The winners of the national sporting contests, organised by the Sportswriters Association will be announced this evening during a ceremony at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

It is the end of the process which started in January of last year and is a sort of recognition for those athletes who were the most successful during the past year.

The winners will be proud of their achievement as they were while being victorious on the field of play.

The others will obviously be disappointed at having failed to land an award. However, in such events and in competition, there is only one winner and this is an accepted fact worldwide.

Actually, they all should feel honoured at having been selected to form part of the finalists in these contests. Having reached such a stage means that they certainly did something to be proud of last year, not only for themselves, perhaps, but also for their country.

Something which was strange in this year's contests, but which certainly made sense, is that no recent winner figures among the finalists.

William Chetcuti's absence quickly comes into one's frame of mind. He had been so dominant in the past few years, but this time, he does not figure among the top five in the Sportsman of the Year category.

Why? First of all, he did not take part in the Games for European Small Nations in Monaco for the simple reason that shooting did not form part of this edition's programme.

Moreover, his participation in World Cup and other European events did not produce the desired results and his form dipped down considerably in 2007.

Yet, he is still a top athlete and, as such, should be given all the support needed from everyone with a view to the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing next August.

We must all encourage William to get back on track as quickly as possible and we all wish him good luck in his forthcoming commitment - the International Malta Open in the next few days.

It is a good opportunity for William to start the year on a top note. His coach, Jimmy Bugeja, says that William is once again reaching his peak and he is expecting his protég?to produce good form and eventually win the tournament, despite the presence of some formidable Double Trap shooters.

Although nothing is certain about his participation in the Beijing Olympics, however, the Maltese Olympic Committee, the Malta Shooting Federation and the Maltese Council for Sport should be commended for their continued support of Chetcuti who remains our best prospect for a first medal in the Olympic Games.

And speaking about shooting, I cannot fail to congratulate the Shooting Federation on its 100th anniversary.

There is no doubt that this federation boasts one of the best records in local sports history. Results obtained by Maltese shooters in international competitions, including Olympic Games, Mediterranean Games, Commonwealth Games, Games for European Small States, World Cups and European Championships, not to mention everything, speak for themselves.

Among others one must mention the great 11th place at the Moscow Olympics achieved by Wenzu Vella which, till today, remains one of the most prestigious results achieved by any Maltese sportsman or sportswoman.

To current president Salvu Portelli falls the honour to be leading the federation at this celebratory moment, but as he quite rightly did in a recent news conference, he also paid tribute to those who preceded him and all those Council members who had worked so hard throughout all these years to see their federation moving from success to success.

Till today, the federation has produced a number of very good shooters, especially in the Trap field. And according to the president, there are talented youngsters ready to burst onto the scene. This is certainly good news for this sport which would receive a very big boost were Chetcuti to produce a magnificent result in Beijing, not necessarily winning a medal.

Another 100th anniversary

Local football club Sliema Wanderers is also celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

My congratulations also go to this club which has been protagonists in Maltese football on several occasions. In fact, they are the most successful football club on these islands having won the most number of trophies.

It is also an honour for their current president, Robert Arrigo, who has now been at the helm for the past 11 years.

It was he who led the club to 14 honours during these successful years which have landed the club at the top, overtaking their eternal rivals Floriana.

But it was not Arrrigo alone. Success had been achieved in the past by former presidents. In the first half of the century, they faced a big rivalry from Floriana.

In these last 50 years, it was not only Floriana. Valletta and Hibernians also became fierce rivals and then it was Hamrun Spartans, later to be followed by Birkirkara who provided the Wanderers with food for thought, before they eventually came back to top the list of honours.

Yet, despite all their successes, Sliema also had the displeasure of being relegated in the mid-1980s. That was a big humiliation for such an illustrious club, but they fought their way back quickly to the top and that disastrous season is now just part of history - perhaps also forgotten for ever.

In fact, the Wanderers have never looked back. Even this year, they are close to the league leadership and seriously challenging for the title.

From this column, I wish both the Shooting Federation and Sliema Wanderers a great anniversary celebration and the best of luck for the future.