It was a battle to the end during the Virtu Ferries Manoel Island 10K recently organised by the Malta Canoe Federation where the competitive spirit certainly made up for the lack of boats on the start line.

The previous days’ wind and rough seas seemed to have abated especially for this event! Up and coming athlete Matthew Schembri, who opted for a surfski, took the lead as he sprinted off as soon as the whistle blew, followed closely by Simon Gauci.

Nicola Borg Costanzi, who was also in a ski, was battling for third against Julian Mamo and Pierre Chircop in a K2. Reigning champion Gerald DeGaetano bravely opted to use his old time friend, the Espada which, although resulting in a longer distance, certainly did not stop him from holding back!

Matthew Schembri maintained a good lead for the first lap; however DeGaetano managed to catch up so that they were neck and neck as they crossed the lap mark in 16’20.

Simon Gauci, also on a Surfski, crossed the lap mark in 17’05” followed closely by Nicola Borg Costanzi only seven seconds behind. Meanwhile Iveta Leo was fighting off the likes of Peter Borg Costanzi, Joe Borg and Damian Schembri; however it was Peter who crossed the lap mark first.

The second lap saw DeGaetano take the lead with Matthew hot on his tail. The duo fought it out to the end; however it was Gerald who crossed the finish line in first place, holding onto the gold with a time of 46’41”.  Matthew finished close behind in 48’08”.  Simon Gauci placed third in the men’s category having crossed the line in a respectable 50’45”.

The women’s event saw Nicola place first with a time of 49’51” while Iveta Leo finished second in 59’31”.

The children’s 200m sprints were the next event of the day. Two races where held for the different age groups. Although only paddling for a few months, the cadets showed good coordination and technique. 

All were quite competitive despite their young age and eager to redeem themselves for any mishaps which may have occurred during the previous month’s race. 

The U-12s race saw siblings Nicholas and Benji Farrugia thrash it out for first place however Nicholas pushed on ahead in the final few meters crossing the line in 1’18” whilst Benji finished in a close second with 1’20”. Kyle Zarb was not far behind crossing the finish line third with a time of 1’22”.  The youngest competitor, Jake Attard finished in fourth place with 2’35”. 

Next up were the U-15s with Luke Camilleri, Michael Aquilina and Benji Sammut all hungry for gold. Luke Camilleri took the lead from the start and finished in first place with a time of 1’32” followed by Michael who finished with a time of 1’42” and Benji in 1’52”.

The final and perhaps most anticipated race was the team 3K race where six teams lined up on the start line with each member of the team paddling in a boat from a different discipline, namely, surfski/espada, touring and polo boats.

The start was somewhat chaotic; however once again Schembri (Team Alpine) and DeGaetano (Team Demon) were fighting to get their team top points. Next up was Joe Cremona (Team Tal-Honey) in a Genesis 900 and Simon Gauci (Team Piece of Cake) in a ski.

The all girl team were not to be left behind with their paddlers fighting for a top position.  

Matthew maintained his lead, pipping Gerald to the post by crossing the line first in 16’20”, earning his team top points and getting his revenge on Gerald who finished second in 16’21” while Nicola finished third in 17’14”.

Once all team members crossed the finish line, their times were compounded and positions noted.

First place went to team ‘Tal-Honey’ consisting of Julian Mamo in a polo boat (24’15”); Pierre Chircop in a sea kayak (19’41”) and Joe Cremona in an Genesis 9000 (17’49”). 

Next up was ‘Team Demon’ consisting of Damian Schembri in a sea kayak (21’03”); Alex Rizzo in a polo boat (24’30”) and Gerald Degaetano in an Espada (16’21”).

The third team was the all female team ‘Flower Power’ consisting of Nicola Borg Costanzi in a surfski(17’14”); Kata Pongracz in a sea kayak (19’22”) and Petra Zammit, the only female to race in a polo boat (29’02”)

The next event on the federation’s calendar is the national championships which are set for later this month. Those wishing to compete in any of the MCF events are to send an email to [email protected]