Thanks to all those who have congratulated Starmax athletes and I agree that it is important to have local competitions.

Still this year’s calendar surely was not performance friendly.

Our club always argued that such competition can be detrimental to most athletes’ performances.

We have sportingly participated in past years but this year’s decision from abstaining has proved that we may be right. This year we have endured pressure maybe more than other years and it was important we did things our way so as to produce the past week’s results.

For us, it has been uphill all through and special thanks go to the clubs who plotted to outvote me from the council two years ago. I think I am doing my duties much better now especially since I was outvoted out of the MAAA Council.

I do not intend to stand up again for council election since most people on the council need not be replaced especially the independent ones such as President and Secretary.

Without their work we cannot have an unbiased leadership to take us hopefully into a new era “MAAA management of the track”.

This management is important for improved performances because we cannot improve if we have scores of walkers etc. going around in circles on all lanes; jumping and throwing areas can never improve; development of steeple chase and hurdles can never become a reality.

Of course, we cannot keep thinking that athletics is just for six clubs fighting between each other.

Our beloved Malta has kept away the Turks and Nazi but will never be known again unless our athletes reach a high level at international meetings (and international meetings meaning preferably where more than a dozen countries participate).

Those who might have thought they would obstruct my path of coaching were not harming Starmax AC alone. They also harmed Maltese athletics.

Our athletes need local competition to be fruitful not simply fun.

Most of us Maltese cannot understand this because their vision is only localised but we need to broaden our spectrum:

Why not introduce open graded meetings?

Why can’t we have clubs league rules like other European countries using IAAF points?

Why can’t we have specialised meets for particular events? (with a reduced number of officials and reduced time of meetings)

Why can’t we have track meets close or on same dates as road running races? The athletes differ and it is never sensible to have a thrower doing a 10k.

Why can’t we have a calendar that is targeted towards international meets now that all are happy with the result?

In my opinion, club presidents should not contribute only with their presence at the presidents’ meeting on 20 July. Their sole intention should be that of producing more athletes from each club for international events and not obstructing the others.

I may be away because of other duties as coach so I have aired my opinion now and expect that some may disagree.

It is also important that an opposing opinion should be based on technical knowledge and experience so that it can be substantiated.