National pool available for winter

After several attempts to re-ignite local waterpolo with the presence of foreign players of international repute in the ranks of our teams, news came from last Tuesday's Annual General Meeting of the Aquatic Sports Association, that local followers of the game will be able to re-evoke the swashbuckling days when these foreign stars made their mark on our top summer sport.

The ASA was totally in favour of the motion for the re-introduction of the foreign player which was presented by the Gozitan club Otters ASC.

Similar motions were presented in previous Annual General Meetings over the past years, but each time these motions were defeated.

On Tuesday the discussion which ensued prior to the voting indicated that the clubs were equally divided on the issue.

Eventually the 18 eligible votes, representing nine clubs, gave a ten to eight verdict in favour of the motion, which means that next season the foreign players will be back. The last year they were here was in 1996.

There was also very welcome news for the ASA when president Robert Ebejer announced that the National Pool will not, after all, be closing down for the winter, except during January when refurbishment works will be carried out.

The ASA had appealed to the Minister of Education, also responsible for Sport, Louis Galea, to intervene with the Kunsill Malti ghall-Isport so that the decision to close down the pool from January until March would be revised.

Dr Galea acceded to the ASA request and as a result the national waterpolo squad preparing for the qualifying round of the European 'A' Championships in April will be able to proceed with their training leading up to the event.

This also means that the Winter League, which serves the players in their build-up, will resume after the competition was cancelled in 2005.

The same will apply for the swimmers who also have commitments for the 2006 season. The Commonwealth Games, scheduled for mid-March, is the first big event on the swimmers' calendar, even if there will only be token participation from Malta. Nevertheless qualifying standards set by the MOC will have to be reached.

The ASA announced that temporary training facilities for the month of January will be sought for the waterpolo players and swimmers selected for the national teams so that their preparation will proceed as smoothly as possible.

During the AGM, Ebejer and Joe Agius Ruggier were confirmed as ASA president and vice-president waterpolo, respectively.

A new addition as an ASA official is Adrian Camilleri.

Dr Camilleri was nominated by Exiles ASC for the post of vice-president administration/education. His nomination was approved during the Annual General Meeting.