Shooter Chetcuti shortlisted for Sportsman of the Year award

Double trap shooter William Chetcuti and powerboat P1 world champion Aaron Ciantar are in the running for a top prize in the 2008 Sportivi Nazzjonali contest after the list of nominees was announced by organisers Għaqda Kittieba Sports (GħKS) yesterday.

Charles Camenzuli, president of the GħKS, gave details of the 48th edition of the awards during a conference call at The Meridien Hotel, venue of this year's presentations night to be held on Saturday, January 31.

The sportswriters' association president said that since the release of the original list of nominees on October 31, 2008, there have been a number of changes in all five categories and the members of the media have a tough task on their hands to select the winners.

"In 2008, we had several Maltese sportsmen who distinguished themselves both locally and in the international arena and that is clearly reflected in the number of sports associations being represented in all categories," Camenzuli said.

"The selection procedure for the 2008 contest was the same as for the previous four editions. The list of candidates was established according to a points accumulation system devised by a sub-committee which is led by Mario Meli. The overriding purpose of this formula is to reward the feats of Maltese athletes both locally and in international competition up to December 31, 2008."

Glancing at the list of nominees, one finds that Coventry City striker Michael Mifsud and middle distance runner Francesca Xuereb, winners of the Sportsman of the Year and Sportswoman of the Year Awards last year, are out of the running as none of the 2007 winners have been shortlisted for this year's honours.

Chetcuti, who received the Platinum Award at the recently-held MOC Sports Awards, is the clear favourite to land the Sportsman of the Year Award. The talented shooter, winner of this prize for five successive years between 2002 and 2006, caught the headlines in 2008 when he achieved the country's best ever result in an Olympic Games after placing eight in Beijing. Pool and snooker player Tony Drago is also among the finalists along with Malta snooker champion Alex Borg and Charles Degiorgio, winner of several horse racing events abroad in 2008.

The Sportswoman of the Year award is an open race with former winner Sue Abela a strong contender for the 2008 gong after striking gold at the Mediterranean Bowling Championships held in Crete earlier this year.

Ciantar and his Italian partner Angelo Tedeschi are the clear favourites to win the Team of the Year award. 2008 was a memorable year for Ciantar and Tedeschi who dominated the Powerboat P1 SuperSport class, steering Conam Yachts to the world championship.

Victory in the Sportivi Nazzjonali would make up for Ciantar's disappointment at being overlooked for one of the top honours at the MOC Sports Awards.

In 2007, the Team of the Year award went to the national football team who are not among the nominees this time around.

Ryan Bugeja and Clive Farrugia are the leading contenders to succeed Xuereb as the Best U-17 athlete. The upcoming shooters earned the plaudits in 2008 after Bugeja won a silver medal in trap at Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India and Farrugia bagged a silver medal (skeet) in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships, held in Gibraltar.

In the remaining category, Official of the Year, Maltese Olympic Committee secretary Joe Cassar, Julian Pace Bonello (bowling) and Envic Galea are among the nominees.

The five finalists in each of the five categories will be announced on January 17 during a meeting with Clyde Puli, the Parliamentary Secretary for Youth and Sport who will also use the occasion to unveil the government plan for sports for 2009.

Camenzuli said this year's winners will be chosen by the usual system whereby the votes of sports editors of local newspapers and TV sports coordinators will count for 25 per cent of the final result.

Member journalists of the sportswriters' association will also take part in the ballot.

It was also confirmed that another veteran sports journalist will receive a special prize for his contribution to sport. Last year, Meli was presented with a memento by the GħKS.

Also present for yesterday's news conference was Bernard Vassallo, the chairman of the Kunsill Malti għall-Isport who are working in conjunction with the GħKS in the organisation of this event.

"The Sportivi Nazzjonali is a very important event for the KMS as it gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of those athletes and officials who have done the country proud in the previous year," Vassallo said.

"Having been named Official of the Year in 2006, I fully appreciate how important these awards are in giving sports people the stimulus needed to achieve further success.

"This event compliments the KMS's objective to increase awareness for sports among youngsters and it is our aim to boost support for the GħKS for future editions of the Sportivi Nazzjonali."

The list of nominees

Sportsman of the Year: M. Asciak (tennis), C. Attard (pool), E. Bonello (cycling), A. Borg (snooker), W. Chetcuti (shooting), C. Degiorgio (horse racing), T. Drago (snooker/pool), B. Farrugia (bowling), K. Galea (triathlon), R. Gambin (swimming), S. Ripard (sailing).

Sportswoman of the Year: S. Abela (bowling), T. Brousson (squash), L. Galea (karate), E. Genovese (tennis), A. Olivieri Munroe (squash), M. Scerri (swimming), D. Spiteri (triathlon), M. Xuereb (athletics).

U-17 athlete: R. Bugeja (shooting), K. Cassar (tennis), C. Farrugia (shooting), E. Fleri Soler (sailing), M. Fraser (athletics), A. Grima (karate), M. Micallef (swimming), T. Pace (swimming), C. Sultana (squash), T. Zammit Tabona (sailing).

Team of the Year: A. Ciantar, A. Tedeschi (powerboats); FISEC football team, FISEC girls relay team, waterpolo national team, men's baseball national team, women's basketball national team, men's rugby national team, rugby women's national team, women's squash national team, pool national team.

Official of the Year: S. Busuttil (rugby), T. Camilleri (snooker), J. Cassar (MOC), A. Chircop (athletics), E. Galea (judo), J. Pace Bonello (bowling), S. Portelli (shooting).