Why we need movement?

59% of the European population is reported to never or rarely exercise or play sport (Eurobarometer 2014). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a lack of physical activity is even more dangerous to our health than smoking and we know now that Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for global mortality.

600,000 people in Europe die each year due to insufficient physical activity. The estimated economic damage of the lack or absence of physical activity is estimated at € 300 a year for each person. This equates to a global loss of € 152 billion annually.

What can we do?

As sedentary lifestyle continues to emerge as one of the most dangerous habits of modern society, it has become clear that the way we spend our days needs a change – a new active way of living. To support and promote this change, we initiate a new European initiative – No Elevators Day.

No Elevators Day is a pan-European initiative part of NowWeMOVEcampaign initiated by International Sports and Culture Association (ISCA) and supporting the European Week of Sport #BeActive.

No Elevators Day could be easily implemented – in office buildings, shopping centre, apartment blocks, car parks, universities, and other public and private buildings. The general idea of the No Elevators Day is to promote the usage of stairs instead of elevators on an everyday basis.

When No Elevators Day will happen?

No Elevators Day will happen on 26.04.2017 all over Europe.

A special event will be organised at Embassy Shopping Complex in Valletta.

You can join the initiative by sealing the elevators in your building on that day to promote the usage of stairs instead of elevators and inform people about the benefits of movement. Learn more on HOW TO.

Few facts about climbing the stairs:

• Walking up the stairs burns two to three times calories than walking.
• It requires about 8-11kcal of energy per minute, which is comparatively higher than other moderate intensity physical activities.
• A 70 kg person can burn 30 calories per day if they climb two flights of stairs (approx. 12 steps each) three times.
• Walking up six flights of stairs three times per day will result in 90 calories burned.
• The number of calories you burn depends on your body weight, as heavier people burn more calories than lighter ones.
• Climbing more than 55 flights of stairs per week may significantly reduce inactivity-related health risks. It can help to build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints, as well as helping to maintain a healthy body weight.
• Stair climbing is also associated with “good cholesterol” levels, better bone density of post-menopausal women, increased leg power, and may even lead to reduced risk of injury from falls among the elderly.
• Even minimal activity, such as going up two flights of stairs every day, can lead to weight loss of up to 2.7kg over a one-year period.
• Stair climbing does not require any special equipment or preparation, and it is also a “green” activity as it does not use any externally produced energy.
• In addition, stair climbing can be accumulated over the course of the day, making it a significant contribution to the recommended minimum of 20 minutes of daily physical activity.
• And last, but not least, using the stairs could even save time. The stairs are the quickest way to your destination in buildings with seven floors or less, especially during peak times.

All activities under No Elevators Day title will be voluntary and will take into consideration the accessibility requirements for people with disabilities and medical conditions and will provide access to them and to those not willing to participate.

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The CEO, Chairman, Board of Directors and all staff at SportMalta, wishes a speedy recovery to Hon. Chris Agius, after this morning unfortunate accident.

SportMalta in collaboration with Bank of Valletta has distributed funds of the Youth Development Scheme to 20 athletes. The scheme which was aimed at assisting athletes who have not yet attained 18 years of age, was launched last November. The assistance provided through this scheme is intended to financially assist these athletes in participating in international competitions beyond our shores.

The scheme, equally funded by SportMalta and Bank of Valletta, will assist 20 athletes who were selected by a board of experts following an evaluation of the applications received by the athletes following a request for information made to the national sports organization of the respective sporting discipline. The evaluation was based on specific criteria that took into consideration the level of the competition that the athletes will be participating in and the development that will result from their participation on both a personal and national level.

SportMalta has strengthened this scheme to enhance its support to the young athletes and to invest in them as potential representatives of our country. Such investment in our young athletes is necessary for the improvement of Malta’s participation in international competitions. Such financial burden would be very hard to sustain by the young athletes themselves, their parents and the respective national sports organisation. . Moreover it is vital that these young athletes participate in such competitions as they provide them with the necessary experience to ameliorate their professional career in general and their performance in international events.The ultimate aim is for Malta to produce as many suitable athletes as possible for the Small Nations Games of 2023 and other international competitions in the years to come.

Apart from this SportMalta offers a number of schemes to assist individual athletes, clubs and associations to advance in their professional development and to reach international levels. Schemes directly aimed towards athletes are the Flexi Training Scheme and the Sport Leave Scheme both conceived to support the athlete in reaching a balance between work and training hours. The International Participation Scheme helps athletes whilst participating abroad whereas there are other schemes such as the Elite Athletes’ Development and Support Scheme and a scheme specifically for Gozitans.

The funds were distributed during a press conference held at the BOV Centre in Santa Venera ans was addressed by Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport,  Luciano Busuttil, Chairman of SportMalta and Charles Azzopardi, Head PR and Marketing of Bank of Valletta.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, Chris Agius said “investing in our youths is a priority for this government as we believe that in the future we will reap the benefits in the sport sector”. He maintained that structured funds would continue assisting youths in their participation in international competitions. He sustained that this scheme is complimentary to the recent financial agreement reached with the Malta Olympic Committee as both are intended to give priority to our youths. He commended this initiative by BOV and encouraged other entities to follow lead and join forces with the government to improve the sports industry.

Luciano Busuttil, Chairman of SportMalta stated that following considerable investment in the sport facilities it is now the time to invest in people. He specified that this is only one initiative that SportMalta is applying in the youth sector.

The Chairman praised the parents for the continuous support they offer to their children and invited them to encourage other parents to do the same. He sustained that the young athletes should inspire other children and act as role models. “Only through such a system would we be able to create a strong and inclusive society”, concluded Busuttil.

“This is the first time that a sport scheme is not totally financed by SportMalta or in collaboration with another government department or entity”, said Dr. Karen Zammit Southernwood. She explained the procedures that will be applied in order to implement the scheme, in collaboration with both the youths and the associations so as to guarantee good governance. Dr. Zammit Southernwood announced that there will be upcoming meetings for the athletes so that they can understand better the benefits of this scheme.

‘It is with great pleasure that we present the first beneficiaries of the Youth Development Scheme, a collaboration between SportMalta and Bank of Valletta’ said Charles Azzopardi, Head PR and Marketing at Bank of Valletta. ‘Bank of Valletta has established itself as the major supporter of sporting initiatives in Malta but we have always felt that we could do more to support the development of the future sporting generation’

‘This collaboration with SportMalta provides us with the perfect avenue to promote physical activity and a healthy lifestyle while empowering success among our youth’ concluded Mr Azzopardi.

The beneficiaries of the scheme are:

Photos from the event can be viewed here

The meeting of the Directors General of Sport held in Malta on the 15 and 16 of March 2017 featured social inclusion and volunteering as its main themes. Chris Agius, Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport presented two good practices linked with these topics as reference was made to the first accredited course for volunteers in sports and a project carried out with prisoners supported through EU funds of the programme Gruntvig.

Other good practices led by Sport Malta such as MOVE 360, the horse racing academy and On the Move programme were also presented to the directors general.

Significant progress on the council conclusions was also reached  during the two day meeting. The conclusions will be submitted at the end of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

A discussion paper on migrant and refugee social inclusion, senior citizens, vulnerable youths and people with disabilities was also placed on the table for debate and will be eventually presented at ministerial level.

 The Malta Shooting Sport Federation welcomed the directors general at Bidnija and gave them the opportunity to test their shooting skills and also enjoyed an exhibition by Maltese top athletes William Chetcuti, Nathan Lee Xuereb and Gianluca Chetcuti.

More Photos Click Here

Her Excellency, the President of Malta, Marie Louise Coleiro Preca addressed the European Sport Forum as it was brought to an end through a round table discussion.  The President stressed on the importance of sports being accessible to everyone especially those families living in poverty. She also remarked that sport should be used as a tool that unifies people.

The outcomes of the forum were presented together with the recommendations to the European Union Commission, representatives from the Member States, the Sport Movement and other stakeholders.

The main recommendations that derived from the three day forum focused on:

Healthy Living through regular physical activity, whereby facilities should be increased and already existing potential locations used as sports facilities so as to maximise all resources available.

Social Inclusion was identified as the second recommendation and focused on the participation of volunteers to work in this field in the light of the migration influx. An appeal to the European Union was made to embark on a promotional campaign.

Finally the third recommendation in view of Sport Diplomacy suggested that exchange between European citizens should be increased. Moreover it was also proposed that elite athletes should share their experiences at grassroots levels.

www.eu17sportmalta.com

More Photos Click Here

The theme of Sport Diplomacy was central to the third day of the Forum. The participants were engaged in the presentation as the forum kicked off with a panel discussion with the participation of panellists hailing from different walks of life. The members of the panel were Steven Fenech, who is a professional local wheelchair dancer, Vlada Kravchecko, a Maltese Paralympian and Ambassador of SportMalta in the European Week of Sport and Mr Robert Portelli, Director of Programmes at SportMalta. All three gave their input on how throe backgrounds and experiences contribute to establishing sport diplomacy and highlighting the real meaning behind this theme.

The day was then characterised by another panel discussion concentrating on intercultural dialogue through sport which is so vital for Sport Diplomacy. The panel discussion was this time made up of three participants: Rachid Chouhal who is an Athletics National team Athlete, Milos Stanisavljevic, a former Handball Serbian National Team player and Elena Malikova, Head of Unit of International Cooperation in Sport from the Ministry of Education, Science, research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. The discussion underlined the integration of athletes through sport in any society and how sport can bring together different cultures. All three speakers spoke about their personal experiences.

At the end of the forum the participants again participated in a number of workshops and gave their input in the drafting of recommendations in the field of Sport Diplomacy. Following this the participants were given a unique opportunity to visit the Maltese parliament and actively contribute to a debate with the Maltese Members of Parliament on the theme of Diplomacy.

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The day kicked off with a Zumba and Piloxing session for the young participants of the Forum in line with the day’s theme: Healthy Lifestyle through Sport. This session was greatly appreciated by the Forum members and set the tone for the day’s discussion.

The first keynote speech was delivered by veteran Dr Simone Digennaro form the University of Casssino and Southern Lazio. Dr Digennaro who is also an EOSE member talked about Fighting Obesity through Physical Activity. He was followed by Dr Charmaine Gauci; Director General at the Ministry of Health gave a presentation on Nutrition and its impact on Public Health.

Again the participants were grouped for workshop to discuss and give recommendations on healthy lifestyle through sports.

www.eu17sportmalta.com

Yesterday marked the beginning of The European Youth Sport Forum organised by SportMalta as over 120 young participants from different countries met and discussed a number of issues affecting the field of Sport. The first day of the Forum was characterised by the theme Social Inclusion and Volunteering through Sport which is one of the priorities of The Maltese Presidency.

The opening of the Forum was addressed by Mark Cutajar, Director General, Hon Luciano Busuttil , Chairman of SportMalta, Mr. Paolo Emilio Adami from ENGSO Youth, Mr. Yves Le-Lostecque, Head of Unit, EAC Sport European Commission and Hon Chris Agius Parliamentary Secretary for Sport.

The topic in discussion was aptly analysed through the keynote speakers of the day. Mr. Tobias Staebler who is the Unified Sport Coordinator Special Olympics Europe Eurasia spoke about Sport as a Catalyst for Social Inclusion. Whereas the theme Volunteers in the Centre of the World was presented by Ms. Lara Tonna, lecturer at The University of Malta.

Nevena Vukasinovic gave an overview of the Pink Paper, which is a document containing recommendations drawn from previous forums and spoke about what is being expected of the three day forum.

Finally the participants were able to give active input as they took part in interactive workshops discussing various themes.

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The second day of the Forum had two very important plenary sessions. The day commenced by an introductory speech from the Sport Unit of the European Commission Yves Le Lostecque. In the morning good governance and integrity in Sport was the main theme where Malta was represented by MEP Marlene Mizzi. The discussion focused around a pledge board signed by major European Stakeholders including SportMalta and the Maltese Olympic committee, giving emphasis on the integrity of sport and values of good governance.

The highlight of day two was the presence of the European Commissioner for Sport Tibor Navracsics who alongside with Parliamentary Secretary Agius, Santiago Fisas, co-chair of the Intergroup of the European Parliament and Susanne Erlandsson, vice-President of the Swedish Sport Confederation conducted a high level debate of the future of grassroots sport.

Delegates also had the opportunity to appreciate Malta and the Maltese culture as a folklore gala dinner was organised in Rabat.

www.eu17sportmalta.com