Birkirkara Alligators Rugby Club gets own premises
Video: Mark Zammit Cordina
Rugby in Malta has been given a well-deserved push this evening with the inauguration of the Birkirkara Alligators Rugby Club training and leisure facilities in John Borg Street.
The club is the first in Malta to run its own fully equipped facilities.
Inaugurated by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, accompanied by mayor Michael Fenech Adami at a site formerly known as ‘the playing field’, the land, owned by the council, has now been entrusted to the club to manage and maintain.
As ‘the playing field’ the land was considered to be in a dilapidated state and an eyesore.
The premises now include a clubhouse, bar, open-air gym, children’s playground and three five-a-side pitches laid in synthetic turf that is specifically used for rugby.
The Birkirkara Alligators Rugby Club was set up between 1990 and 1991 as the University Rugby Team.
As many of its founding members graduated, it was renamed the Alligators in 1995. The team immediately dominated the local rugby scene, winning the league in its first year.
About two years ago it decided to affiliate itself with a locality and picked Birkirkara.
That was when discussion kicked-off between the team’s committee and the local council to set-up their own training facilities.
Today, Alligators are one of the largest rugby clubs, with a senior, youth and junior section for both men and women.
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Joseph Bartolo
Jul 26th 2010, 20:15
Well Done to all involved !
Lets Make Rugby the Real National Sport of our beloved Islands. I dream that in reality the whole Maltese nation will become a great rugby nation, having rugby stadiums and other related training facilities. So we can become one of the top 10 in the world, alongside England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Replublic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia, just naming 7 of the greats. MAKE US PROUD as you already have done in the past and I wish you all on all levels of the rugby teams, many years of continious success and glory ! :)
A. Slater
Jul 26th 2010, 12:35
Congratulations from the Malta Cricket Association.
Oswald Tanti
Jul 26th 2010, 10:36
Well done to all those who worked hard to turn an area that was "considered to be in a dilapidated state and an eyesore" into such a wonderful leisure centre for the Maltese particularly Birkirkira youths and and those coming from neighbouring villages .
Rugby has a future and the results speak for themselves. The importance of providing sporting facitlities to deserving Associations shoulld be further encouraged and should serve as an important incentive to Administrators to work hard towards such goals, - no pain no gain.
In other countries the amount of support extended by the Authorities always depends on the achievements in one's particular discipline. Rugby over these last years has proved to be deserving of national support and one now hopes that this game will be further developed as seems to be the case.
All sports dedicated people are well aware of the importance that sports can contribute for the character formation of our youths as it encourages disci[pline, respect and self control, values which, apart from the skills of the game, should be given their due importance by those responsible for the development of sport.
KJ Tabone
Jul 26th 2010, 09:18
Well done guys :)