FISEC Games start today
The 2008 FISEC Games officially get underway at the old city of Mdina this evening with the opening ceremony involving most of the 715 athletes and officials currently visiting our islands for a festival of sport that comes to a close next Monday. This...
The 2008 FISEC Games officially get underway at the old city of Mdina this evening with the opening ceremony involving most of the 715 athletes and officials currently visiting our islands for a festival of sport that comes to a close next Monday.
This will be the fourth time that Malta will be hosting the youth games here following the editions of 1997, 2002 and 2004.
There will be ten countries taking part in various competitions including athletics, swimming, table tennis, basketball, football, futsal, handball and volleyball.
Apart from the Maltese youths, the other athletes will hail from Austria, Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, Italy, Belgium, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
At present, FISEC has 13 members and two other countries, Brazil and Croatia, are in the process of obtaining full membership.
The Malta organisers, under the guidance of chairman Martin Borg fsc, have chosen the motto 'Everyone is a Winner' as emphasis is laid on Fair Play and participation rather than the competitive aspect of the Games.
All events are free of charge and the venues selected for the sport are the Cottonera Sports Complex, St Aloysius College, Savio College, De La Salle College, Centenary Stadium, basketball pavilion, Marsa sports complex, the National Pool and the Tal-Qroqq Sports Hall.
The preliminary rounds from most of the competitions will get underway this morning to eliminate fixture congestion and keep up with a tight schedule.
FISEC Malta said it would not have been possible to organise the Games without the backing of the Sports Secretariat, the Malta Sports Council, General Soft Drink, Euro Sport and Xerox.
"We always found these people and a host of other volunteers ready to help us each time we host the Games," a statement said.
"Like us, they also believe that the FISEC Games are an ideal launch-pad for international competition and our youths to share their experiences with others from different countries."
FISEC Malta is urging the public to encourage the athletes and attend the events during competition.