A government entity "cannot" be a competitor against private clubs, the president of the Malta Gymnastics Federation Robert Magro told The Malta Independent on Sunday amid controversy over the organisation of the National Championships in Artistic Gymnastics.
The controversy stems from the existence of a gymnastics academy run by SportMalta, the government's sports agency. The academy is not a member of the Malta Gymnastics Federation being that it is not a club - and the Federation has said that only athletes who are members of an affiliated club can enter the national championships.
Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Magro said that he was merely the voice of the clubs within the Federation, and noted that the clubs felt that it is unfair for them to have to compete against a government-funded entity.
Magro made several points, chief among them being that no government entity competes against private clubs in any sport discipline.
"If SportMalta had to form a football team - the Sport Malta Academy - and decides it wants to apply to enter Maltese domestic football, would the clubs in the Malta Football Association accept them?" Magro asked.
SportMalta runs three Sport academies: one in triathlon, one in badminton and one in gymnastics.
The gymnastics academy was the first one that SportMalta set up, and the description on its website states that the aim is to prepare athletes "to perform at the highest levels on all four apparatus".
"Dedicated gymnastics academy athletes are selected from over 1,000 OnTheMove gymnastics participants through a competitive trials system and undergo continuous and regular assessments," SportMalta states on its website.
The Malta Gymnastics Federation (MGF) is the internationally-recognised governing body for the sport in Malta. It is an independent body and represents a total of five clubs: four are full members and one more club focused on Artistic Gymnastics only, and is an associate member undergoing the process to become a full member.
The issue has stemmed from the MGF's announcement of this year's National Championships in Artistic Gymnastics, when the federation announced that the competition would only be open to athletes who form part of clubs, which are affiliated with it.
That has excluded the athletes who form part of the SportMalta Academy, leaving parents of children who attend the academy angered.
But Magro told this newspaper that the decision is born out of the fact that it is unfair for a government entity - with all of its resources - to compete against private clubs.
"SportMalta's role should be to attract people into sports, then when the athlete starts to improve and grow, they collaborate with federations so that the athlete can join a club if they wish to continue. But a government entity cannot be a competitor against clubs," he said.
Magro gave a brief history about the origin of the matter. He said that previously, no athlete practicing with SportMalta would be allowed to compete, but this changed when the Federation had a president who, Magro said, also used to work with SportMalta. This president reached an arrangement which allowed SportMalta athletes to compete.
"The clubs had a dispute with him, there was another president after, and then I succeeded him. I am not Robert Magro - I am the voice of the clubs," he said.
"The clubs are saying that it's not fair to have a government entity, with their own large premises in Marsa, with the capability to get coaches from wherever they want, competing directly against people who have been in the scene for years and years," he continued.
The Marsa premises in question is a €5.5m complex which the government inaugurated in January 2024. Magro noted that the MGF national teams had not set foot inside these premises.
Looking back at past events in fact, the last National Championships in Artistic Gymnastics were held in March 2024 at the National Sports School in Pembroke, while the last National Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics were held in November at the St Aloysius College Sports Complex in Birkirkara.
The upcoming National Championships in Artistic Gymnastics are also set to take place at the National Sports School in Pembroke, rather than the new Marsa facility.
Magro said that the clubs are making "big sacrifices, big investments, and paying their coaches" and that this is all "legal and above board." He noted that some had insulted clubs and implied otherwise, but added that everything is regular within the club - even if they make a profit, they pay taxes and follow all regulatory obligations, irrespective of whether the club is a company or an NGO.
"The [SportMalta] Academy has a full establishment to itself with coaches to compete directly against the clubs, with equipment bought by the government - is this fair play?" he said.
He said that the Federation has no problem with the SportMalta Academy existing and flourishing, but its role should be at a grassroots level.
Not the first time
This is not the first year that the MGF has wanted to set a restriction for participation to be only for those in member clubs.
Magro told this newspaper that the Federation had in actual fact told SportMalta that it would only allow athletes from member clubs to compete before the National Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in 2024, but SportMalta had argued that - at the time - the decision had been too short notice.
As a result, the Federation relented for that year, but Magro pointed out that it meant that SportMalta knew well in advance that in order to compete in this year's National Championships one had to be a member of a club and had plenty of time to advise and explain this to parents.
He said that some children had in fact begun practising with member clubs as a result.
Nonetheless Magro said that the Federation had offered "good, concrete proposals" to SportMalta, including suggesting festivals where all athletes - even those in SportMalta's academy and not enrolled in a club - could compete, as far back as last May - but SportMalta never replied.
"Our proposals were such so that where we could help, we do help. They were good, concrete proposals, but the principle is that a government entity cannot intervene in a federation," he said.
He also criticised certain media outlets for how they had reported on the matter.
"Look at any statute locally and internationally and see if a government entity competes in a sport. Does it make sense? Or can there be another form? We are ready to host festivals and let everyone compete," he said, but noted that when the national champions were announced SportMalta hadn't even been mentioned.
Magro said that an exception in a certain category had been made, meaning that athletes in this age group from non-affiliated organisations can participate and the federation had also said it was willing to assist athletes who wanted to take part but couldn't due to social problems that they, or their families, are facing.
The exception, which the Federation described as "one-time", refers to "individual gymnasts who are not members of a MGF member but who wish to apply for the National Sports School" during the October 2025 Year 7 intake.
Asked why only this exception had been made, Magro said that questions on this should be directed to the National Sports School's board.
Magro himself is the headmaster of the National Sports School, but he told The Malta Independent on Sunday that in the seven years he had been in the position he had never had any involvement in the school's entry criteria. "I made it a point when I went that I would have nothing to do with it," he said.
'We are always trying to improve'
Asked about what direction the sport is taking in Malta, Magro mentioned several recent noteworthy results.
He referred to Malta's results at the ComeGym Mediterranean Gymnastics Championships late last year, where Malta's Junior and Pre-Junior Gymnasts excelled. The Malta Pre-Junior Team secured second place on the podium, among other strong individual results.
He noted that gymnast Sophie St John has also been nominated as a finalist for Woman Youth of the Year in the 65th edition of the National Sports Awards, which are run by the Malta Sports Journalists Association.
Nataliya Berehova, a Ukrainian national and a former world-class gymnast, who has trained athletes to represent Malta in World and European Championships, was also nominated as a semi-finalist for Coach of the Year in the same awards.
Magro said that work is ongoing to increase the level of coaching in Malta, and noted that the Federation also now welcomes an international judge who is internationally recognised for Rhythmic Gymnastics, having passed the exam last month.
"There is a lot of work - we are always trying to improve and to push forward," he concluded.
What the parents say