Stevie Camilleri was born on 4 July, 1987. He is the son of Dr Stefan Camilleri and Dawn Evans. Camilleri is the father of two kids, Tommaso who is the elder, and Mattia.
How were Stevie’s formative years? ‘As a child I was very active, I think that was the main reason why I got into sports. My parents were advised by school teachers to enable me to burn as much energy as I could. I took up a number of different sports like basketball, football, handball and obviously swimming. The latter was the first competitive sport which I took seriously and subsequently resulted in a promising talent. At the age of eleven it started to tire me and I was attracted more to team sport. The club I used to swim with had a waterpolo team at all levels and so it started.’
After the first years on this planet the ball was set rolling for Camilleri to start his schooling. ‘I did my Primary School at Stella Maris, Balzan. Over to Secondary School at St Martin’s College and off to De La Salle for Sixth Form. I also entered University where I started the B. Comm course but it lasted for just one year and had to put it on hold due to me having to move abroad in order to progress my waterpolo career.’
How did his interest in waterpolo start? Was it a first love sport or was there other sport that he practised. ‘I was always to sport in general. Still to this day I still follow a lot of sport. Over the summer my parents used to take me to Neptunes. I was always attracted to the water. After starting with swimming I wanted more mixing with friends. In swimming your head is in the water and it’s so individual whereas waterpolo is much different though it has a great element of swimming. It is a more social sport. I enjoyed it and kept it going.’
Onto competitive waterpolo and Stevie gave his account about this together with the good and bad moments. ‘I progressed through all the youth ranks, but from Under 17 onwards it was the first time I was able to measure myself against stronger opposition. We had placed twelfth and personally I had a very good tournament. It was here that it clicked that if I took it seriously I would reach higher levels. And the rest is history.’
‘As regards bad experiences I don’t think there have been. I would describe them more as disappointments. But these are all learning experiences and you bounce back again and it serves its purpose. As regards good experiences there have been many both locally and abroad. With my club Neptunes when I started they were passing through one of the worst moments ever. But we changed that trend and to date we have won eleven from the last sixteen leagues. At National level I participated in three European Championships captaining the team on two occassions and finishing top scorer in the other. And my foreign career is another milestone playing ten years in A1 in Italy having already played in A2. The Italian league is one of the top if not the best league in the world’.
Any particular moments during your career that you still remember and maybe made you proud? ‘The first leagues are always special, there’s the novelty of it all. And participating in the first European Championship which was in Belgrade and as I said before I finished as the tournament’s top scorer, was something special and unique. Obviously abroad there was a couple of moments that stand out. The six years with Bogliasco were fantastic. I also remember the promotion from A2 to A1 with Roma Nuoto. They had been trying for a number of years to gain promotion and finally we did it.’
Winter 2007–2008 was the beginning of Stevie’s career abroad when he went on a six-month loan deal with Serbian squad VK Partizan. How did it happen? ‘In the summer league we had a Serbian player Vladimir Vujavinovic. He recognised something within me and encouraged me to take this chance and play with Partizan this being a stepping stone for higher things to come later on. And he was right about this.’
Another important moment was when Camilleri finished in the 3rd position of the top-scorers list of the European 'B' championships held in Manchester in 2007. ‘ It was one of the first tournaments with the National team. It gave me a lot of courage and motivation.’
Stevie wrote history in the LEN European Waterpolo Championship held in Serbia, Belgrade in January 2016, topping the overall top scorer chart of the tournament with 21 goals in two weeks of competition ‘On a personal level it was special since I went back to Belgrade where it all started for me. As regards the top scorer thing it wasn’t an objective from my side. I wanted the team to have a good tournament and this personal honour topped it.’
Talking about personal honours Camilleri won the ASA Player of the Year Honour on seven occasions. How proud does he feel about this? ‘To be honest presently I don’t think about personal honours. I will surely have enough time once I retire to look back and savour the moments. Right now I take it year by year. I still enjoy the sport a lot and I’m still motivated to gain as much as I can as regards trophies. Now I look more at the team aspect rather than personal. Now I’m nearing the end of my career so anything I can make out of the last few years will be much appreciated.’
On a national basis the Neptunes wonder kid also won the coveted Sportsman of the Year 2015 during the Ghazliet Sportivi Nazzjonali Contest. ‘Definitely it was a great achievement but there was the help of everyone to get over there. Being a team sport means a lot. I can’t win things by myself. There are the players, the coaches, the administration, the supporters and more. So yes though this is another accolade it is thanks to all involved that I succeeded.’
Attention turns to the national team and the great strides on the international scene, recently even making it to the top 20 list of the world rankings. What does this mean for Stevie being one of the main protagonists? ‘For me the National team means a lot. This sport has played a very important role in my life. It has made great progress and it can make a lot more. I don’t think we have achieved full potential as yet. But obviously once you’ve broken into the top twenty it takes more time to climb up the ladder. More investment is needed with regards to coaching staff and structures. To be honest over the last few years there has been investment. New pools have been built and that facilitates anyone currently in the sport and anyone who wants to join. When I look when I started it was just a summer sport, three to a maximum of four months. Now we can do it all year round.’
And this brings us into the obvious question about today’s level of waterpolo in Malta and where are we heading? ‘It is a good level and there are a lot of determined youngsters who are now also taking the initiative to go abroad and pursue their career. But I believe that the best option would be that we would have a set up which would cater for a whole squad and not a player or two playing abroad.’
‘If we want to compete at a maximum level we need to make a longer league and possibly not attracting the top players but just the same good players who help us improve the game. With the same investment we could attract athletes for a whole season and eventually our players will benefit more on a long term basis.’
Turning personal Stevie mentioned his favourite kitchen. ‘Undoubtedly Italian. I have been over there for so long so it’s like home. They have everything good over there. Be it pasta, meat or fish’
And what about travel? ‘It has been very European based but there are places I like to visit. But out of the places I have been to, Italy is the best. I have seen the North playing with Bogliasco, the Capital Rome which is my favourite city and Sicily which I can describe as another gem.’
But what does Stevie prefer to do when he has got time on his hands? ‘Over the last period my schedule changed and because Covid I have spent more time with my children. But the basic hobbies would be chilling out; music and a film, practically anything to wind down. In summer a day at the beach is another thing that I love doing. I’m a simple person and thus enjoy the simple things’
Camilleri ended this interesting interview with a strong message. ‘The mistake we tend to do as a nation is limit ourselves. We hear very often that we are limited due to our size. My advice is the contrary, don’t set limitations. If you want to take a sport there are unlimited benefits. And if you want to do it at a competitive level give your hundred per cent daily. Success will come gradually.’