The Maltese Olympic Committee, in collaboration with GO, the main sponsors, yesterday officially launched the GO youth athlete scheme at GO’s outlet in Psaila Street, Birkirkara.
Addressing those present for the launch, MOC secretary general Joe Cassar expressed his satisfaction at the launch of this scheme. He added that two of the athletes representing Malta in the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, China, that is, shooter William Chetcuti and judoka Marcon Bezzina, had shown promise when still 16 years old.
They were identified as talented athletes in their sport and through progressive and gradual steps, they have worked their way up the sporting ladder to reach the pinnacle of every athlete’s dream eight years later, now that they are 24 years old.
Cassar added: “The MOC and GO have now made it possible for young athletes to have a go at building upon their talent. This scheme will be ongoing under the auspices of the MOC Centre of Excellence. This will help all the athletes selected - so far 12 - to follow in the footsteps of such athletes as Chetcuti and Bezzina. The scheme will enable the youngsters to learn training their skills, training to compete and eventually training to win.”
Cassar added that the MOC had to draw a line because not all those who applied could be admitted into the inaugural list as there were some financial restraints. “We have selected 12 to start with. But we had over 60 nominations. This does not mean the others not selected are not talented athletes. The 12 selected athletes hail from nine different disciplines: that is, athletics, cycling, judo, golf, sailing, squash, shooting, tennis and wrestling.
Whether the list will be increased in future depends not only on the number of talented athletes available, but also on the finances available.
The selected athletes are:
Squash: Colette Sultana
Athletics: Jana Pace Cocks, Tamara Vella
Judo: Jeremy Saywell
Sailing: Sean Borg, Ella Fleri Soler
Shooting: Clive Farrugia
Cycling: James Dimech
Tennis: Kimberly Cassar
Golf: Chris Bergedahl, JJ Micallef
Wrestling: Aidan Buhagiar
Cassar explained that the above athletes were admitted into the scheme following their good results in their participation in recent international events. They were selected by a Commission responsible for running the MOC’s Centre of Excellence. It consists of MOC president Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, Joe Cassar, Marie Therese Zammit and Envic Galea.
All these athletes will not only benefit as Team Malta athletes do, but will also benefit from other advantages.
The GO Youth Athlete Scheme will have four categories - Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze - all of which offer different motivations for the athletes. For example, the scheme itself includes professional coaching through specialist coaches appointed by the respective national associations and approved by the MOC, the provision of grants for international overseas participation up to euros 800 and the use of services at CONI (Italian National Olympic Committee) for further investigative medical consultations.
Those selected to form part of the four categories in this scheme will also be helped financially to travel for participation abroad while those in the Platinum Scheme will also have an added euros 1,000 bonus performance payable in December of this year, dependent on the improvement in the athlete's commitment and performance.
The Maltese Olympic Committee is responsible for the funding of this project.