The 12^th edition of the President’s Solidarity Fun Run, taking place on Sunday 21^st of November, was launched.

Present for the launch were Mrs Miriam Vella, as well as Mr Mark Cutajar, Chairman of the Organising Committee of the Fun Run and Chief Executive of Sport Malta; the President of the Local Councils Association, Mario Fava; Enemed Executive Chairman, Kevin Chircop; the Opposition’s Spokesperson on Sport, Clyde Puli; as well as the Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Clifton Grima.

For his part, Mr Cutajar said that with the return of the Fun Run, this year the format will be slightly different as it will take the form of a walk in every locality in Malta and Gozo. He explained that the Fun Run will take place in accordance with the protocols of the Health Authorities and that anyone applying for and attending the Fun Run must present the vaccine certificate.

 Mr Chircop, on behalf of the main sponsor Enemed, described The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation as a refuge for those going through difficult circumstances.

In a few words, Mr Mario Fava appealed to all residents as well as to every local council in Malta and Gozo to accept the invitation and unite for this noble cause.

Mr Puli described this event as an expression of the value of solidarity embraced by the people, while Parliamentary Secretary Grima described the Fun Run as a sign of hope that where there is unity, there is strength.

 In a speech at the launch of this year’s edition, President George Vella explained how such an occasion unites all the people and said that he is confident that once again, The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation will find the support of the people.

 He thanked everyone involved in the event, and thanked all the sponsors.

 Anyone wishing to take part in the Fun Run 2021, can register with a donation of €10, either by visiting the Local Council of their locality or by applying through the website mccf.store.

Depiro Basketball Club organized activities over the span of two days in collaboration with Agenzija Support as a part of the European Week of Sport. On each activity day over a 100 people took part which made this event a successful one. 

On the first day they collaborated with Agenzija Support where physical activity through fitness exercises was presented for vulnerable groups. Different sessions throughout the day were held together with the supervision of Agenzija Support staff and Depiro Club Coaches. A small basketball tournament was held with Agenzija Support individuals and the day held over 100 participants.

On the second day due to bad weather the activities planned outdoor were moved indoors and had participants split into different groups conducting various fun activities through basketball emphasizing on the concept of working as a team. As the day played out and as the weather permitted activities on the football pitch where also held, all for different ages and lifestyles having over 150 individuals participating. 

These activities where of success thanks to all the staff and volunteers behind the planning and coordinating and the help of SportMalta all throughout.

On the 9th of October St. Paul’s Bay organised a yoga session for all ages and abilities as a part of being active all throughout during the European Week of Sport. The local council gathered over 15 participants on the day which contributed and attended the class.

The participants arrived at the Millennium Garden at 8:30am to take part in this activity, during the Yoga, the yoga instructor showed the participants basic yoga movements as the activity was set out to reach all abilities. At the end of the yoga activity at the Millennium Garden the group left for a walk towards the National Aquarium, including not just a yoga session but also an interactive social walk. Upon their arrival at the National Aquarium, thanks to SportMalta, participants were given SportMalta bags.  

This was a successful event and the Local Council of St. Paul’s Bay decided to repeat this activity as it turned out to be fruitful and successful. Residents had time to be active and socialise while doing some yoga and walking together. A special thanks to SportMalta for their help and inclusion throughout the activity.

On the 24th of September the Malta Employees Sports Association organized a Beach Volley tournament at Pretty Bay in Birzebbugia for all employed individuals interested in sport and the sport of Beach Volley.

The tournament held eight individuals forming four pairs which gave six thrilling games, those taking part included Jacques Seifret and Monica Zammit Munro, Matthew Abela and Kristen Carabott, Gordon Cachia and Stefania Bonnici, Luke Fenech and Annette Farrugia.

During the tournament, challenging intense games were presented seeing Stefania Bonnici and Gordon Cachia win the tournament, although it was not an easy win. A direct encounter saw Bonnici and Cachia win against a strong couple made up of Monica Zammit Munro and Jacques Siefret which ended the tournament in second place.

This event was of great success and aiming for more sports specific tournaments held by the Malta Employees Sport Association and the collaboration of SportMalta

Għarb Local Council organised an activity for its residents as part of the European Week of Sport on 16^th September. Tai Chi is a form of graceful exercise that is used to reduce stress and a variety of other health conditions. This is often described as meditation during movement, and it promotes serenity through gentle circulating movements. This was the first time that we had this type of exercise in our village, and we had good feedback. We look forward to doing it again in the future. Thanks goes to SportMalta for their assistance.

On 19^th September, Gharb Local Council organised its third edition of the 5k Run. Nowadays everyone knows how important it is to do some form exercise and #BeActive. This 5k Run brought together athletes of all ages. Every year we always have new participants who are motivated to continue practicing this type of sports. We thank SportMalta for their support in the event. This activity also formed part of the European Week of Sport events.

Today the Malta Snooker Academy based in Hamrun will host an exhibition match between two of Malta’s best ever players Tony Drago and Alex Borg. This event is being organised by SportMalta with the collaboration of the Malta Billiards and Snooker Association as part of the European Week of Sports which officially ends today.

Tony Drago and Alex Borg who are well known for their national and international results, will face each other over best of nine frames.

Also as part of this 7th edition of the European Week of Sport, the Malta Snooker Accademy organised the BeActive Tournament in which 52 players took part with the final game  being played today.  Finalists Philip Ciantar and Brian Cini will decide the winner over seven frames. In the semi finals Philip Ciantar beat Chris Peplow 3-1 whilst Brian Cini managed to beat Glenn Axiaq 3-2.

The two games are going to be streamed live on YouTube Channel link https://youtu.be/KtkBQyyBy61

The final of the BeActive Tournament between Ciantar and Cini starts at 5:00 pm with the exhibition game between Drago and Borg immediately after it.

27 member states and many other countries across Europe and the
western Balkans throughout this week are having a massive
campaign in order to get the populations more active. The European
week of Sport is an initiative by the European Commission to create
awareness towards the need of physical activity in one’s life. The
European week of Sport was symbolically launched by Commissioner
Maria Gabriel in Bled, Slovenia, the country which holds the EU
Presidency of the Council.

Malta through SportMalta, the government entity for sport
organised two main events and many other satellite events for our
population to be more active. On Thursday the Kirkop Sport
Complex was transformed into a sport village where many
associations, federation and clubs displayed their sport. Hundreds of
athletes of different ages and abilities took part in this event which
was endorsed the presence of Minister Julian Farrugia and
Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima. Traditional team sport
organised sessions for their nurseries. basketball, netball, rugby and
football. There were also other individual such as table-tennis, table
football, weightlifting, a show from BMX, kendo, judo, badminton,
taekwando, gymnastics, triathlon, line dancing, athletics and
Waterpolo. The SportMalta programme on the move was also active
with displays from the academies. There were also competitions
organised by Special Olympics Malta and the Frame football
association who were recently donated 31 frames by SportMalta for
the sport to keep expanding. SportMalta employees and coaches
were also very active to distribute various freebies with the Be Active
logo for the message to be passed on to their families.
Yesterday all Europe between 21 and 23 hours celebrated the
BeActive night. For the second year running SportMalta organised
an Obstacle course relay which was transmitted live on TV. The
competition was held in the adventure park adjacent to the

Cottonera Sport Complex. 8 teams made up of four participants ( 2
male and 2 female) took part in a knockout competition. The teams
had a non playing captain many of who were ambassadors of this
year European Week of Sport. The obstacles varied with the athletes
being challenged on good grip and core strength. All 32 athletes
tried hard to get their body over and around the obstacles on a
slippery terrain made more difficult with rain simulation throughout
the course. There were intervention during the activity by Dr Lydia
Abela who focussed on the various initiatives she is launching to
promote physical activity for a healthy citizenship, parliamentary
secretary Clifton Grima, SportMalta Chairman Luciano Busuttil and
National Coordinator Rosemarie Mercieca. After three hard fought
battles the team captained by Special Olympics athlete Matthew
Bugeja emerged to be winners beating the team captained by
Olympian Matthew Abela. The team led by Paralympian Thomas
Borg finished third. SportMalta chief executive officer Mark Cutajar
presented the trophy and 800 Euro in sport Equipment to the
winning team.

During the Be Active night SportMalta launched two parallel
campaigns. The first one focussed on creating a balance between
sport and education. A number of sport personalities of all ages
passed their message through short video clips. These include
Waterpolo youngster Jayden Cassar, young tennis player Kayleigh
Busuttil, 400m runner Janet Richards, former 400m runner Charlene
Attard, football coach Paul Zammit, parent Mariella Borg Costanzi
and special Olympian Rachel Chircop. The second number of clips
promote volunteering with coaches / administrators Joseph Muscat
(basketball), Philip Ciantar (Snooker), Mario Aquilina (Sailing), Laura
Demicoli (Paralympic Committee) and Maria Vidal (Special Olympics)
encouraging followers to join and volunteer and club and national
level.

For more information about the European week of Sport which will
come to an end on the 30 th September you can join the web on
www.sportmalta.mt