Problems faced at Cyprus GSSE highlighted

Malta's below-par performance at the Cyprus GSSE earlier this month has been the main topic of many a sporting debate locally since Team Malta's return home on June 7 with a modest tally of medals - 21 in all, only three of which gold.

An analysis by former Director of Sport Pippo Psaila laid most of the blame on the MOC's build-up ahead of the Games while Kunsill Malti għall-iSport also lambasted the MOC in correspondence published in local newspapers over the actual financial budget allocated for the athletes' technical preparation.

Yesterday, Director of Sport Mark Cutajar issued a statement which he read to journalists at the MOC headquarters in Tal-Qroqq.

He sectioned his review over nine points, highlighting mainly the problems he was faced with in the run-in to Cyprus 2009, including injuries, controversies and selection problems that blighted Team Malta's prospects in different sport.

Cutajar said he had inherited the situation and, according to him, there were three factors which led to the country's worst GSSE showing since 1995 - injuries, the issue surrounding the table tennis team and withdrawals of athletes with a medal-winning potential.

Cutajar only took up the post of Director of Sport in February but never imagined that the injury list was so tall and that most of the elite members in the squad were not 100 per cent fit.

"You may look at what led to this from different angles," he said.

"Some blamed the state of the track and others pointed fingers at the intensity of the training ahead of the Games. We also had some lamenting the high levels of the MQSs established months before. Perhaps, all this together contributed to the long list of those unavailable.

"We also had key basketball player Marko Matijevic sustaining an injury just before the Games and another valid player, Godfrey Gauci, quiting the team at the very last minute.

"So, am I to really blame for all this? After all, I was elected to the post just three months before the Games."

Cutajar then dealt with the case regarding the table tennis team.

All was set for a formidable combination in both men's and women's competitions that would have yielded the country rich dividends in Nicosia, he said.

However, the GSSE technical meeting deemed that our players were ineligible after acting on a 'tip-off' via e-mail, an anonymous message that tried to put our selectors in a bad light.

"Our players were not allowed to compete," Cutajar said.

"We never expected this to happen. It was a total humiliation for the country and myself personally in that GSSE meeting. I seriously considered stepping down... it was so embarrassing and so much damage had been done. After all, this is all voluntary work we're doing."

Cutajar said he had nothing to do with the funds allocated to swimmer Ryan Gambin and the ASA which got even less. All was established months before he took office.

"Apparently, Gambin had the go-ahead to train in Australia but this decision did not enjoy an all-round backing," Cutajar said.

"I did try to convince Madeleine Scerri to swim for us again but to no avail. Sprinter Darren Gilford lost motivation and quit the sport but, at least, we did manage to have Carol Walsh, Giselle Camilleri and shooter William Vella back in our fold."

In his review, Psaila criticised the MOC for fielding entries in women's trap, a move, he said, that ultimately favoured San Marino, the eventual gold and silver medal winners.

"Rebecca Madyson is a Commonwealth Games medal winner. The MOC had the budget for her participation, so how could we deny her a place in the team?" Cutajar asked.

"You can't look at things that way, certainly not."

Replying to Psaila's criticism, Cutajar reiterated he was not to blame for judo's poor show in Cyprus and the same applies to other sport.

"I wasn't the one to make the monitoring before March," he said.

Cutajar did admit that Team Malta failed to reach its goals in track and field and swimming. However, notwithstanding the limited resources ASA coach Andy Colbourn had, the swimmers still did 'miracles' and in athletics there were also some positives.

"At least, we discovered a new talent in James D'Alfonso in the 400m," Cutajar said.

"Pity we lost Gilford and the medals were few but we couldn't have done better with all those unfit athletes. Things, however, will be different in two years' time. I'm promising that.

"The Centre of Excellence will have to function better. We have to produce better athletes."

Cutajar said there was very little time for him to change things before the Games.

"We were running out of time, and fast," he said.

"But, perhaps, one should make a deeper analysis of what really happened before I took office.

"However, I reckon, the best way for us now is to look ahead and start working in earnest. The Commonwealth Games are coming up next year and we'll have to start thinking about the next GSSE."

'Omitting facts'

Lino Farrugia Sacco, MOC president, also rebutted allegations made against him by the KMS regarding government's financial assistance for the technical preparation of Maltese athletes.

"I was accused of omitting facts," Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco said.

"But, I cannot speak about facilities which the MOC doesn't own or run. We can only talk about the money we receive for technical assistance. We still contend that we lag very much behind the other GSSE countries in this regard.

"The same applies for the 20/20 Scheme. True, we took our time to reach an agreement but you have to know that first we have to ask for the opinion of our member federations. This is how things work here... this is no one-man show.

"We think this scheme could work with great benefits to our athletes. However, it has to be continued in the long term and not for the build-up to international events only."

In a direct jibe at Psaila, Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco reiterated the fact that Team Malta's achievements should never be attributed to a single person but a collective all-round effort that involves athletes, officials and the MOC.

"There's no place for personal glory in sports but, I think, it's useless to talk longer on this subject, we all heard what had to be said, no?" the MOC head remarked.

"As far as we're concerned this issue is now closed. Our focus now shifts on the future. For sure, we'll try not to repeat the same mistakes."