Editorial

The opening last Friday of the university sports hall at Tal-Qroqq, next to the national swimming pool, has been considered by many as a tonic for local sports. The first to benefit from the facilities provided at the multi-purpose hall are the student athletes taking part in the FISEC games, which are being held here for the second time in the space of a few years.

Such big-scale sporting festivals as the FISEC Games, in which about 1,000 students are taking part, require modern facilities. Next year Malta will also host the 10th Games of the Small States of Europe. Some 1,000 athletes and officials from eight countries will be taking part in these games.

The university sports hall would be one of the venues for the GSSE 2003. Another modern complex at Cottonera will be ready in time for the same event.

All these developments come as parliament applies the final touches to a bill for a much-needed sports law.

Still, one very important question comes to mind. Is there enough qualified personnel to run the sports facilities and see that they are well managed all the time?

Experience has shown that in most cases those in charge of new facilities tend to loosen up once the initial enthusiasm fades away.

Take the national pool complex, for instance. The place cries out for regular, more rigorous maintenance.

Despite management's efforts in this direction, the standard of maintenance and cleanliness falls far below general expectations. The main pool, for example, has a number of tiles missing and the changing rooms are often in a most deplorable condition.

The award of leases or legal titles of a good number of venues to clubs and organisations was a step in the right direction. Progress has also been made in the provision of facilities at Ta' Qali where the Malta FA not only built a new stadium with an artificial pitch, the Centenary Stadium, but also invested heavily in an ambitious project to put up a multi-purpose new stand at the national stadium - the millennium stand.

Other sports venues kept in immaculate condition are the Hibs Ground and the Corradino Sports Complex. However, the same cannot be said of the athletics stadium at the Marsa sports ground and its surroundings.

The Malta Amateur Athletic Association was led to think that it was going to be granted the title to the track by the government. However, they were only given the lease of a premises to use as an office, leaving the track and field area managed by government personnel. The place is open to all without a proper management team. The track is also in urgent need of repairs.

The government has said that the athletics' stadium will be in tip-top condition for the GSSE 2003 but what will happen after that? Will it appoint someone responsible enough to ensure that all facilities are kept in a good state after the games or will the place be left with no-one in charge?

Having modern sports venues is a prerequisite today. But equally important is the need to ensure that they are well kept and professionally managed.