Dr Louis Galea, Minister of Education and responsible for Sport, yesterday hailed these annual sporting awards organised by the Sportswriters Association, as a celebration of Sport.

Addressing the gathering at St James Cavalier, Dr Galea said these awards were an appreciation to those who had shown enough commitment to achieve success. “It is not a common celebration. It is also a reflection of the quality needed to achieve certain levels,” he said.

In his speech, the Minister also paid tribute to veteran journalist Benny Pace who had originated such contests 48 years ago.

Dr Galea also spoke about government’s policy for sport and said the Maltese Council for Sport (KMS) used the brand name of Sport to include all and not just the elite athletes. “Today we can safely say there are much more people who are conscious of the importance of sport. More parents understand the importance of seeing their children taking an active part in sports, through participation in the nurseries, etc. The federations and the associations have all made a leap of quality in consistency, results, quality of their participants and in their administration. All this has led to an overall improvement in our sporting standards,” he said.

He said Malta followed most European countries and the United States as well as other countries in formulating its sports policy. He made it clear that there was no centralised policy. “Here it is the people who make the sport. The government just makes the framework which, however, is very important, in the build-up for those who are interested. The KMS is at the disposal of all those who are interested in sport. It has given a very valid contribution towards a better sports administration on these islands. This is why I believe our policy has a successful formula,” he added.

Dr Galea spoke about the year 2007 saying that government had continued with the construction of the Kirkop Sports Complex. “This building is now nearing completion and we hope to have it completed and in use by the end of this year. Moreover, we are investing more money in the refurbishing of various existing facilities. The KMS has also been active in Gozo where it now also has its own office,” he said.

The Minister also explained how the government had contributed financially to help sports federations or associations. He said: “The incentive schemes have been accepted by the beneficiaries. Last year, e745,339 were distributed to sporting associations. The KMS also allocated a sum of e361,052 and e23,293 in membership fees for the Fitness Centre at Tal-Qroqq, to the Maltese Olympic Committee.”

Dr Galea also said that during the past year, the government had allocated the sum of e2,678,799 to the KMS which, on its part, generated another e994,905 which were re-directed towards helping sports organisations. Among other expenditure items, it is to be mentioned that the KMS spent more than two million euros on improvements and maintenance to sports facilities.

Dr Galea said the Sports Law had helped to regularise sport on these islands. “Thanks to the Law, it is now a fact that the KMS is a sort of public agency making sure that the sports policy is followed in detail. The KMS is determined to see the levels of sport improving in Malta and Gozo. Its ‘Reshaping Sport’ strategy is based on three pillars: a solid base in the administration of sport, improvement of the sporting culture and sport’s impact on the economy.”

He added that the KMS will be working more or less on the same lines in the next three years. “It is important for it and for Maltese Sport that targets set are achieved. With commitment and determination, we will succeed,” concluded Dr Galea.

Earlier, Franco Azzopardi, the chairman of the Maltese Council for Sport, told those present that it was the KMS’s pleasure to be supporting this activity organised by the Sportswriters Association. He wished all those nominated success.

Charles Camenzuli, president of the Sportswriters Association said there was a difference this year in the sense that no winners of recent editions are included among the finalists in each of the five categories. He added he was sure that the results from the votes of the journalists in the coming days would give an exact reflection of last year’s protagonists.

Finals night, at the Westin Dragonara Resort, is scheduled for Sunday 27 January.

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The finalists

The finalists for the 2007 national sporting awards, organised by the Sportswriters Association, were announced yesterday.

Malta Athletics was the most successful among the local associations. It is represented in four of the five categories to be contested. Darren Gilford and Nikolai Portelli are among the five contesting the sportsman of the Year, Francesca Xuereb is among those listed for the Sportswoman event, president Anthony Chircop is a finalist in the Official of the Year category, while the Xuereb sisters, Francesca (second nomination) and Martina, are both contesting the Under 17 athlete of the year award for the John Debattista trophy.

The finalists are the following:

Sportsman of the Year: Gary Curmi (Drag Racing); Darren Gilford (athletics); Michael Mifsud (Football), Nikolai Portelli (athletics); Mark Spiteri (Tenpin Bowling).

Sportswoman of the Year: Sue Abela (Tenpin Bowling), Charlene Attard (Athletics), Marcon Bezzina (Judo), Joanne Camilleri (Judo), Francesca Xuereb (Athletics).

Team of the Year: Basketball women’s U-18 team; Football men’s national team; Rugby – women’s national team; Snooker Masters national team; Squash women’s national team.

Official of the Year: Terry Camilleri (Snooker); Anthony Chircop (Athletics), Anthony Debono (Horse-racing), Marvic Micallef (Volleyball), Dr Joseph Mifsud (Football).

U-17 athlete: Benji Borg (Sailing), Sean Borg (Sailing), Colette Sultana (Squash), Francesca Xuereb (Athletics), Martina Xuereb (Athletics).

Special Olympics recognition: Sylvana Cassar, Nathalie Galea, Chris Gregory, Bryan Muscat, Alexia Wetz.