This morning SportMalta announced an initiative to expand, strengthen and attract more youths and children towards The Regatta Tradition. This tradition goes back many years and is strongly associated with the Cottonera cities and others in the vicinity. SportMalta seeks to support each and every sport in Malta thus resulting in the introduction of a new scheme in the form of a substantial donation to each club to build a new boat (dgħajsa tal-pass) that will have various use to the clubs and SportMalta.
With the 8th of September Regatta coming up in a few days, SportMalta announced this project during a press conference held at The Cottonera Complex. Through this scheme SportMalta will continue to intensify its collaboration with the Malta Rowing Association and contribute towards the growth of this tradition inherited from our ancestors in the years to come. The boats are going to have SportMaltaâs name on them and will start participating in the March and September traditional races but will also be part of any National Activity so as to promote the Regatta on a larger scale and to a wider audience. It is also being planned that in the near future SportMalta launches a training programme together with the clubs to teach young children the techniqies of rowing by using these boats. This will ensure that the tradition is continued and the passion for this sport keeps growing over the coming years. Moreover this will contribute to attract other cities from all over Malta and Gozo to join those that are already part of the Regatta.
Mark Cutajar CEO of SportMalta said that the aim of this initiative is to ensure that such long standing traditions that are unique to our country remain. Furthermore such investment reflects SportMaltaâs policy to act concretely through such actions when supporting local sport. Moreover SportMalta is handing more autinomy to the clubs so that they become more sustainable.
On the other hand Professor Joseph Grima, President of The Malta Rowing Association praised this scheme and said that the Association has already welcomed two new clubs that are now registered coming from the University of Malta and the other from Siggiewi. He mentioned the fact that the Association has sent a number of rowers abroad to gain the necessary experience and it is hoping that with the acquisition of these new boats the Association will now be in a position to welcome foreign rowers to our country.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport, Chris Agius said that this is another project in the electoral manifesto that is being implemented where sports of a smaller scale is being continuously supported by the government. He mentioned that in the near future an indoor rowing tank is going to be built at the Cottonera Complex so that rowers can train all year round.