GSSE profile...reaching higher and higher

In normal circumstances, June is a popular month with sports journalists and all those concerned with filling the columns in the back pages of our newspapers.

If there isn't a big-scale event around, like the World Cup or Olympics, June is the right time for us to enjoy a break or relax a little from a tight schedule that takes up most of our time in the other 11 months of the calendar, so hectic has our job become. However, the first week of June this year offers little prospects for us to take things easy.

Since the very first edition of the Games of the Small States of Europe in the mid-Eighties, this manifestation of sport between eight countries with a population of less than a million has gathered momentum at an amazing speed.

Suffice it to say that the 10th edition, in Malta between tomorrow and Saturday, will draw an invasion of around 1,400 athletes and officials compared to the 300 or so who paraded at the Serravalle stadium for the historic 1985 opening ceremony in San Marino.

On that occasion seven sport (athletics, basketball, cycling, judo, shooting, swimming and weightlifting) were contested. This week, there will be ten sporting disciplines held in various venues, some of which are practically brand new.

The first indications that the Malta 2003 Games were bound to attract great interest were evident from very early this year when foreign journalists, TV stations and even athletes themselves were making contact with our offices, and those of our colleagues, seeking more information notwithstanding regular updates emerging from the MOC offices.

I was in Vaduz in May 1999 for the Liechtenstein Games and on that occasion we were not more than 40 journalists and cameramen at the press centre.

There was an increase in the 2001 Games but this year the number has swollen to an incredible 300 media personnel and technicians, including high-ranking officials from AIPS - the international association of sports journalists.

Surely, a tough job awaits Malta Olympic Committee (MOC) media officer Pierre Cassar and his staff to accommodate everyone at the Suncrest Hotel press centre this week.

Malta's three main TV broadcasting houses have reached an agreement to give the Games an extensive coverage while participating nations Iceland, Luxembourg, Cyprus and San Marino will also have their own TV stations here.

The GSSE promotion campaign was an effective one indeed, despite the country having to cope with two important ballots between March and April.

Among the overseas TV stations that requested, and were granted, accreditation to film the GSSE 2003 was Transworld Sport, an international group which caters mostly for American networks and cable stations. Between them they reach a multi-million audience in over 120 countries worldwide.

Apart from GSSE sport, Transworld Sport are also expected to cover stories on the history of waterpolo and bocci on our islands.

MOC general secretary Joe Cassar has been involved in the GSSE since 1993 now. He sees the Malta Games as a big challenge from the organisational point of view.

"This will be the biggest ever edition, no doubt about that," he said.

"We knew that these Games were generating interest away from our shores but the response has exceeded expectations.

"Actually, I didn't think we were ready to handle all this at first. The number of reporters and technicians here is incredible.

"However, things are now falling into place, there's no panic and we're ready for it. There was good collaboration between all parties and this should be a memorable event for all of us."

But can we really accommodate all the media personnel here to cover the Games?

"True, some of our venues cannot provide adequate facilities for a big number of journalists but are they going to be at the same venue all at once?" Cassar wondered. "Not really. However, we have to make sure that no-one leaves the islands with a bad taste."

Esteemed guests

The presence of International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge, as well as that of royal family members from Monaco, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein, will constitute a big headache for the national security services but the profile of the Malta Games will grow even higher with the acknowledgement of such distinguished personalities.

Among the list of guests are European Olympic Committee head Mario Pescante and Commonwealth Games Federation chairman Mike Fennel. Delegates from Vancouver, Salzburg and Pyonyang, all vying for the Winter Olympics 2010, will also be here along with officials from 2009 Mediterranean Games bidding cities Pescara, Rijeka and Patras.

"The list seems endless but we've got everything planned from the organisational aspect," Cassar said.

"Most of these esteemed persons have already visited the islands before. We are anticipating a hectic six days ahead but we're prepared for the challenge. These Games will be an unforgettable experience for one and all."

The next GSSE will be held in Andorra in two years' time and the one to follow is already scheduled for Monaco. The GSSE international executive will be meeting here tomorrow, and on Tuesday government officials from all eight GSSE nations will hold their own discussions in Valletta.

Meanwhile, the true protagonists of the show, the athletes, will be fine-tuning their skills today and tomorrow, all eager to claim one of the 103 gold medals at stake in the Games. In all, there will be 676 medals up for grabs.

This week, athletes will sweat it out to have the better of their rivals. As to us journalists, we hope to achieve our daily goals... beating printing deadlines!