Swimming needs continued backing

In the aftermath of the International Meeting at the National Pool on Friday and Saturday, one could not help noticing that swimming needs constant attention for standards to be improved. Alex Vella has more...

Our swimmers are on the centre-stage and it is by their performances in the water that one can gauge whether or not we are on the right path towards further progress. Such thoughts were bound to cross the minds of those who watched the marathon of events last week.

Mixed results from our swimmers reflected the state this sport is currently in. On the one hand there are good technical dividends through the initiatives of the ASA Swimming Board, clubs and individual swimmers when competing abroad.

This was the case last month when the Neptunes and Sliema teams took part in an international event in Berlin, and then when Neil Agius travelled to Wales for a two-week training spell under the guidance of Dave Haller.

On the other hand, lack of continuity in preparation due to several reasons and the heavy burden that Gail Rizzo, currently in charge of the top pool of swimmers as well as the Neptunes team, has to carry are taking their toll.

There is also a lack of depth in strength, with the resultant shortfall in the competitive element facing our top swimmers. All this does not present a rosy picture.

Nevertheless, Michael Gialanze, Chairman of the Swimming Board, is bent on doing everything possible to further boost this sport.

"Our target is participation in the Athens Olympics, even if this a token one. The proviso here should be better performances through records and PBs. The immediate signpost is the FISEC Games in Malta in July.

"This should present a good opportunity for swimmers like Davina Mangion, Kyle Scerri, Lara Callus and Francesca Paolella to win medals. Then, our ultimate target is the 2005 GSSE in Andorra.

"We plan to send a couple of swimmers to train in other countries, while we intend to expose others to more competition abroad. Progress can be achieved in this manner," Dr Gialanze said.

Coaches Rizzo, Anita Mercieca Bons (Sliema) and Maria Scerri (Sirens) are doing sterling work.

And this was evident in many PBs their swimmers obtained on Friday and Saturday. Yet, the turnover in terms of national and age-group records is still meagre.

There were only four, Neil Agius in the 400m and 1,500m freestyle and young Daniel Galea in the 50 breast and 50 'fly.

Otherwise, some records are still enduring the passage of time and that is not a good sign.

The recent renovation in the main pool did not help matters since swimmers had to stay put for about three months, at least as far as normal time-trials competition was concerned.

However, there was a fine interlude from Paolella with two national records in Berlin. Incidentally, her 1:17.25 in the 100m breaststroke would have put her in eighth place in the all-Australian Age Group Championship in Perth last week.

Indeed, this talent should be groomed further.

Galea's feats were also impressive. This ten-year-old, guided by Mercieca Bons, compares well with foreigners in his category by any standard. So do Gabriel Pace, Kim Attard and Talisa Pace.

Beneath this layer there is another crop of youngsters.

Melinda Sue Micallef, Adrian Buttigieg, Quelin Zammit, Kimberley Sacco, Stephanie Said, Luke Micallef, Andrea Agius and Rebecca Dalli are all showing up well.

What is needed is constant backing from all fronts to complement the personal sacrifices, extending to financial ones, our swimmers are going through.