CONI assistance for Maltese athletes and coaches

Local national sports associations have started to benefit from an extension of a protocol agreement between the Maltese Olympic Committee and CONI, signed recently.

The pre-festive period for the Malta Shooting Sports Federation (MSSF) and the Malta Gymnastics Federation (MGF) proved the ideal time to hold a seminar and training stage for both organisations.

Alberto Di Santolo and Fabio Partigiani, leading figures within the Italian Shooting Federation, will conduct a one-day seminar at the Excelsior Hotel on Monday.

Maltese shooters, varying from Team Malta members, other promising ones and coaches and administrators within the MSSF fold, will have the opportunity to get first-hand information relative to posture, physical preparation and the need for physiological co-ordination in competition programming.

Di Santolo and Partigiani will also conduct practical gym sessions and an open debate with participants.

Meanwhile, local gymnasts are currently taking part in a packed 'stage' held at various clubs and conducted by Diego Pecar, a leading Italian coach who this year guided two of his gymnasts to reach the final stages of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

All these activities are being held in view of the intense programme of international commitments Team Malta athletes will be going through in 2009, in particular the country's participation at the GSSE in Cyprus and the Mediterranean Games in Pescara.