Building on what we have

Maltese swimmers have fared quite well in 2004 despite some adversities. The new season offers prospects of a better harvest, but only if... Alex Vella writes.

It has been a year of severe tests for Maltese swimmers. The main driving force which made it a satisfactory 2004 was their doggedness and the diligence of the Aquatic Sports Association (ASA), through the Swimming Board. Otherwise the youngsters' dedication could have disintegrated in the face of difficulties.

After a bright start to the year, an inactive parenthesis, when the National Pool was out of action, did not hinder these youngsters' resolve to stick to their guns.

Higher levels could have been reached had it not been for that shortfall in training. Nevertheless, the encouraging results obtained during the FISEC Games and the overall improvement before the season was over made the ASA even more determined to keep the swimmers' flag flying.

The vacuum between the departure of Hungarian coach Attila Selmeci and the appointment of compatriot Steven Kormos did not help matters.

When that was over, some other early build-up weeks were tossed away until Kormos took up duties. But now most of that lost ground has been regained.

Kormos, alongside the club coaches, put the swimmers on a tough training regime which was to bear its first fruit in recent weeks.

The season's calendar, including overseas camps and meets at home and abroad, was devised with the main intent of tapering the swimmers for the Andorra GSSE in June 2005, with the Mediterranean Games and the World Championship being extended targets for our very top swimmers.

This month's International Meet in Karlsruhe and the Time Trial on Saturday provided evidence of renewed vitality in the ranks of our senior and junior swimmers.

The highlights were Neil Agius's three national records in freestyle events - 400m (4:20.79), 800m (9:02.52) and 1,500m (17:00.50) in the space of a week.

This dedicated lad is making steady progress and setting new standards for himself.

Other records came from Kyle Scerri in the 200m free, Group 'D' (2:04.36) and Kim Attard's 34.86 in the 50m fly (Group 'B').

The stylish swimming of 13-year-old Melinda Sue Micallef (Neptunes) also caught the eye.

Having started with the Swimming Promotion Unit (SPU) four years ago under Isabelle Zarb, this girl is making good leaps forward, and it should not be long before she starts erasing names from the record books.

Her 29.79 in the 50 free was only 0.08 seconds outside Christine Cachia's seven-year-old age-group (C) mark, while her 1:06.78 in the 100m free is also not far outside Cachia's category best.

Daniel Galea, born in 1993, is another rising star. The 32.27 and 38.79 he did for the one-lap free and back events missed the long-standing Group 'A' records of J.J. Tabone and Christian Gialanze, not only by a whisker but also just prior to his moving on to an older age-bracket in January.

But this Sliema ASC swimmer will surely make the headlines if his early promise is maintained.

Angela Galea's rectified time in Karlsruhe of 2:22.25 in the 200 fly is the fastest since her national record of 2:19.67 in the Malta GSSE 18 months ago. That time in Germany, being better than that of the third-placed in the 2003 Games, would have surely qualified her for next year's GSSE had it been recorded after the turn of the New Year.

Probably, the MOC will go by the calendar year (2005) rather than by the season time-frame for MQS purposes.

That swim earned Galea a silver medal, as did her 1:05.31 in the two-lap fly event, again a time which was not far off her national record and the best she has done for over a year.

Welcome pluses

In Karlsruhe, Scerri's silver in the 100 fly and the bronze medals won by Agius (1,500 free) and Francesca Paolella (200 breast), apart from other personal bests, were welcome pluses for Kormos whose technical targets at this stage were not so demanding.

Then there was Davina Mangion's fifth place in the 400 free in a time just outside her PB of 4:40.71, and Roberta Callus's comeback after she recently graduated as a medical doctor.

Saturday's time-trials provided other noteworthy times from the younger swimmers whose enthusiasm for the sport defied the inclement weather and made them turn up in numbers.

The clubs' coaches are satisfied at the way things are going, although there is room for improvement in certain age-categories, besides the need for a wider base of swimmers.

The Hungarian coach's meticulous approach seems to be working well so far.

"One has to keep in mind," he said, "that the first test is set for February, that is after the ten-day training camp in Rome followed immediately by the meet in Millfield, England, scheduled for January 8 and 9, and then other weeks of further preparation.

"We hope that there will be no break in our training programme when we return next month. The National Pool is closing down for refurbishing and is expected to re-open two months later. But we have to continue," he stressed.

Everybody agrees that we cannot afford to squander what we have achieved so far.

Unfortunately, it looks as if the Tal-Qroqq Pool will have to be consigned to just a summer venue, at least for the time being, because for one reason or other the place has been unavailable for some time in winter - and that makes it useless for swimming and waterpolo training purposes.

If this happens the benefits of having a heated 50-metre pool will be eroded.

In the short term another venue must be found. If the national group swimmers are unable to resume training immediately when they are back from England, their chances of achieving their targets will be lost.

Naturally, club swimmers also come into the equation since lack of training facilities would equally block their progress.

It is understood that the Kunsill Malti Ghall-Isport is trying to provide the swimmers with alternative training facilities in an adequately heated pool throughout the cold months. Perhaps some sort of subsidy to partly finance the use of other venues will not be out of place.

Yes, good harvests can be reaped, but only if there is goodwill from all quarters. We must continue building on what we have. Swimmers, coaches and administrators are doing their part.

The ball is now on the other side of the court.