Preparations for this week's Games of the Small States of Europe have been anything but plain-sailing for the Maltese Olympic Committee.
Pippo Psaila's departure in January was a bolt from the blue that initially rocked the MOC, who had to find an adequate replacement in a short space of time to steady the ship and, in particular, minimize the effect on the athletes' technical preparations ahead of Cyprus.
Mark Cutajar was first elected as MOC Director in November.
A few weeks later he found himself running another election for the vacant Director of Sport post. He successfully won the approval of the General Assembly after a poll that was also contested by John Zammit, the Malta Cycling Federation president.
Some saw Cutajar's move as ambitious, seeing that he had little experience at the MOC and with the Games approaching fast on the horizon. News that some established athletes had decided to pull out of Team Malta while others were struggling with injuries was leaked to the media, making his decision to succeed Psaila look even bolder.
Cutajar, however, has no regrets.
"Before I submitted my nomination for Director of Sport I thought long and hard about my decision as I already knew that there were problems to solve," Cutajar told The Sunday Times.
"I did not do all this for personal recognition as my main objective is to give my contribution to local sport. I'm not doing this alone but when I took over I decided not to introduce changes to the GSSE build-up even though there were some aspects of the programme that I didn't fully agree with.
"After the Games, we'll introduce changes in the athletes' training programme for international competition, hopefully to increase their chances for improvement."
The Minimum Qualifying Standards were a source of controversy these past few weeks as some felt the limits established by the MOC were too harsh and not equal on all sport.
"The current MQSs were set after Monaco 2007 so it wouldn't have been right to make any changes with just a few months to go," Cutajar said.
"However, I believe that this benchmark criteria needs to be revised. In athletics, swimming and gymnastics there is a specific measurement to gauge progress but there is none of the kind for judo, basketball and sailing.
"There should be more conformity between one sport and another and that is something I intend to address this summer.
"For Liechtenstein 2011, we want to work on a new set of MQSs, available to all so that there will be a clearer idea on what our athletes need to achieve to qualify for the Games.
"There will be changes for sure and this also includes the funding procedure we adopt and financial assistance to member federations.
"There will also be a revision on our youth policies. Alternative ideas will be studied thoroughly to lead us to a wider base of participation."
Foreign-based athletes
The MOC stance to engage athletes of Maltese descent has also come under fire from different quarters, particularly following the forfeit of swimmers Ryan Gambin and Madeleine Scerri who represented the country in the Beijing Olympics last year but dropped out of Team Malta for Cyprus.
"My idea on foreign-based athletes is clear," Cutajar said.
"Whoever shows the desire to don our colours must first accept to abide to the rules of the national federation. It's not acceptable for some to avail themselves of our funding ahead of the Olympics or Commonwealth Games and then turn their back on us for the Small Nations.
"Malta is a small country but we deserve respect. In future, athletes with dual citizenship will first have to figure for us in the GSSE before being considered for bigger events. We must also ensure that Maltese sport in general benefits from such initiatives."
Cutajar made it clear that he was totally against the 'foreign athletes rule' in the GSSE.
In his opinion, the Games should primarily cater for small nations to launch their own talent and forget all about the practice to field athletes with no connection whatsoever to their 'adopted' countries.
"This rule in GSSE sport is a complete farce," Cutajar mused.
"You have countries like San Marino, Monaco and Andorra with a host of Italian, French and Spanish athletes in their fold, all ineligible to take part in my opinion. Luxembourg will have a Kenyan runner in their team this year.
"The number of 'foreign' athletes in the GSSE has grown dramatically in recent years, taking away all the significance these Games had. The GSSE International Committee has to act quickly and introduce amend-ments to the existing rules."
It seems, Cutajar has loads of work to do before his objectives are met. However, he intends to achieve most of his goals and is open for more dialogue.
"I've already had the chance to meet delegates and discuss various issues of interest," he said.
"We know it's not easy but to-gether we can overcome difficulties. I want to keep a close relationship with all our affiliated members. After the GSSE, I'm planning to hold more meetings to evaluate the run-in to these Games and results achieved.
"The road is long with many a winding turn but we all have to give our all to see the country prosper in the sporting arena. There is potential here, we just need to be wise enough to make sure we maximize the benefits from the resources we have at our disposal."
Notes
• The Maltese contingent for Cyprus leaves this afternoon. Team Malta will be comprised of 90 athletes. They will participate in athletics, basketball, beach volley, gymnastics, judo, mountain bike, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis and tennis.
• The flag-bearer for tomorrow's opening ceremony in Nicosia will be Adriana Zammit, a 13-year-old gymnast. Two years ago in Monaco, Malta's flag-bearer was swimmer Angela Galea.