No medals for Malta, sports school to be launched in October

As the London 2012 Olympics come to an end tonight, the 204 participating countries are taking stock of their athletes' performances. The games have been a resounding success and critics the world over have not only lauded the host nation for the impeccable organisation but also for its sporting success.

Although lagging behind the US and China in the medals table, the host nation - Great Britain - has tallied an impressive number of medals and outpunched bigger and more powerful countries.

Following medals in 15 different disciplines, Britain has won more gold medals in different sports than any country bar China. With 25 gold medals to its name and sitting third in the overall medal table, Britain's massive investment in expanding the breadth of sports capable of achieving medals has paid off.

UK Sport, the body responsible for investing £312m of National Lottery and State funding into Olympic sports since 2008, has resolved to broaden the spread of sports able to win medals.

Although the Olympic maxim ostensibly runs on the oft-trotted out maxim 'participating is more important than winning', the measure of success can only be tangibly gauged by the performance of athletes on the field (or in the water).

Admittedly, it is each country's dream to win a medal at the Olympic Games and small nations such as Malta will always face an uphill struggle in its quest for its first Olympic medal.
However, a quick glance at the performance of small nations in the London games and the all-time medal table, a number of small nations have proved that such a feat is not impossible.

In this year's edition, Malta was represented by William Chetcuti (shooting), Rachid Chouhal, Diane Borg (athletics) and Nikki Muscat, Andrew Chetcuti (swimming). All sporting matters including the selection of athletes falls within the remit of the Malta Olympic Committee. 

The inevitable question is: how did Malta fare in London 2012? A spokesperson for the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport said "each of the five Maltese athletes prepared to the full and gave the best effort on the day".

Out of the five, William Chetcuti was Malta's only realistic chance of winning a medal. Chetcuti's status as Shooting World Cup winner in the double-trap meant he was one of the favourites in his event, however after a disappointing performance, he missed out on a position in the London 2012 double trap finals.

The system of participation at the Olympics is regulated by the International Olympic Committee.

To participate in the Olympic Games, athletes either have to qualify through a recognised qualification event or else be given a wild card by the IOC.

However, in track and field events and in swimming, nations are automatically allowed to enter two competitors.

Asked whether Malta can achieve more, the spokesperson said: "In the past few years,  we have improved a lot but there is always room for improvement".

The spokesperson explained that in recent years, there was a sharp increase in the number of sports facilities and their quality and the Sport Promotion Unit which teaches fundamentals in gymnastics, athletics and swimming was set up.

He added that "this year, we are distributing €8 million to sports organisations through 26 different schemes.

"We are doing our utmost to create a sport culture to widen participation in sports out of which we can choose our national athletes."

On whether there is there a policy or plan in place to improve the country's performance in the Rio 2016 Olympics, the spokesperson said the government hopes that schemes for training including the 20/20 Training Sports Leave, the competition leave and the AFM Sports Unit together with the launched Government Sports Scholarships for specialisation in sports will help reap results.

As shown by Britain's results in London, investment in sports can translate into positive results.
However, in Malta there is no comprehensive national policy on sport, although a number of scattered initiatives exist.

The spokesperson for the youth and sports secretariat said "funding for sports has basically doubled during this legislature. Other countries had to reduce funding because of the international crisis".

He added that the government has not only invested heavily in facilities through the Malta Sports Council but that a number of innovative schemes and initiatives were also launched.

Furthermore, the spokesperson said that this year, sports scholarships and National Sports College will be launched.

"Earlier this year government has, for the first time ever, launched the Malta Sports Scholarship Scheme, where the government's clear aim is that the promulgation of sports at a professional level will promote the development of high performance athletes who will eventually represent Malta in international competitions," the spokesperson added.