Three sets of brothers in Maltese squad

When Malta won the bid to host the Games of the Small States of Europe in 2003, the Malta Sailing Federation was keeping its fingers crossed that sailing be included in the Games programme.

Blessed with warm Mediterranean waters, sailing was widely regarded as an automatic choice. When the International Executive approved the Games programme as proposed by the host country, sailing earned its rightful place among the sporting disciplines.

Land-locked countries tend to shun this sport. In fact, sailing has only featured three times in the past nine editions.

Maltese sailors left their mark in previous editions. In Monaco in 1987, Chris Grech won a silver medal and Jean Paul Fleri Soler landed bronze.

Bad luck denied the Maltese contingent its first ever gold medal in sailing - or yachting as it was known at the time - in Cyprus in 1989.

Fleri Soler topped the first two races to establish a healthy lead over his rivals. However, windless conditions forced the third race to be cancelled and the discipline was declared a non-event much to the frustration of the Maltese sailors who returned home empty-handed.

In Malta in 1993, Fleri Soler finally broke his jinx as he sailed away to gold in his class. More medals followed as Henry Tabone obtained a silver in yachting and Andrew Wilson and John Tabone claimed two bronze medals for a total haul of six medals.

The last time that sailing was on the cards was in 1997 in Iceland with Maltese sailors clinching yet another two medals.

Given this positive track record, it stands to reason that expectations are high in this discipline. Three different classes will be contested at the Games.

The Optimist class is open for youngsters under 15 years of age. The Laser Radial is a class reserved for sailors who normally weigh between 60 and 70 kgs whereas the Olympic Laser class is an open category with sailors usually weighing in at an average of 80kgs.

As the host country, Malta has the benefit of entering six sailors in each category. The selection process has proved to be a fierce race with three regattas held in each category to determine the final squad.

This edition of the GSSE will surely go down in local sports history for one peculiar fact... three sets of brothers will be competing in sailing. Youngsters Sean and Benji Borg will be participating in the Optimist class. At ten years of age, Sean is the youngest member of the Maltese contingent.

The Aquilina brothers will also be in action - Mario competing in the Laser Standard and Simon in the Laser Radial.

Likewise, Aaron Podesta will be vying for a medal in the Laser Radial whereas his younger brother Christoph will be competing in the Optimist class.

The national teams have been following a rigorous training programme both in the water and at the gym. Spaniard Jerome Mainemare is the national coach while Fleri Soler is in charge of the Optimist squad.

A total of eight races will be held over four days in each class.

Optimist and Laser Radial classes will be run in the morning with Laser Standard regattas taking place in the afternoon. All races will be held at Qawra Point.

International experience

Local sailors have participated in a number of international regattas in an attempt to improve their performance.

Peter Valentino and Simon Aquilina took part in the Europa Cup held in Italy. Valentino managed an excellent third place out of 92 competitors.

Meanwhile, nine sailors took part in the Italia Cup held in Palermo. Other international regattas included the Izola Cup in Slovenia, the Barcelona Olympic Race Week and the Princess Sophia Trophy in Palma (Spain).

Youngsters competing in the Optimist class participated in the European Championships in Portugal last year and in the Dubai International Regatta. The Malta Sailing Federation also hosted the Euro-Med Championship which ranks as another high-level competition.

An international jury will be judging the sailing events at the GSSE. The scene is set and the sailors are all geared up to maintain the excellent track record of past editions during which Maltese sailors claimed half of the medals at stake.

Malta's teams...

Laser Standard (Olympic) - Mario Aquilina, John Tabone, Neil Borg, Adrian Gauci Borda, James Xuereb, David Dalli.

Laser Radial - Peter Valentino, Simon Aquilina, Alfred Fenech, Andrew Selvaggi, Aaron Podesta, Paul Debono.

Optimist - Benji Borg, Matthew Fleri Soler, Karl Cremona, Christoph Podesta, Simon Psaila, Sean Borg.