The omission of squash and double trap from the Luxembourg 2013 programme, injuries to established athletes and inadequate training facilities dented Malta’s medal chances but the MOC must address the flaws in the preparation of its athletes.

Elated... Rebecca Sarè underlined her potential after winning a silver medal in the triple jump. Photos: Matthew Mirabelli

Team Malta returned from the 2013 Games of the Small States of Europe last night after a rather modest showing in Luxembourg last week.

The week-long sports festival in central Europe reserved a few positive surprises for Maltese sport but the general feeling among athletes and officials was that the difficult build-up to the Games had inevitably taken its toll on the overall performance as Malta produced its worst showing in a GSSE since the 1995 edition, which was also held in Luxembourg.

The final tally of 26 medals was only three short of Liechtenstein 2011 but the quality of results obtained in Luxembourg was by far inferior to that achieved by the Maltese team two years ago.

With squash and double trap shooting omitted from the Games programme, the chances of equalling the 2011 feat looked remote but one still expected the team to meet its pre-set goal of winning four gold medals.

Julian Pace Bonello, the new president of the Maltese Olympic Committee, admitted that he cannot be satisfied with the team’s performance in Luxembourg but dismissed suggestions that this represented a backward step for Maltese sport.

“I don’t think one can say, that after these Games, our development has stalled,” the MOC chief told Times of Malta.

“It was surely not a step forward but one has to keep in mind that four of the eight gold medals won in Liechtenstein in 2011 came in squash, which was not part of the Games programme this year. Besides, double trap shooting was again taken off, leaving us with a much tougher schedule.

“Nevertheless one must admit that in some sport, such as track and field, we didn’t perform to the best of our ability. Two years ago we won four gold medals but this time we managed just one, which is very disappointing.

“No doubt, injuries to a number of established athletes did not help our cause.

“The MOC has its own facilities to help athletes overcome fitness problems and it is important that these are dealt with immediately and not just a few weeks before the Games.

“We have athletes who had been hampered by injuries for months and little was done to help them, so this definitely must change.”

The lack of adequate training facilities is another important subject brought up by a number of officials in Luxembourg.

Our judokas have been practising in a small garage which puts their health at risk while the beach volley players have no training venue during the year.

Pace Bonello revealed that he has already discussed this issue with Stefan Buontempo, the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport.

“The Maltese Olympic Committee doesn’t have the authority to assign sporting venues but we will surely try to convince the Kunsill Malti għall-iSport and the government to help us solve these problems.

“Judo have been without a training venue for several years and the same goes for beach volley and bowls, which will be fielding a team at the upcoming Mediterranean Games.

“We have already spoken to Dr Buontempo and Jonathan Barbara, the chairman of the KMS, and they are prepared to listen to our suggestions.

“Hopefully, we can provide these federations with a venue in the shortest time possible as we can’t go on like this.

“Furthermore, the athletics and shooting bodies need to modernise their facilities. We are committed to, at least, opening dialogue with the government so that a solution can be found.”

Young talent

The importance of youth development has also resurfaced last week.

The emergence of young talents such as Robyn Zammit, Janet Richard, Francesca Borg and Luke Bezzina in athletics, Suzanne Buttigieg in gymnastics and Isaac Bezzina in judo has put pressure on the MOC to make sure that these athletes receive the right guidance to avoid burn-out.

“We have set up a youth commission.

“The members are Paul Sultana, Envic Galea and Mario Micallef who, in the coming weeks, are expected to work hand-in-hand with local federations to make sure our promising athletes continue to flourish,” Pace Bonello said.

“We need to work together as surely we can’t afford to lose our best talent. In the past, we had a group of youngsters coming through but these were not looked after properly.

“It’s important that we provide our youngsters with the best platform possible so that they can maximise their potential.

“We will also continue to send our young athletes to take part in international competitions such as COJI and EYOF as it’s in these events that they gain the necessary experience to make the cut at senior level.”

No doubt, long-term planning is the only way forward for both the MOC and the local federations to ensure that they build more competitive teams for the coming editions, starting with Iceland in 2015.

“I agree that we need to change our strategy to prepare our teams for future Games,” Pace Bonello said.

“The fact that the programme of sport is announced by the different organising committees four years before should give us enough time to make sure we put out a competitive team.

“We have already agreed with Dr Buontempo and Mr Barbara to introduce a four-year financial strategy so that athletes and federations can plan their technical preparation better for international competitions.”