Cyprus ready for show of force

Cyprus are poised to underline their status as a force in the Games of the Small States of Europe when they host the biennial week-long festival of sport with a symbolic opening ceremony at the GSP Sports Complex in Nicosia this evening.

The Cypriot Olympic Committee left no stone unturned these past two years, since they received the official flag from the organisers of Monaco 2007, to make sure that all preparations are completed in time.

"These Games will not be a minor competition - we have strived to provide a high level of organisation," Ouranios Ioannides, the head of the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe, was quoted as saying when addressing personnel in charge of the Press Office during the weekend.

"Yours is a special mission," Ioannides added.

"If the Games have no publicity, they may have not been held, for all the world knows."

Besides a smooth organisation, the hosts will also hope to close the gap with Iceland, the other leading nation in the Games with an impressive tally of 335 gold medals since the inaugural edition of 1985.

In fact, the Cyprus team has set a triple target for this year's Games.

They want to finish first for the fourth time in succession, to become the first nation to win 40 gold medals and to become the first nation to win a total of 100 medals in a single edition of the Games. This record currently belongs to Iceland who finished with a 97-medal haul in Reykjavik '97.

Cyprus is the country to have won the highest number of medals in all editions with a staggering total of 799, three more than Iceland overall, but lag behind the northerners in the gold column - 335 to 304.

In 2007, Cyprus finished on top of the medals table with 34 gold, 33 silver and 25 bronze, just ahead of Iceland who collected 31 gold, 22 silver and 23 bronze.

Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, joined the European Union on May 1, 2004 along with Malta.

The capital, and largest city, of Cyprus is Nicosia, with a population of 224,500. Limassol, on the southern coast, is the second largest with a population of 176,900.

A large number of Maltese athletes reached their destination yesterday as some travelled to Cyprus a few days earlier to get familiar with the surroundings and the venues which will be hosting the Games until next Saturday. The contingent is headed by president Lino Farrugia Sacco and general secretary Joe Cassar.

The group is made up of 90 athletes that includes two teenagers, Jeremy Saywell and Rebecca Dalli. They will represent the country in the Cyprus 2009 Youth Camp, a cultural and friendship programme of activities that runs concurrently with the Games.

Malta will be competing in athletics, basketball (men and women), mountain bike, gymnastics, judo, sailing, shooting, swimming, table-tennis, tennis and beach volley (men).

Double trap shooter William Chetcuti, judoka Marcon Bezzina and the women's basketball team look to be Team Malta's brightest prospects of winning a gold medal this week.

There are still doubts on the fitness of a number of athletes in Team Malta though.

In track and field, Francesca and Martina Xuereb travelled to Italy last week to try and speed up their rehabilitation from injury. They are expected to join their team-mates today.

At this evening's opening ceremony, Team Malta will be led by young gymnast Adriana Zammit during the athletes' parade. The 13-year-old succeeds swimmer Angela Galea who was Malta's flag-bearer in Monaco.

A dress rehearsal of the opening ceremony was held yesterday. The main theme of the ceremony, starting at 9 p.m. (local time) revolves around youth and their yearning for knowledge. Over one thousand performers will take part.

Delegates Meeting

Besides the ceremony, much of the attention will be focused on the Sports Ministers meeting and the Delegates Meeting earlier in the day.

Malta will be represented by Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco, a member of the Bureau's Executive Committee, and Cassar.

Among the main items on the agenda of the Delegates Meeting is a request by Montenegro to be included in the GSSE as from the next edition.

According to GSSE rules, only those countries which have a population under one million are eligible to take part. Montenegro, who got their independence from Serbia in 2006, has a population of 620,000.

If Montenegro receives the green light to join the GSSE family, it would be the first enlargement of the group since the first edition of the Games in 1985.

Delegates are also expected to discuss the calendar of sport proposed by Liechtenstein, the organisers of the next edition in 2011.

There will also be two elections in the afternoon when the countries' representatives will vote for a new international secretary and head of the Technical Commission.

No Maltese delegate is expected to contest these elections.

Note: The Games in Cyprus will be the 13th in the series since the first edition was held in San Marino in 1985. Malta hosted the Games twice - in 1993 and 2003. The hosts of the 2011 GSSE will be Liechtenstein.