agenda.
Girls’ and women’s participation in sport and physical activity is below what is should be when compared to other countries. Providing opportunities for more girls and women to be active in the sporting world is the right direction to pursue for Malta.
During this seminar there will be contributions by several local and foreign speakers. Key note lecturer and guest speaker Dr Anita White OBE will open this seminar by looking at the leadership of women in sport from an international perspective which will allow participants to draw parallels with the local situation.
Workshops will take place to allow for open discussion, sharing of experiences and most importantly, an opportunity to analyse current sports organisations from a gender perspective with a view to identifying the best approach to bring about change to increase women’s leadership and influence in the organisation in the future.
Dr White is an independent consultant working in the field of national and international sport policy and sports development, and a visiting professor at Loughborough University, UK.
She is a former chairperson of the European Women and Sport working group, of the International Working Group on Women and Sport (IWG) and the UK Coordinating Group on Women and Sport.
She has wide-ranging experience of sport at all levels in both governmental and non-governmental sectors: as an international hockey player and coach, as President of GB Olympic Hockey, as a lecturer and researcher in higher education, as a former Director of Sport England, and as an advocate for equality in sport in national and international circles.
Other speakers will include Janet Mifsud (National Commission for the Promotion of Equality), Anna Borg (Employment and Training Corporation), Helga Ellul (President of the National Council of Women and CEO Playmobil Malta Ltd), Brenda Murphy (University of Malta) and Marie Therese Zammit (MOC Director) to name a few.
Who should attend?
The general public is invited to attend. Anybody who is involved in any way in the local sporting scene, whether as an athlete, coach or administrator, will surely find this seminar interesting and exciting. We encourage men and women to participate and share their experiences and ideas.
Why should you attend?
You will learn from other women’s past experiences. You will be able to network with other women in similar positions; you will be able to learn from guest speakers who will raise the issues, discuss them and suggest how to adopt measures that can help to put women’s sport on an equal footing. This seminar is also appropriate for coaches, officials, administrators or parents who have an interest in their child’s sporting development.
How can you get more
information?
Should you wish to participate at this seminar and would like a copy of the detailed programme, kindly contact the Malta Olympic Committee on tel.: 2133-2801 or [email protected] for more information.
The registration fee for the seminar is Lm11 (which includes seminar material, lunch and coffee breaks) and Lm7 for students (a limited number of spaces are available).
Malta Tenpin Bowling Association
MARK SPITERI
Secretary General
Tenpin Bowling was introduced in Malta before the 1970s by American and English services people residing locally. In 1975, the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association was formed by Julian Pace Bonello who is still its president after more than 31 years.
Today the association boasts more than 400 members with around 36 teams competing in the Middlesea Valletta Life National League Divisions.
The association is affiliated with the Malta Olympic Committee, Federation Internationales des Quilleurs (FIQ), World Tenpin Bowling Federation, Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Federation, European Tenpin Bowling Federation and Malta Council for Sports.
At the moment the association is running five training programmes concurrently, thanks to the support from the management of the Eden Superbowl: the Skola Sport Scheme for bowlers between 11 and 16 years of age, a scheme for persons with special needs, and an Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced programme for various bowlers of different skills’ levels catering from aspirant to elite athletes.
We have three Maltese qualified coaches taking care of the Elementary and Intermediate programmes and there are more than 25 bowlers in these schemes.
In fact, the bowlers in these categories have already been very successful and the Malta International Youth Open held in April 2006 was won by a Maltese bowler for the second consecutive year.
Also, one of our youths, Philippe Vancell managed to win a gold medal in this year’s 30th edition of the European Gold Cup Tournament held in Foetz, Luxembourg, where he competed against 22 other European bowlers.
For the Advanced level, the association is still trying to find a suitable international coach. Nevertheless these athletes still have their training programme, which they follow rigorously each week.
In the 2006 Commonwealth Tenpin Bowling Championships, held in Melbourne, Australia, sisters Melissa Anastasi and Sue Abela won the Silver medal in the Ladies’ Doubles.
Malta also won the Mediterranean Championsh-
ips for three consecutive years (2004, 2005, 2006) competing against France, Spain, Greece, Turkey and Italy to name but a few giant European countries.
Also this year, Ray Falzon Reale won the Pafos Open in Cyprus, competing against 130 bowlers from different countries.
Without any doubt, to be able to compete abroad we need a lot of financial backing as well as technical support.
Here the MTBA would like to thank the MOC for its continuous assistance to our sport. For more information contact [email protected] or visit www.mtba.cjb.net. Athlete’s
Profile: Erica Xerri Mallan
Age: 27 years
Sport: Softball
Position: Fastpitch
Club: Devils of Malta
Started: 2003, when softball was first introduced in Malta
Job: Graduated as a Physical Education teacher in 2001
Positions played: Pitcher, 1st base, short stop and right fielder
Achievements
• Winter League winners 2003
• Runners-up in the summer league 2004
• Winter league winners 2005
• Captain of national team 2005-2006
Other
Represented Malta at the following Games:
• International tournament held in Malta in March 2006
• International tournament held in Polizzi Generosa in Sicily in September 2006 where Malta placed second
‘Malta u Dinja tal-Hames Crieki’
Next Sunday at 1.05pm on 103FM (RTK), this programme will feature the Malta Table Tennis Association, Table Football athletes Massimo Cremona and Joseph Mifsud, Women in Sport Commission Chairperson Dr Lucienne Attard and a medical advice section.