Maltese federation wants to host 2009 general assembly

Although this year's general assembly has been allocated to Gold Coast in Australia, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM) has already opened the bidding for its general assembly in Europe next year.

The Malta Powerboat Federation recently applied to host the 2009 conference. If successful, our country will receive delegates from more than 53 UIM-affiliated countries. This bold move is being fully supported by Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Clyde Puli who has already informed UIM that he approves the bid.

Hosting a general assembly would be quite an achievement for the Maltese as the federation was only accepted as a full member last November in Turkey.

Recently, I again caught up with UIM president Raffaelle Chiulli at San Benedetto del Tronto for the opening round of this year's P1 Championship during which Maltese pilot Aaron Ciantar again showed his prowess by excelling for Italian team Conam Yachts at the Italy Grand Prix of the Sea.

Chiulli has been serving the UIM for many years. According to him, Powerboat P1 is a platform for the boating industry and power-boating activities. P1 is definitely one of the key disciplines that UIM enjoys nowadays.

Tackling the issue on the 2009 general assembly, Chiulli told me that the Mediterranean base is becoming more important and of strategic value for the sport.

Although there is a long process to name the 2009 hosts, he feels that the Maltese federation would be of great benefit to everyone if it gets involved in more activities even though the Malta Powerboat Federation is the youngest, and probably, the smallest federation within the UIM.

"The Maltese federation officials have to continue working hard to establish new relationships and enhance their credibility on the international scene," he said.

"They have to show that they can achieve their goals. I think Malta will be an important member in the international power-boating family."

Like all new presidents, Chiulli has his own priorities and dreams. He pointed out that he will focus mainly on integration, meaning the desire to have all UIM members and stake-holders belonging to the same family as he dreams of "one federation for all federations".

Chiulli believes in democracy in order to have an ideal decision-making process and also thinks that it is vital for the UIM to be recognised for its reputation, one that should be leading in motor-boating.

After all, Chiulli emphasised, the UIM is the only federation in this sector to be recognised by the IOC.