The final phase of preparation for the finals night of the 46th edition of the national sporting contests next Saturday has started.

The contests are organised by the Sportswriters Association with the full collaboration of the Maltese Council for Sport. The finals night is being held on Saturday at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

The winners of the various categories of these contests will be announced that day. The categories are Sportsman, Sportswoman, Official, Team of the Year and Young Athlete of the Year for the John Debattista trophy.

The event is being broadcast live on Education22 television channel. It is being presented by journalists George Micallef. Singers Lynn Faure, Claire Caruana and the group Trilogy are among the guests invited to take part.

During the evening, a feature on Sport in the year 2006, prepared by Chris Muscat, will also be shown.

Unfortunately, two of the finalists announced a few days ago, will not be able to be in the hall on Saturday. Rebecca Madyson (shooting) lives in Melbourne, Australia, while Marcon Bezzina (judo) is in Bath, England, attending a course sponsored by Olympic Solidarity.

Members of the Sportswriters Association are currently sending their preferences. They have until tomorrow to send in their voting sheets. Last year 82 per cent of the 80 journalists who are members of the association, took part in the vote.

This year, the association will be giving recognition to one of its veteran members who, during the past 35 years, was instrumental in fostering sports journalism and interest in sport in Malta. In past years, this honour went to foto reporter Charles Fava, and the late Lewis Portelli. The winner of this year’s title will be announced on Saturday.