Young clay pigeon shooters

Some weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit the Bidnija shooting ranges which are administrated by the Maltese Shooting Federation. During this visit I was impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of the shooters present. In particular I was impressed by William Chetcuti who was training for his forthcoming participation in various international events.

Despite the fact that he is still young, Mr Chetcuti is considered as being one of the successful Maltese athletes of all time. I was informed that Mr Chetcuti took up this sport at a very young age and his complete dedication to this sport during the past years has ensured his success. I was also informed that this is a very expensive sport because one needs to spend a considerable amount of money for cartridges and clay pigeons even for training purposes.

The best possibility for Malta to compete in the international sports arena is in individual sports and not in team sports because, due to our population size, it is easier to find one very good participant rather than several participants who make up a team.

However, during my visit, committee members of the Maltese Shooting Federation informed me of one particular difficulty they are facing. The Arms Act does not permit young athletes under 16 years of age to participate in this sport. This is a big drawback when one considers that children who are as young as nine are allowed to train and practise this sport in other countries.

Obviously such athletes participate in this sport under very strict conditions. They are only allowed to practise this sport on licensed shooting ranges under the supervision of their coach and their shotgun is retained by a senior person who is responsible for its upkeep.

Over the past years the Maltese Shooting Federation has been lobbying to change the present Arms Act so as to enable young shooters to participate in this sport. Indeed the Malta Olympic Committee has written to the Police Commissioner asking him to intervene in this matter.

I have been informed that there are some very capable and dedicated young shooters. Indeed the Malta Olympic Committee has proposed that they participate in the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in the coming months. However, such participation is not possible unless these young athletes are allowed to train.

For this reason I would like to appeal to the government, in particular Home Affairs Minister Tonio Borg, to heed the requests made by the Malta Shooting Federation in order to allow young shooters to train under strict supervision since these athletes have the potential to win medals and do us all proud.