Over 50 athletes coming from a diversity of sports practised in Malta including bocci, horse racing, judo, lawn bowls, pool, sailing, shooting, table football, table tennis, tennis, tenpin bowling and triathlon have been nominated for a MOC Sports Awards for this year’s event.

Expectations will be high as the general public and the local sporting world will be wondering who will be taking home a prestigious Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze award as recognition for their outstanding sporting achievement for 2006. The MOC Sports Awards event will be taking place this evening and the general public will be able to follow this event live on Education 22 at 8pm.

These Awards were launched in 2002 with the aim of giving recognition and honour to exceptional international performances of our athletes, recognition to their efforts for training consistently, and recognition for the glory and honour they bring to Malta. These awards are held every year in December.

During this same event the MOC also ensures that legendary names in local sport are duly recognised. Individuals who have greatly contributed to Maltese Sport whether as an administrator or as athletes are given the opportunity to be elected to the MOC Hall of Fame which commemorates these individuals for their dedication and effort.

The MOC Sports Awards are the premier recognition event for sporting excellence. Through this event the MOC are contributing to help generate awareness and better following for our athletes. These Awards are not just about acknowledging past greatness, but also, and more importantly, they are an investment in our athletes for the future of sports in Malta.

The fifth edition of the MOC Sports Awards, which will take place today, is sponsored by Malta International Airport plc as part of its “Supporting Malta’s Sport” policy. This policy promotes a better and healthier lifestyle among Maltese society, instills a greater sense of national pride and assists in the development of young talented athletes.

The event will be compered by well-known TV presenters John Demanuele and Graziella Attard Previ and will feature entertainment spots from the Big Band Brothers.

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Association News: The Malta Equestrian Federation

The Malta Equestrian Federation, which is affiliated to the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI), was set up in 1999 in order to promote equestrian sports and attract new talent.

The disciplines governed by the FEI and represented by the Malta Equestrian Federation are jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, endurance, reining and vaulting; of these, jumping, dressage and eventing are Olympic disciplines.

Equestrian sport is in fact the only Olympic discipline performed by humans in union with an outstanding ambassador of nature: the horse. Jumping and dressage are arena disciplines whereas eventing includes both disciplines as well as a cross country course.

There is also an increasing emphasis being placed on para-equestrian sports, the paralympic disciplines of the equestrian world. The 2004 Summer Paralympics in fact included dressage among the competition disciplines.

The Malta Equestrian Federation, with the help of the Malta Olympic Committee and the guidance of Director of Sport, Mr Pippo Psaila, has for the last couple of months, endeavoured to raise the profile of this sport in Malta and ensure that proper rules, regulations and structures are set down to bring this about.

Over 50 equestrian enthusiasts met up recently to discuss the newly formed statute. A number of points were raised for discussion including how the national body is run, the issue of conflict of interest and how club representatives are elected.

Through the deliberations it has been proposed that one representative from each region (defined) can be represented on the executive irrespective of the number of national bodies.

However, if there are more national bodies in the region then the number will increase to two representatives for every four national bodies and three representatives for over five or more national bodies. This will guarantee proportional representation.

Notice was duly circulated that an ad hoc general meeting in accordance with the current statute of the MEF will be taking place at the MOC Head Quarters on 15 December at 6pm.

The aim of this meeting is to further define and clarify the new MEF statute that will govern Equestrian Sport in Malta and to elect a new Steering Committee. This meeting will be chaired by Pippo Psaila and the agenda will include the motion to change the statute, to adopt new text with all amendments, to suspend the rules of new statue, to approve the new statute to govern the MEF, and to decide on a date for the first elective general meeting under the new statue.

At this same meeting a new Steering Committee which will be chaired by Mr. Ronald Gaerty will be elected.

The role of the new Steering Committee will be to evaluate all statutes of national bodies, draw up statutes and regulations governing districts, approve the calendars for each national body and each district, organise and host the national championship/s of the MEF, evaluate and conclude the sponsorship proposal for the biannual period 2007-2009 of Equus Co. in line with the new statute, and decide on membership and subs.

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MIA Olympic Special – What’s On

Thursday, 14 December on TVM at 5pm, Friday, 15 December on E22 at 9pm (Rpt), Sunday, 17 December on E22 at 10am (Rpt) and Monday, 18 December on E22 at 2.30pm (Rpt) will feature the following:

Athlete Profile

Danica Spiteri, 25 years of age, medical doctor for the last two and a half years, has been practicing triathlon for the last 11 years. She has won numerous competitions both locally and international – the most recent being a Gold Medal at the recent Triathlon Games of the Small States of Europe 2006. Find out more about Danica Spiteri in this interview produced by University communication students Bernard Borg and Glen Galea.

What is Lotta

Wrestling is an individual activity. The duration of a bout is six minutes of active wrestling divided in two equal periods with half a minute break. The main objective is to win by a fall, that is the touching of both shoulders of the opponent for one second. In the eventuality of no fall, the bout is then decided according to point.

There are various types of wrestling – international such as Olympic Free-Style, Olympic Greco Roman and traditional. Find out more about this sport practiced in Malta in this feature produced by University communication students Mohit Bindra and Louise Caruana Galizia.

Feature event

Malta National Pool Championships organised by the Malta Pool Association final between Mario Vassallo and Kevin Da’ Agostino on 7 December at the Pandora Hall, Zejtun at 7.30pm. Find out what happened during this final, including a number of interviews.

Highlight events

This week’s highlights will focus on the Netball national league Division I and II organised by the Malta Netball Association, and on a Cross Country race organised by the MAAA at the Marsa Sports Grounds on Sunday 10 December.

The schedule is available every week online – www.nocmalta.org and in The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. The programme is produced in collaboration with E22 and the University of Malta, Centre for Communication & Technologies (CCT) Video Production Students (Video3 – 2006).

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Vodafone to sponsor the Malta Olympic Committee

Vodafone announced that it will be offering its support to the Malta Olympic Committee (MOC) in line with its Corporate Social Responsibility objectives.

This sponsorship will target amateur sports and elite/aspirant athletes who represent Malta at international events under the auspices of the MOC. Such sponsorships show Vodafone’s commitment to local sports and reinforce its position as a leading company involved in actively contributing towards the welfare of Maltese society. Following the signing of the sponsorship agreement, Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace, MOC Director of Marketing, emphasised that sport sponsorship is difficult to come by. “The few companies who offer their support rightly deserve our custom,” he said, adding “In the long run local sport will benefit. Whatever the MOC obtains in terms of sponsorship is reinvested into sport through various schemes and preparation programmes from which both associations and athletes benefit.”

Mr Mikhail Gerchuk, Vodafone’s Chief Commercial Officer, acknowledged that athletes are sporting ambassadors and role models for our youths.

Through the Olympic Movement athletes have the opportunity to aspire for the Olympic Dream and learn to appreciate the values and philosophy of the Olympic Movement, such as fair play, sportsmanship, peace, success, determination, vision, appreciation, courage and much more.

“It is these values that are in line with Vodafone Malta’s corporate social responsibility. With this agreement we are contributing towards helping the MOC prepare its athletes to reach international levels and strengthen the cause of the Olympic Movement in Malta,” he said.

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‘Malta u Dinja tal-Hames Crieki’

Next Sunday at 1.05pm on 103FM (RTK), this programme will feature the Malta Motor Sport Association, the Malta Tennis Federation who will discuss their national youth development programme, and medical advice from Dr Kirill Micallef Stafrace. This programme is sponsored by Malta International Airport plc.