International and local sport opportunities for MCAST students

In a few days' time a foreign delegation from International School Sport Federation (ISF - www.isfsports.org) will be coming to Malta to hold talks with the Malta School Sports Federation regarding the hosting of an international sport tournament in Malta next year.

During the tournament, MCAST students will have the opportunity to participate in a big sporting event with other students from all over the world, besides help in the organisation and the smooth running of the event.

The ISF works as a collective, single coherent force committed to promote physical education and sport for all in the education systems of the world. It aims to create an international school sport week in each member country, to promote the values of untarnished sport for young people, to organise concrete initiatives and to seek the recognition of governments, other agencies and the media.

Recently, the sports departments of MCAST and a number of post-secondary institutions in Malta and Gozo came together to set up the Malta School Sports Federation. It is affiliated to the ISF and is headed by David Azzopardi, sports co-ordinator at St Aloysius College. ISF Malta is working hard to create more international sport-related opportunities for students in Malta's post-secondary institutions.

ISF affiliation also provides numerous opportunities for MCAST students to travel abroad and participate in international school sport events. For example, this year ISF will be organising skiing in Andorra, basketball in France, football in Chile, swimming in Hungary, athletics in France, floorball in the Czech Republic, tennis in Poland, golf in France, beach volley in Puerto Rico and futsal in Brazil.

Since its establishment three decades ago ISF has been recognised by many national and international school authorities and organisations, and has taken its place among international sport federations. It is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is today a worldwide federation covering five continents.

The first ISF world seminar, called Inter-School, which was held at Bruges, sought to define ISF's philosophy, and to emphasise that the ISF's objectives by far exceed its organisational and administrative purposes. The ISF's major area of concern and responsibility is education in and through sport. It targets mainly students who have finished their secondary education but are under the age of 17.

Today the ISF has emerged as:

• a stable international organisation recognised worldwide even though it may not yet be represented in all countries;

• a body determined to achieve its aims and objectives;

• an institution with links to similar organisations and that keeps an open mind on new developments such as the question of regionalisation, different types of sporting encounters and sporting solidarity;

• a promoter of the educational aspect of competitions in line with Olympic ideals.

To quote from its Website: "The International School Sport Federation is an establishment full of hope, well worth all our possible efforts in the accomplishment of its goals; moreover the establishment of human relations is esteemed to be far more important than a victory ranking; finally the respect for fellow human beings is much more important than boosting one's self-confidence. Furthermore, understanding and acceptance of people from other countries is by far the best means to avoid global catastrophes."

The time has come for public authorities in sectors such as health, education and sport to take real and urgent steps to promote physical activity in young people and the benefits of a healthy lifestyle from school onwards.

Throughout the world, educational establishments are emphasising the need for a holistic education and are lauding the merits of an education enhanced by participation in sport. The aim of physical education and sport is to produce happy, healthy people able to use their bodies as a tool for self-fulfilment in different areas of their lives, including work and leisure. In all countries a number of initiatives are being developed to promote education, culture, health and social integration.

IFS Malta hopes to revive team sport competitions especially between schools at post secondary level. It recently organised football, basketball, table-tennis and snooker tournaments between students at MCAST, Junior College, Higher Secondary and the Gozo sixth form. An encouraging number of male and female students took part in these friendly tournaments which were aimed at developing both their physical and social skills.

In the coming months our students will also have the opportunity to participate in an athletics event between the various post-secondary institutions and also to participate in an adventure weekend in Gozo.

Ms Muscat is a sports co-ordinator and lecturer at MCAST. She is also a committee member of ISF Malta.