Athletics Malta will be wrapping its Track & Field season next week with the participation of 15 young athletes at the largest European gathering for children, the European Kids Athletics Games.

This two-day event held in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic, has now reached its 7th edition, with a selection from the Malta Amateur Athletics Association having been represented on six occasions.

This year’s contingent, composed of eight girls and seven boys, have been in earnest preparation throughout the summer months, determined to match and possibly outdo, past positive performances.

Having been on the podium 30 times so far and given the in-depth strength of this year’s selection, hopes are again riding high that performances may increase this tally considerably.

However, the challenge may also be getting tougher, due to the increased participation of teams hailing from 12 other nations besides those from the home republic and neighbouring Slovakia.

In fact, other than the traditionally strong British, Hungarian and German contingents, Poland and Georgia will be joining the fray, to bring the total of participating athletes past the 1,000 mark.

The Maltese contingent, under the leadership and guidance of IAAF-certified athletics coach Carmel Borg assisted by MaryAnne Ellul, herself a qualified official, will be taking part in practically all disciplines, with a special focus this year being the hurdle events.

With five athletes having already participated in these Games, the group is a good mixture of seasoned as well as new blood, building on the policy of the association to increase participation of its younger members in international events in order to prepare for the future, with the Games of Small States well in mind.

The group will depart to Brno tomorrow with the competition taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday. As was the case in previous years, participation this year would not have materialised without the invaluable assistance of the Malta Sports Council (KMS) and the parents of the children, who will be meeting a good part of the considerable expense involved and for which the association is grateful.