Friendship tournament at the Sol Suncrest

For the fourth year running, the Malta Amateur Wrestling Club will be organising an international freestyle wrestling tournament. Teams from Sicily, Spain, Germany, the UK and Malta will be competing on Saturday at the Sol Suncrest Hotel in Qawra.

Earlier this summer, a group of wrestlers from the University club participated in a training camp in Germany. The German team which hosted the Maltese on that occasion, will be making the trip to Malta this week.

Malta will be represented by 15 athletes from the University club and another five from the Naxxar Club. Leading wrestlers, Abraham Vassallo and Jason Zammit, will also be in action on Saturday. Over 50 wrestlers will be participating.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, Lawrence Attard, president of the University Wrestling Club, said the tournament is an important event in their calendar. It enables them to establish new links with other universities and provides youngsters with more opportunities for training and competitions.

The Malta University Club has a branch in Qawra which is mainly attended by students. Dr Michael Gonzi, the club's medical officer, stressed on the importance of sports in the development of youngsters.

The Qawra branch caters specifically for athletes from the north and response has been very encouraging, he said.

Simon Bonello, Malta Amateur Wrestling Federation president, welcomed the University club initiative and said his organisation was always willing to give a helping hand to clubs holding similar international competitions.

Norbert Grixti, Executive Assistant Manager at the Sol Suncrest, said his company was pleased to be associated with such ventures.

He commended the University club for its efforts and augured that such a tournament will be a success for Maltese athletes.