Minister Clifton Grima visits the site of the first indoor swimming pool in Cottonera


St Georgeâs Square in Valletta filled with people who had either walked or run over the four different routes to continue boosting donations for the Foundation, to participate in an event organised by the Malta Community Chest Fund and SportMalta, an annual appointment responded to by many in solidarity for those who are in need. Some participants ran the distance from Rabat to Valletta while others walked from Santa Venera, Paola or the University.
This yearâs Presidentâs Solidarity FUNRUN was held on the 11th of December with the great amount of 228,637 collected to the Malta Community Chest Fund during L-Istrina. This shows an overwhelming display of solidarity and year after year peopleâs solidarity exceeds expectations
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This morning in front of the premises of the Maltese Olympic Committee, an agreement was signed wherein the Maltese Olympic Committee were granted the sum of âŽ2.7 million by SportMalta, for the next 4 years.
The agreement was signed during a press conference during which, the President of the Maltese Olympic Committee, Julian Pace Bonello, stated that thanks to this, the Committee can work more independently. He also said that the agreement will help athletes reach their goals and that the local sports level during international competition will rise.
SportMaltaâs Chief Executive Officer, Mark Cutajar, said that SportMalta will be giving the tools to the Committee, to work in an independent manner. In the meantime, this agreement will help the Committee plan for 4 years.
Cutajar, also said that by making this agreement, there will be a basis to guarantee that the investment in the athletes will translate into good results, both for them and for the country.
Parliamentary Secretary for Sport, Honourable Clifton Grima informed that this agreement will give peace of mind and a very strong basis so that the Olympic Committee can work in a wise manner. He also reminded that our country will be hosting large sporting events in the coming years.
Parliamentary Secretary Honourable Clifton Grima finished by saying that, in the coming weeks another big investment will be done in our countryâs athletes.
âVolunteers should be recognized for their work, whilst the government does its utmost to provide them with the necessary skills that are recognized and certifiedâ said Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport during the official opening of the seminar Engaging Skillful Volunteers. The seminar marks the opening of the series of events related to sports for the Maltese Presidency of the European Union.
The Parliamentary Secretary stated that although a lot of progress has been made in this sector we are still a long way in reaching our goal of having full-timers working with sports associations. He insisted that such courses are thus very important in giving the opportunity to our volunteers to be acknowledged for their work. He mentioned that this seminar precedes the HR Expert Group meeting to be hosted by Malta the following day. The experts forming part of this group are discussing important themes such as sport diplomacy, dual careers and the voluntary sector.
The one day seminar tackled a number of issues related to volunteering in sport such as good governance and the role of the volunteer. There were also a number of workshops during which participants could learn more about good practices that already exist in other countries and topics such as the role of the parents as volunteers, volunteering that leads to a career in sports and volunteering during mega events.
During his speech Mark Cutajar, Director General of Sports and the Chief Executive of SportMalta said that it is an honour for SportMalta to be entrusted by the Ministry of Education to organize all the work related to sports in relation to the Presidency. Social inclusion and volunteering are Maltaâs priorities for the Presidency and so this seminar represents the first initiative in a wide and long process leading to conclusions at the end of the term. Mr. Cutajar mentioned also the authoring of Sports Work Plan of the European Union entrusted to SportMalta that presents numerous challenges as it needs to bring together the ideas of the 28 member states. Moreover he said that March will certainly be an eventful month as Malta will host the European Sports Forum, The European Youth Sport Forum and the Directorsâ General Meeting amongst other activities.
The seminar was attended by over a hundred participants hailing from local sport associations, SportMalta employees and foreign guests. Professor Thierry Zintz from the University of Louvain in Belgium and Dr. Geoff Nichols form the University of Sheffield, UK were amongst the speakers. Representatives for the European Commission and the Slovak Presidency were also in attendance.
The official SportMalta website dedicated to the work related to the Presidency was officially launched during the seminar. The website also gives access to important documents to be used during the meetings that will be organized in Malta.
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Din il-ÄĄimgħa SportMalta kienet impenjata bl-ewwel Forum Nazzjonali tal-Isport li qatt sar fâpajjiÅžna li seħħ fil-Kumpless Sportiv taâ ÄĶal Kirkop. âIl fuq minn 800 parteÄipant taw is-sehem tagħhom fil-forum nnifsu li kien mifrux fuq jumen u fid-diversi seminars li saru qabel is-seminar innifsu.
Fis-seminars li saru matul il-ÄĄimgħa, SportMalta ippreÅženta diversi temi li laqtu numru kbir taâ nies ÄĄejjien minn oqsma differenti iÅžda li kollha għandhom rabta mal-isports.
Il-forum kien mÅžewwaq bâtemi diversi fejn bosta mill-kelliema inÄĄiebu minn barra l-pajjiÅž apposta għal din l-attivitaâ. Spikkaw temi marbuta mal-Unjoni Ewropea li kienu preÅžentati mill-Kap tal-Programmi Sportivi fl-Unjoni Ewropeja Yves La Losteque u l-Policy Cordinator Agatha Dziarnavska. Sessjoni oħra nteressanti kienet dik mill-President tal-AssoÄjazzjoni OlandiÅža tal-Hockey Marijke Fleuren li trattat l-involviment tal-ÄĄenituri fl-isport u r-rapreÅžentant taâ SportRadar Marcello Presilla tkellem dwar il-fenomenu tal-match fixing.
SportMalta matul il-jumejn ÄÄelebrat suÄÄessi li għamlu diversi atleti fl-isport. Semgħet l-problemi li jiltaqgħu magħhom u l-intoppi li kellhom jgħelbu sabiex waslu fejn waslu. Filfatt fâpajjiÅžna kien hawn l-aħjar tennista Taljan taâ kull Åžmien, Nicola Pietrangeli li tkellem dwar l-karriera tiegħu filwaqt li saru ntervisti mal-plejer barrani nnewtralizzat Malti Alfred Effiong, Josephine Grima l-plejer tal-basketball li għamlet bosta snin tilgħab barra l-pajjiÅž, Karl Izzo l-kowÄ tat-timijiet Maltin tal-waterpolo u Vlada Kravchenko atleta li qed titħarreÄĄ sabiex tieħu sehem fil-paralympics li ser isiru fâRio de Janeiro fis-sajf li ÄĄej.
Waqt il-forum saru diversi workshops biex bâhekk ingħatat l-opportunitaâ lil dawk kollha prezenti jipparteÄipaw fid-diskussjonijiet li varjaw minn governanza tajba, għal organizzazjoni taâ avvenimenti, ir-rabta bejn l-attivita fiÅžika u l-isport, kif ukoll il-betting bâresponsabilitaâ li kien preÅžentat mill-kumpanija Maltco.  Minn dawn il-workshops ħarÄĄu konkluÅžjonijiet li jgħinu biex inkomplu intejbu l-isport fâMalta.
Minbarra s-seminar innifsu saru laqgħat bilaterali tal-għola livell mal-mistiedna barranin bâmod privat li kienu ferm poÅžittivi. Laqgħat li Åžgur jawguraw tajjeb għall-futur fil-preparazzjoni għall- Presidenza.  Huwa mistenni li fil-ÄĄimgħat li-ÄĄejjin SportMalta se tkun qed tippreÅženta l-konkluÅžjonijiet taâ dawn il-laqgħat lis-Segretarju Parlamentari Chris Agius biex bâhekk ikun possibli li titkompla il-ħidma tal-Gvern fil-qasam sportiv.
Bâmod parallel, l-ewwel Forum Nazzjonali tal-Isport kien imxandar wkoll fuq TVM2 wara ftehim li ntlaħaq bejn SportMalta u l-Public Broadcasting Services. It-telespettaturi setgħu jsegwu âil fuq minn sebaâ sigħat mill-kumditaâ taâ darhom.  Dan huwa mod ieħor kif il-gvern juÅža għall-massimu r-riÅžorsi umani u jifrex ix-xogħol tiegħu permezz taâ aktar kollaborazzjoni bejn l-entitajiet governativi.
Is-suÄÄess taâ SportMalta qed jikkontribwixxi bil-kbir għas-suÄÄess li laħaq pajjiÅžna fil-qasam sportiv hekk kif titkompla il-wegħda tal-Gvern li jkompli jagħmel dak kollu li hu possibli għal pajjiÅžna biex dan is-settur ikompli jikber u jissaħħaħ.
Qabel il-Forum innifsu saru sitt seminars speÄifikament immirat għall-setturi taâ nies mdaħħla fl-isport. Is-sitt seminars saru bâkollaborazzjoni maâ entitajiet diversi. L-ewwel seminar sar bâkollaborazzjoni mal-MCAST u kien immirat għall-istudenti, segwa seminar għall-ħaddiema taÄ-Äivil u ieħor għaÅž-ÅžgħaÅžagħ bil-kollaborazzjoni maâ AÄĄenzija ÅŧgħaÅžagħ. It-tlieta s-seminar sar fâGħawdex għall-isportivi Għawdxin bil-kollaborazzjojni tal-Gozo Sports Board. Sar seminar għall-edukaturi u ieħor għall-ÄĄurnalisti u l-assoÄjazzjonijiet sportivi bil-kollaborazzjoni tal-Għaqda Ä urnalisti Sport.
Minn għada l-familja sportiva nazzjonali ser ikollha iktar minn gimgħa taâ diskussjoni dwar l-isport fâpajjiÅžna waqt serje taâ seminars u workshops. Dawn ser jilħqu l-qofol tagħhom bâForum Nazzjonali li se jkun mifrux fuq jumejn fil-Kumpless Sportiv taâ ÄĶal Kirkop propju fit-22 u 23 taâ April 2016.
Il-Forum se jilħaq mhux biss lil dawk li huma direttament involuti fl-isport iÅžda wkoll setturi oħra li bâmod indirett jew dirett jiÄĄu affetwati mill-isport u li permezz tiegħu jistgħu jtejjbu l-ħajja personali tagħhom.
Is-Segretarju Parlamentari għar-RiÄerka, Innovazzjoni, ÅŧgħaÅžagħ u Sport Chris Agius spjega kif dan il-forum qed jilħaq il-viÅžjoni tal-Gvern li jsir xogħol bâkollaborazzjoni mal-ministeri oħra. Dan għaliex fâdan il-forum, minbarra l-Ministeru tal-Edukazzjoni, huma nvoluti entitajiet oħra fosthom il-PBS, id-dipartimenti tas-saħħa u tas-saħħa mentali, Agenzija ÅŧgħaÅžagħ, LGA, MTA, l-Universitaâ u l-MCAST u s-servizz Äivili in ÄĄenerali.
Forum bħal dan sostna s-Segretarju Parlamentari jixhed kemm SportMalta tul dawn l-aħħar snin għaddiet minn Åžminijiet eÄitanti, nteressanti u mpenjattivi. Huwa saħaq li l-entita` ser tibqa timpenja ruħha sabiex tkompli tiÄĄÄĄedded u tissaħħaħ għal ÄĄid tal-isport lokali.
Mark Cutajar, Kap EÅžekuttiv taâ SportMalta, spjega kif se jkun imqassam kemm il-Forum, kif ukoll is-seminars li se jippreÄedu dan l-avveniment. Filfatt qabel il- Forum se jkun hemm numru taâ seminars fosthom l-irwol taÄ-Äivil u l-ħaddiema tiegħu fl-isport, l-attivitajiet u l-amalgamazzjoni bejn l-isport u Åž-ÅžgħaÅžagħ, l-mod taâ kif Għawdex u l-Għawdxin jistgħu jtejbu l-livell tagħhom, kif l-isport fl-iskejjel jistaâ jtejjeb il-kwalita` u jkun aktar innovattiv u kif il-ÄĄurnalisti u l-assoÄjazzjonijiet jistgħu jersqu lejn xulxin u għalhekk ikunu aktar effettivi.
Huwa tkellem ukoll dwar il-preÅžentazzjonijiet li se jsiru fil-jumejn tal-Forum fejn jispikkaw temi marbuta mal-Unjoni Ewropeja hekk kif SportMalta dieħla bâentuÅžjaÅžmu kbir għas-sena 2017 u l-Presidenza Maltija. Filfatt se ssir preÅžentazzjoni minn membri tal-Kummissjoni fosthom il-Kap tal-Programmi Sportivi fl-Unjoni Ewropeja Yves La Losteque, dwar r-rilevanza tal-Presidenza Ewropeja għall-assoÄjazzjonijiet, federazzjonijiet u klabbs li huma reÄĄistrati kif ukoll se jkunu trattati t-temi tal-volontarjat u l-inkluzjoni soÄjali li huma prioritaâ tal-Presidenza Maltija. Il-Forum se jilqa` wkoll uffiÄjali għolja oħrajn minn barra l-pajjiz fejn preÅženti se jkun hemm, il-President tal-Federazzjoni Internazzjonali tal-Hockey Marijke Fleuren, l-ex tennista Taljan Nicola Pietrangeli, kif ukoll Marcello Presilla li huwa membru fil-bord maniÄĄerjali taâ Sport Radar il-kumpanija li tagħmel moniteraÄĄÄĄ tal-imħatri fis-settur Ewropew inkluÅž fâMalta.
Luciano Busuttil , Cermen taâ SportMalta qal li dan il-Forum ser iservi sabiex SportMalta u l-Gvern jisma` l-istakeholders kollha li jimiltaw fl-isport, jisma l-esperjenzi tagħhom u wara jimplimenta r-rakomandazzjonijiet li jippreÅžentaw. Dan il-Forum ser iservi wkoll taâ pjattaforma taâ xânistennew mill-Presidenza Maltija tal-UE.  Dr Busuttil saħaq li dan il-forum mâgħandux jilħaq biss lil atleti u dawk l-persuni stabbiliti fl-isport imma għandu jkompli jqajjem kuxjenza li l-Isport huwa għal kulħadd.
Ser isiru sitt seminars bejn l-jum taâ għada u nhar il-ÄĶamis li ÄĄej biex imbagħad il-Ä imgħa 22 jibda l-Forum Nazzjonali tal-Isport li jintemm is-Sibt 23 taâ April.