The Maltese Olympic Committee (MOC) yesterday underlined its commitment towards the development of young athletes when it launched the GO Youth Athlete Scheme.
"It takes a minimum of 10 years to develop an athlete to reach elite levels," Envic Galea, the MOC Director of Youth, said at the launch of the scheme at the GO outlet in Birkirkara.
"Producing an athlete is no longer a short-term approach with emphasis on immediate results. Today's mentality, which the MOC adheres to, is to focus on a strategy that works towards helping to develop and support talented youngsters with a Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) process," Galea added.
Falling under the auspices of the MOC Centre of Excellence, the GO Youth Athlete scheme is intended to help Malta's most talented youngsters to follow in the footsteps of the likes of William Chetcuti and Marcon Bezzina. These schemes focus on helping talented young athletes learn new skills, train to compete and eventually train to win.
The MOC received over 60 nominations from its affiliated members to support their talented youngsters of which 12 athletes have been chosen.
The selected athletes are: Jana Pace Cocks, Tamara Vella (both athletics); James Dimech (cycling); Chris Bergedahl, J.J. Micallef (both golf); Jeremy Saywell (judo); Sean Borg, Ella Fleri Soler (both sailing); Clive Farrugia (shooting); Colette Sultana (squash); Kimberly Cassar (tennis); Aidan Buhagiar (wrestling).
Galea went on to say that young athletes need to gain experience, confidence and an aptitude which will provide them with a solid foundation.
"Through a LTAD approach, young athletes will learn to work towards achieving sustainable success that is not necessarily immediate but in the long run ensures that they remain in sport and reach elite levels."
Joseph Cassar, the MOC general secretary, commented how two well-known elite athletes who will be representing Malta at the forthcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, namely shooter Chetcuti and judoka Bezzina are the result of this same approach.
Both Chetcuti and Bezzina were identified as talented athletes in their sport at the age of 16. With progressive and gradual steps, they have worked their way up the sporting ladder and are set to reach the pinnacle of any athlete's dream at the age of 24 by representing their country at the Olympic Games.
The MOC stressed that due to financial constraints, their initial choice of beneficiaries of the new scheme had to be limited to 12.
Potential sponsors
MOC officials also expressed hope that the initiative taken by GO to support the Youth Athlete Scheme will show other commercial entities that supporting youngsters and sport can be in line with their company's objectives and policies.
David Kay, GO's chief executive officer, said his company is proud to support such an important initiative which brings together two areas of sponsorship which the company has at heart - sports and the youth.
Kay added that over the years, GO has supported a number of high-profile sporting events, as well as teams and individual athletes who have made a name for themselves in Malta and abroad.
He said it is part of GO's corporate social responsibility programme to assist young athletes within our community.