The Malta Gymnastics Federation has agreed to make what it described as a "final exception" to allow SportMalta athletes to take part in next month's national championships.

Athletes who attended SportMalta but were not members of any of the clubs were not going to be allowed to participate in the competition.

Last Sunday, The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that the federation's decision to restrict applications to athletes who are members of clubs, with president Robert Magro saying that a government entity cannot be a competitor to private clubs.

Parents had protested the decision, some of them telling this media house that what the federation was doing exemplifies social class discrimination.

But, this morning, the federation announced on its Facebook page that after the intervention of Minister Clifton Grima, it "has agreed to allow a final exception for SportMalta athletes to participate specifically in the upcoming competition - March 2025. In this respect applications are open to non-members and these are to be sent by email to the General Secretary of the Federation by not later than 27th February."

This exception is being made to provide fair notice to all athletes and parents who were not informed by SportMalta back in March 2024, the federation said.

The Federation would like to thank Hon. Clifton Grima for his clear understanding and support of the Federation's autonomy, which was recently reaffirmed by the Malta Olympic Committee.

"For the avoidance of doubt future MGF national competitions will only be open for athletes affiliated with member clubs of the Federation," it said.