Addressing new problems with long-term solutions

In the wake of the recent ongoing debate on the future of waterpolo in Malta, Alex Vella takes a deeper look at the issue and suggests some remedies

Waterpolo in Malta needs a fillip. The national teams have in recent years played second fiddle to what goes on in our domestic game.

There has been too much emphasis on the colourful, almost exclusive, duels between the two top exponents of Maltese waterpolo, with the result that our representative teams in all categories have very often taken a backseat since they are only in action sporadically, and when they are, with little or no impact on the international stage.

As a matter of fact, our Under-19 team’s participation in the Comen Cup this time round is being viewed with lukewarm interest, with the gloss having been mainly concentrated on the domestic season and all the wrangling.

Our teams’ results in international tournaments for the youth categories and those of the senior team in the recent months have not been so endearing.

Allowing for our own limitations in resources, demographic and financial, we also have to keep in mind that there was a time in the not too distant past when we performed satisfactorily and reached continental rankings hitherto uncharted.

What is happening in reality? Is the game being submerged under the tidal waves of the exigencies of a few clubs, two of whom feature among the top honours year in year out? Is not the same happening in the junior leagues where only a handful of clubs are competitive? Are we producing enough young talent?

Richard Micallef, whom I know as very well-versed in waterpolo, especially in the youth categories, rightly pointed out in his article ‘Waterpolo – a dying sport’ (The Sunday Times, September 19) that we are not churning out enough players of quality, citing among other reasons the fact that our youngsters do not have the right incentives to drill themselves during the winter months only to play a handful of summer matches over an eight-week period.

I would rather say that our ingrained tradition of having the main competition condensed during the summer works against us, something which I pointed out in an article prior to the start of the waterpolo season ‘Maltese waterpolo at the crossroads as new season is set to start’.

Yes, I agree with Micallef that today’s affluence also distracts youths, but engaging foreigners in junior competitions, while being a stop-gap for more entries and balance among contestants, is in my opinion short sighted.

Unfortunately, the development of youngsters through nurseries, as advocated years back by the ASA, has not yielded the desired results.

While some clubs like Valletta and Birżebbuġa have disappeared down memory lane, others may not be producing enough talent to be competitive also at junior levels. So they resort to short-term solutions, one of which is signing foreign players who may be on the island at a particular point in time.

One of the long-term remedies may be that of having the game played competitively for longer periods during the year, even if we then have to stretch the season to cooler months. But again the lack of proper heated facilities works against us.

And yes, why not, youngsters may turn out for different clubs at different levels, like Micallef rightly pointed out.

We would then have a bigger base of local talent, even if complemented by some foreigners in our domestic competitions, but only as long as there are clear and streamlined competition rules.

This base will in turn provide quality players from among the locals who can compete for longer periods during the year thus enhancing our prospects of faring better internationally.

A case in point is the end of season one-day quadrangular tournaments for the Under-11 and Under-12 teams which have been held over the past two seasons.

This is a commendable effort by the organisers and coaches of Marsascala, Neptunes, Sirens and Sliema and one which many hope will prevail in the future. But would not the presence of more clubs in such tournaments be ideal?

Better pastures ought to be sought. We need to tackle new problems with new, long-term solutions.