The annual MOC Sports Awards is in its sixth edition, and will be hosted at the Excelsior Grand Hotel on Friday, 14th December. This year’s event is once again sponsored by the Malta International Airport plc as part of its ‘Supporting Malta’s Sport’ policy, that promotes a better and healthier lifestyle among the Maltese society, instills a greater sense of national pride and assists in the development of young talented athletes. In addition the Gold Award is sponsored by Cisk Excel, the Silver Award by BioFreeze and the Bronze Award by Allcare Insurance Brokers.
This annual gala event mixes sport, excitement and entertainment; it is the premier event that honours sportsmen and women in all sports each year. This event is also broadcast live, and will be hosted by well known TV presenters Charles Saliba and Andreana Spiteri. This year’s event will also include a special international guest, none other than World Olympic champion Sergey Bubka. George Curmi affectionately known as “Il-Puse”, a well known violinist along with fellow musician Yuri, will be entertaining the stars of the show and viewers alike.
Athletes are nominated on the basis of their achievements for the past year. The organizing committee takes into consideration a number of factors, including the level of international competition, the number of participants, the country the participants come from and, obviously, the final outcome. All athletes nominated are winners. On the actual night their achievement is then given further recognition, with trophies given out for various categories which include: the Platinum Award, the Gold Award, the Silver Award and the Bronze Award.
Every year at the Sports Awards we get to see that athletes coming from diverse sporting disciplines have show that they too can achieve success at international competitions, despite Malta’s limitations. Maltese athletes, through sheer determination, dedication and sacrifice, can inspire and show Maltese Society how important practicing sport is. Every year expectations are high, as the general public and the local sporting world will be wondering who will have been recognised by the Maltese Olympic Committee adjudicating board for outstanding sporting achievement for 2007, and then on the night, to find out who will receive either a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze award.
Hall of Fame
Individuals who have greatly contributed to Maltese Sport should not be forgotten. We should be proud of people who have given so much to Maltese sport. Thus the Maltese Olympic Committee back in December 2003, felt that it was of the utmost importance to create a Hall of Fame, in order to pay tribute to, and keep alive, the memory of these individuals. It is believed that a Hall of Fame would, not only revive those precious moments through which the passion and interest for the Olympic Movement and its universal ideals flourish, but also act as a means of inspiration for the young, showing how through example, with dedication, sacrifice and perseverance sports can achieve success.
Accordingly, Maltese legendary sport heroes are included, on the night of the Sports Awards, with the election of new members to the Hall of Fame – whether as administrators or as athletes, individuals are given the opportunity to be elected to the MOC Hall of Fame which commemorates these individuals for their dedication and effort. Eligibility criteria is based on clear guidelines as to how an individual is nominated.
The MOC Sports Awards are managed by an organizing committee chaired by Mr Pippo Psaila, who is also the Chairman of the adjudicating committee; he is also the chancellor of the Hall of Fame which is chaired by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco. This event falls under the auspices of the Maltese Olympic Committee, which is the supreme and exclusive authority on matters relating to representation of Malta at the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games, the Mediterranean Games, the Games of the Small States of Europe and other International Games which fall under the jurisdiction of the MOC. Our main commitment is that of encouraging, promoting and funding Maltese athletes’ participation at these Games and through support programmes, to improve their level of competitiveness.
The sixth edition of the MOC Sports Awards promises to be another high profile evening for Malta’s athletes. Sport has a powerful role to play; through our athletes’ attempts, successes and dedication, they inspire and show our society how important practicing and taking part in sport is. Accordingly, the general public is invited to follow this event live, on Education22 TV Channel at 8pm.
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The Malta Olympic Hall of Fame
The need to pay tribute, and to honour those who have served and contributed with excellence, towards Malta’s sporting endeavors has long been felt. Finally in the offing, the Olympic Hall of Fame will act as a showcase of athletes, coaches, officials and administrators, who have, through their participation and service, promoted and fostered the principles of Olympic ideals at various levels, whilst respecting the Olympic charter.
In line with other such Halls abroad, the Hall of Fame in Malta will serve to preserve Maltese sporting history, and be a point of reference. Acting as a motivating mechanism, it will be a driving force for the public to emulate local sporting heroes, and encourage locals to participate in sports in its different facets, whether on the sporting field or administration. No doubt it will be an ideal inspirational force for those involved in sports to aspire to, and hope that one day, they too would be so honoured for their outstanding achievements, thus creating the right channels for greater attainment.
The Hall is managed by a Board of Trustees, constituting former Presidents of the MOC, as well as the active MOC board of management. The chairmen for the MOC Hall of Fame is Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, and the chancellor is Mr Pippo Psaila. Eligibility for election will not be merely restricted to those who would have battled it out on the competitive arenas, but will equally honour officials, coaches and administrators alike.
Hall of Fame Trustees
Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco – Chairman, Mr Pippo Psaila – Chancellor, Mr Julian Pace Bonello – Member, Mr Joseph Cassar – Member, Mr David Azzopardi – Member, Mr Karm Borg – Member
The MOC Sports Awards
The MOC Sports Awards are about acknowledging practicing athletes’ feats, for outstanding sporting achievements in the international arena for a given period. Athletes manage to succeed through total dedication and sacrifice, and it is this dedication and success that is being recognised by the MOC. The MOC Sports Awards covers the full array of sports, and this initiative will include other popular sporting disciplines not necessarily practiced during the GSSE.
All athletes are nominated through their association/federation and the MOC; those athletes, who it is felt have truly commended an outstanding sporting achievement, will be recognised with a token of appreciation with specially designed trophies catergorised Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze accordingly.
Sport has a powerful role to play; through our athletes’ attempts, successes and dedication they inspire and show our society how important practicing sport is. To celebrate our athletes’ achievements and to truly acknowledge their dedication, the Maltese Olympic Committee acknowledges our athletes at a gala Sports Awards Presentation Night, which is held on an annual basis. This year’s will take place on the 14th December and will be televised live.
MOC Sports Awards Organising Committee
Mr Pippo Psaila – Chairperson
Mr Julian Pace Bonello
Mr Joseph Cassar
Ms Marie Therese Zammit
Ms Susan Ronald
Ms Cynthia Fiteni
Mr Bernard Schranz
Ms Susanne Fenech
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MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Friday, 7 December on E22 at 9pm, Sunday, 9 December on E22 at 10am (RPT) and on TVM at 5.25pm, and Monday, 10 December on E22 at 2.30pm (RPT) will feature the following:
Featured event – Mediterranean Friendship Tournament Malta – Sicily
The Mediterranean Friendship Tournament Malta – Sicily was held on this Italian island. A total of 32 athletes took part in these Games in no fewer than 10 disciplines, namely Badminton, Dancesport, Fencing, Golf, Karate, Pool, Snooker, Table Football, Triathlon and Weightlifting. This tournament is specifically reserved for athletes of federations who normally do not represent Malta in Olympic sports events. The tournament was held mostly in Palermo, with just pool and snooker taking place in Modica. A crew from MIA Olympic Magazine travelled over to Sicily to report what was going on during these games.
This week we shall see the third and final part of the feature regarding the Games.
Highlighted Event – MCAST Sportsfest/
MIA Shooting Event
On Sunday the 2nd December The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology, Sports Department and Kunsill Nazzjonali Zaghzagh came together and organised a sports festival at the Marsa Sports Grounds. A number of sport associations were roped into the organization of this event, in order to make this one of the biggest sport festivals ever staged on our islands. This festival was aimed at youths aged between 15 and 35 years. The events took place at the Marsa Track and at the rugby and baseball grounds, whilst the talks, sport demonstrations and karting were held in the car park near the netball/basketball courts.
The MOC-MIA shooting event was held on Saturday 1st December at Bidnija. MOC Directors and elite athletes were present, and tried their hand at the sport. A rather interesting feature, which was worth watching. The agreement between MOC and MIA consists of a number of initiatives, with one of them being the shooting event held over the past weekend.
MOC section
The Maltese Olympic Committee is once again organising its prestigious annual gala event, which awards Maltese athletes for their ‘Outstanding Sporting Achievements’; (period taken into consideration 1st November 2006 to 31st October 2007). A press conference was held, with the MOC revealing the nominees and presenting them with a certificate for their nomination.
Olympic archive
section
In this interesting Section, MIA Olympic Special takes us down memory lane and relives the interesting moments of the previous Olympic Games as a build up for the Beijing 2008 Games.
Schedule available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on The Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with E22.