Federation sees to the welfare of tennis in Malta

Malta Tennis Federation president Peter Zammit recently highlighted the important role clubs are playing in the running of the sport here as well as the committee's continued efforts to boost the game of tennis.

Zammit was speaking during an annual general meeting. He said that in its 37th year the federation has grown, matured and flourished in a prosperous way.

As the federation's focus is now turned on next June's GSSE Malta 2003, Zammit said that the national squad's preparations are going on in full swing.

National coach Janicijevic Dusan is doing a fine job, Zammit said, and he had his contract extended for another six months.

"Dusan is an excellent coach," Zammit said. "His dedication, interest and understanding are the secret to his success."

The federation, at present, has 18 clubs in its fold. Unfortunately, the president said, the MTF's role is restricted to certain functions and thus cannot but approve the initiative taken by clubs to organise tournaments which generate more interest.

One of the most important achievements for the MTF last year was the School Tennis Initiative Project. The aim of the programme is to increase tennis popularity by introducing the idea of mini-tennis in schools.

Busy year

Zammit said 2002 has certainly been a busy year with its selections taking part in various tournaments including the Davis Cup and the Fed. Cup.

Other top events for juniors were held in Malta. This included the ITF junior competition at the Marsa SC, the FISEC Games at the VLTC and the Tennis Europe Championship U-14 at TCK.

"It is vital to organise such events in Malta," Zammit said. "It is a good incentive. The training camp in England for our juniors was also a useful experience."

The federation's attention, however, did not merely centre on the court. Over the past year, local tennis officiating has been experiencing a rebirth, stemmed in part by the last Davis Cup held in Malta, and also by the re-establishment of an officiating committee.

At present, the MTF has four White Badges officials.

In November the MTF also hosted a Tennis Europe Junior meeting and had 53 representatives attending from 35 countries.

Zammit rounded up his AGM report by showing his appreciation to Adrian Borg Cardona. Last year the MTF Director of Finance was honoured by the International Tennis Federation for 35 years of service to the game.