Swimming needs a boost... and improved facilities

Last weekend, I was one of several parents and other relatives or friends who attended the ASA age-group swimming meet at the National Pool, Tal-Qroqq.

Usually the meet takes around 75 minutes to complete but on Saturday the event took much longer than that to finish as the organisers had to contend with a series of mishaps to the timing system and other equipment.

Now, age-group meetings are very important stages in the year's programme for most swimmers and their coaches, as they try to peak on competition day. Their aim is to improve their own personal best times and gradually, gear up for other big occasions, such as international meetings. In the case of the top swimmers, next June's GSSE is the target.

However, from what I could gather there were hardly any impressive times on Saturday. I think this was mainly due to the long waiting the swimmers had to endure between one race and another. At times this stretched to as much as five minutes.

The more experienced swimmers, especially those in the national squad who are certainly not happy with the appalling situation at the pool, were clearly frustrated with the delays.

Moreso, when they realised that the younger swimmers, who should be encouraged to represent Malta in the future and in some cases take up waterpolo, were shivering in the cold and hardly had enough enthusiasm to complete all their heats. Consequently, most parents decided to leave midway through the meeting.

Now, may I ask those concerned, if this is the right scenario for a sport which is a compulsory discipline in the GSSE. Could our swimmers give their best in international competition?

Swimming, along with athletics, another sport which I reckon should receive more attention, are the two sectors where most medals are at stake in every big sporting event - Olympics, Commonwealth Games, GSSE - and yet the authorities concerned do not really seem to be particularly interested to upgrade at the National Pool.

It seems there was some effort to improve after the summer activities, but this is clearly not enough. It is useless to try and lure newcomers to swimming and then provide them with a shabby environment.

On Saturday, those opting to stay on the East Stand of the pool had to make their way up the stairs amid rubble and other debris left there for several weeks now.

I also fear that the few dedicated officials, who try to make things run smoothly despite all obstacles, will soon abandon their hopes of ever seeing such a healthy sport flourishing in Malta.

A few months ago, an international GSSE delegation visited the islands and inspected the sites where all sport will be held in the Malta 2003 Games. It was reported that there was an overall approval for all venues except the National Pool Complex on which some reservations were made.

But did the authorities and the Malta Olympic Committee do something about it? So far there were no significant changes.

I would even dare say that the situation has worsened dramatically lately as the diving pool has been out of order for weeks now and a considerable number of tiles in and around the Olympic size pool, the only one we have in the country, are broken to the detriment of the swimmers.

Moreover, the pool is hardly heated up to the required standards, and this does not go down well with the national squad and club swimmers who I am told train regularly, starting every day as early as 6 a.m.

It has now been decided that the place should be closed for the next two weeks. This is not in any way connected to the Christmas holidays, but as a cost-cutting measure!

Now, this is surprising. What about the swimmers' training programme? Is there another place where they can train? Those in the national squad will be going abroad, even if some of them have to fork out the expenses.

Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Jesmond Mugliett is regarded as having been instrumental so far in boosting sport on our islands but what is preventing his office from undertaking the required changes at the National Pool?

There are some really fascinating projects in the pipeline but, strangely enough, no plans for a small 25-metre indoor pool or at least have the one at Tal-Qroqq covered partially to make it more comfortable for the swimmers to practise during the wintry months. And what about that faulty timing system? Is that the same one we are using during the GSSE?

Well, if that is the case, we better think of something else. The MOC is saying that the GSSE 2003 will be the best ever. I have no doubt about their commitment but the pool could spring one unpleasant surprise if nothing is done immediately.