All is set for the start of the Monaco Games for European Small States. This morning, a chartered Air Malta flight is taking the whole Team Malta contingent made up of 57 athletes and 17 officials, the Maltese Olympic Committee officials, as well as the press and some fans, to the Principality, which is staging this event between tomorrow and next Saturday.

It is another occasion where over 800 athletes of the eight different countries will be meeting in a spirit of friendship and competitiveness for almost a week.

This event – held every two years – has become one of the main items on the Maltese Olympic Committee’s calendar and rightly so. Why?

First and foremost, although not in all instances, our athletes are competing mostly on the same levels as the rest of the participants. In fact, in these Games, there are no humiliations as is the case when our athletes are competing alongside giants in their respective fields, such as at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, Mediterranean Games and even in football, which is not yet included in these Games.

This means that there is also space for some glory for athletes of every nation in these Games and that is why each of the eight nations so far taking part, looks forward to the Games every two years.

It is a competition which also has the blessing of the International Olympic Committee. Its president, Dr Jacques Rogge, will also find the time to visit, especially tomorrow evening on the occasion of the Opening Ceremony in the picturesque harbour of Monaco. His presence at such an event will be very much appreciated, not only by the organisers, but also by the participants. It serves as a stimulus for those taking part to see such a figurehead representing world sport, close to them, even if it is an event reserved only for small nations.

I have been at these Games since their inception in 1985 in San Marino – which I still consider as the Games of Don Ross. I still remember his inclusion in the Malta team being a great hit among the San Marino basketball fans as they crammed into the hall to watch the Malta matches. Unfortunately, Malta could only win a bronze medal – the only medal at those Games – but I still firmly believe Ross was the number one personality at those Games. The fact that he had played in the United States earlier in his career gave a better image to the event as did Maltese cyclist David Millar’s presence in the San Marino edition of 2001. Had Ashley Callus been available to swim for Malta in Monaco, then there would have been a battle royale in pool which would have elevated the event to much higher standards.

I can say that I have seen these Games evolving from an insignificant level to that which they have acquired today. I – and no one for that matter – simply cannot make a comparison with what results were registered in San Marino in 1985 and the results registered in Andorra two years ago. The improvement registered can only be described as unbelievable!

There have been successes and disappointments which are impossible to mention in such a short space. Monaco will certainly offer a nostalgic moment for me this time round. Twenty years ago, there was one glorious moment I will never forget. The Tennis Centre was the venue where Helen Asciak and Carol Curmi won the doubles gold medal – Malta’s first ever gold medal in these Games. It was certainly an emotional moment hearing the Maltese national anthem being played and the national flag being hoisted on foreign territory for the first time in a sporting event of a certain level. There was also the women’s basketball final at the Malta Games in 2003 at the packed University Sports Hall. We all still remember the feats of the shooters, culminating with William Chetcuti in the Double Trap (unfortunately there is no shooting this time in Monaco). We also cherish the all-round performances of the athletes and judokas in the past few years as well as the first swimming gold medal won by Angela Galea, our flag bearer in Monaco, two years ago in Andorra. These, of course, are just a few proud moments.

Among the disappointments were some of the results at the Luxembourg and Liechtenstein (to a certain extent) events where our expectations were never matched. In fact, we came back home thinking that Maltese sport was back to Square One. But we were proved wrong later on!

Since the early days, there has been enormous progress from all the athletes of these eight countries and this goes on to show that this event is serving its purpose. Enough to say that Iceland, Luxembourg and Cyprus always provide some medal winners in the big events, even at the Olympic Games.

Here I think a big well done to all those Maltese sports administrators involved in proposing the idea of staging these Games way back in the early eighties, if not before, is really justified.

Commenting on Maltese sport, it must be admitted that thanks to these Games, we have also seen a big development which was unheard of prior to 1985. These Games, in fact, sparked the interest of the associations involved. Their athletes started showing a more professional attitude in training and there was some keen competition for a place in the contingent every two years.

But the peak was perhaps reached in 1993 when the Games were staged for the first time in Malta. The government had already built the Gozo Sports Complex, but due to Malta winning the bid to stage the Games in 1993, we had a brand new swimming pool constructed at Tal-Qroqq, a new tartan athletics track at the Marsa Stadium and the complete refurbishment of the Bidnija Shooting Range. And this not to mention the refurbishing of the other facilities where the various disciplines were staged during the event.

This, obviously, was the real start of the great development in sport which followed in later years, up to this day.

In 1993, Malta reaped a good reward medals-wise after scrappy showings in San Marino, Monaco, Cyprus and Andorra earlier. In 1995, in Luxembourg, results were not so good and levels dropped unfortunately, but in Reykjavik, in 1997, the medal haul was even bigger than that achieved in Malta four years earlier and the results (and performances) were much and much better.

The arrival of current President Lino Farrugia Sacco and Director of Sport Pippo Psaila on the scene, it must be said, made the difference in quality and quantity. They worked hard together with the rest of the Olympic Committee and set targets for the athletes which have become synonymous with every event they take part in – the Minimum Qualifying Standards. In the past 10 years or so, athletes have had to go through some strenuous training prepared for them to be able to reach an acceptable standard and to qualify for participation in these Games. At first, such a system met with great opposition from all those involved, but later on, it became accepted.

And this has helped most of them to achieve much better standards – something which is appreciated by one and all, even the athletes themselves.

Nowadays these Games are also serving another purpose. The positive results are not only convincing the government to invest more in sport, but even private entities are being enticed to join the successful sporting bandwagon. And why not? Sponsors must be aware of the great potential that exists in the sporting field with all the media coverage day after day. This will help sport to continue to evolve, especially if there is proper funding through government grants and various sound sponsorships.

Moreover, these Games are also serving as a stepping stone for the athletes to try and earn a berth in an Olympic Games, a Commonwealth Games or the Mediterranean Games. Nowadays, we often hear Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco and Pippo Psaila speaking about medals at these Games. We have already reached our target in the Commonwealth Games and the Mediterranean Games, but an Olympic medal still eludes us. Psaila and Farrugia Sacco, however, are convinced that next year in Beijing, Malta will finally break the ice.

This is certainly the way to push our athletes to try and get the best out of them. On their part, the athletes must be aware that they have to make a number of sacrifices if they are to reach a certain level which will enable them to achieve some form of glory in the big events.

I am sure that with commitment and determination, there will be room for more improvement for everyone to be able to reach their goals. It has already been declared that Team Malta is going to Monaco to get a good result – close to that achieved in Andorra two years ago or perhaps even a little better. Two years ago, Malta won 38 medals, seven of which were gold, 13 silver and 18 bronze.

Predictions for the past few editions have always been made by Mr Psaila. These have been almost correct every time. Let us hope that he is again proved right by the athletes’ results in Monaco this time as well.

Good Luck Team Malta.