From the onset, the Secretariat for Youth and Sport expressed its intention to create a new sport culture and to increase participation in physical activities and sport. To reach these aims, facilities are obviously of the utmost importance and this is exactly what the present administration is doing.
Thirty-three football pitches were resurfaced with synthetic surface and an additional 19 playing areas are to have similar improvements during the forthcoming months; an Outdoor Fitness Centre has been opened at Ta’ Qali while three more are in the offing. A joint programme with the Malta Basketball Association for the development of new facilities is being worked out. This alone costs €800,000. The course for karting and other disciplines connected with motorsport has also been given attention.
Improvements were made to 25 bowling pitches and similar work is being carried out on 10 others. Figures show that last year more than 4,000 people took part in sessions connected with High Ropes at Ta’ Qali. Clubs for those interested in walking and jogging are mushrooming. There are also a number of private fitness clubs around the island. More than 2,000 make use of the facilities found at Tal-Qroqq on a regular basis.
Most schools and colleges have excellent facilities. No wonder sport entities are making full use of the facilities that are found in 16 state schools and the number will continue to increase as a new school is being built every year.
The Kunsill Malti għall-iSport continues to provide projects and programmes to attract more participation. Skolasport has spread to other localities while programmes involving local councils attracted more than 13,000 people according to last year’s figures. Programmes are projects for all sectors which include senior citizens and those disabled.
A silent revolution has been taking place in our schools and colleges. ‘Catch ’em young’ is not merely an attractive slogan as 31,000 kids are actively involved in different programmes that are continually being prepared by the Sport-Promotion Unit.
A few figures will prove the success of this innovation while it is also important to note that there is always an improvement in numbers on the previous years. Last year, 4,000 students participated in sport festivals and tournaments in different disciplines like basketball, futsal, rugby and volleyball besides athletics and swimming.
Our schools provide excellent facilities and 34 sport organisations are making full use of those found in 16 state schools. Sport entities registered with the KMS are offered a number of schemes which provide assistance in cash and in kind. Last year alone, these benefited from grants totalling more than €8m.
The modern facilities that are available are an added attraction to sport tourism. During the last three years, there was an increase of 134,000 bed-nights because of sport activities involving foreigners who came over for conferences or training camps. Their presence boosted the local economy by an additional €7.3m.
The latest addition is the Sports Complex at Kirkop. The investment cost €3.5m. The complex was constructed on 1,896sq m of space and includes an imposing Main Hall and three multi-purpose sport halls. A shooting simulator, the first of its kind in Malta, has been installed while another novelty is the temporary pool for swimming lessons. An athletic track and a football pitch complete the complex.
It’s a gem which will certainly encourage more and more people to get involved into sports.
The above-mentioned details may be incomplete but without blowing one’s own trumpet it is enough to give an idea of what has been achieved during these last years in the fields of sport and exercise.
The call for participation is not only being heard but actually put into practice. It’s an ongoing process which promotes... ’sport... as a way of life’.
■ Tony Formosa
Former national football coach