School wins Lm1,000 in 'active lifestyle' contest

A crowd of 800 cheering boys and girls from different schools filled the Cottonera gym on Tuesday for the climax of the Coca Cola Active Lifestyle Cup, which involved football and newsletter competitions aimed at helping students learn more about healthy living.

They screamed and shouted when they caught a glimpse of their own team-mates during a video presentation and later when they were given trophies and generous cash prizes in the awards ceremony.

But although they brought the rafters down with their vocal support for their own schools, there was no win-at-all-costs atmosphere in the cavernous sports hall. Far from it, the bright, confident children giving presentations about their experience seemed to have taken to heart the idea that fair play, enjoyment of the game, keeping fit and the social side of sport were more important than winning.

"We learned to control our anger even when we were on the losing side. Sport teaches us good values such as teamwork, respect and fairness," said Karl Portelli from St Martin's College.

"Trophies gather dust, but honesty, integrity and love of sport last a lifetime," he told his young audience.

A student from Liceo Vassalli Tal-Handaq said the games were played without pique and in a sportsmanlike attitude. "If the football nurseries were more like this, the standard of football would be higher," he said.

Eight schools from the independent and state sectors took part in the competition, which lasted six months. Boys and girls played in separate football leagues and created newsletters around the healthy lifestyle theme. Besides the points won in the league, they were given marks for the quality of their newsletters, commitment and the presentations that they gave on Tuesday.

Sta Lucija's Margaret Mortimer Junior Lyceum for girls, whose team produced a 32-page newsletter packed with informative and imaginative articles on sport, was declared overall winner and carried the top prize of Lm1,000. The runner-up, Mikiel Anton Vassalli Boys' Junior Lyceum, and third-placed Can. Pawl Pullicino Girls' Secondary won Lm500 and Lm250 respectively. Each participating school received football kits for the players and Lm100 worth of books related to healthy lifestyle.

The healthier living message that the competition was trying to promote certainly seemed to get through. The newsletter prepared by Dun Guzepp Zammit Junior Lyceum for boys in Hamrun, for example, explained the role of the heart, the damage done by smoking and the benefits of a balanced diet.

The newsletter produced by the girls of Can. Pawl Pullicino presented suggestions for a balanced diet which many students took up, with one girl reporting not just a loss in weight but a rise in self-esteem as a result.

In one of the more innovative initiatives, the Guzeppi Despott Junior Lyceum boys' team measured the body mass index of first formers and found out that 34 per cent of them were overweight. These pupils were given suggestions on following a better diet and the team intends to follow up the initiative with the higher classes.

Girls from various schools talked about how the football tournament led to a surge of interest in the game, with one story being told about how a previously lonely girl had become quite popular with her class by taking part in the games.

Other schools taking part were San Anton - both boys and girls - and Carlo Diacono Junior Lyceum for girls.

Maria Micallef, general manager of the General Soft Drinks Company, which bottles Coca Cola in Malta, said the aim of the Active Lifestyle Cup was to promote the interaction of sport and education, based on healthy living.

She said the intention now was to have an annual competition - which was originated by Coca Cola International and run in several countries - with the support of the education authorities.