Competitions set to be revamped

In line with a practically renewed Aquatic Sports Association (ASA), comprising a new president, vice-president and secretary, waterpolo is set to be revamped, with BOV-sponsored competitions taking a new shape this year.

A meeting for the press at Tal-Qroqq yesterday mainly featured the new sponsorship deal between the ASA and Bank of Valletta, the second three-year agreement after the first deal came to an end last year.

This time the financial backing is more generous as it will be extended to the national team and swimmers, while there is also an allocation for capital expenditure in the shape of improved facilities at the National Pool.

BOV also signed another three-year agreement with the Malta Waterpolo Referees Association with the aim of supporting the development and training of local referees.

Competitions will have a new look, with a system of play-offs being the principal novelty.

This attraction is geared towards generating more interest.

Another highlight will be the knock-out which will now be played over two legs. The final will be on a one-match basis.

The KO competitions will be held after the league preliminary round, with the Super Cups to be played immediately before the start of Division One and Two leagues.

The President’s Cup and the GħĠS Cup will be contested as distinct competitions and no longer in conjunction with the league.

The play-offs will consist of a number of odd games until a winner is determined.

In the Winter League, there will be a single-round competition (three points for a win) contested by six teams and to be played between March 5 and May 15.

The first- and fourth-placed teams and the second- and thirdplaced will play against each other in the semis, and the other two teams will play for fifth place.

The losers of the semi-finals will play each other in a deciding match, and the winners will contest the winter title in a three-match play-off.

The teams taking part are Exiles, Marsascala, Neptunes, San Ġiljan, Sirens and Sliema. The U-17 national team is also taking part on an out-of-competition basis.

The President’s Cup will be contested between the previous season’s league champions and knockout winners and the GħĠS Cup will be played between the Division Two champions and knock-out winners.

In case a team wins the double, the league runners-up will contest the prize against the champions.

Summer league

The summer league preliminary round, starting on June 7, will have eight participants, those taking part in the Winter League as well as Otters and Ta’ Xbiex.

There will be two seeded groups, A and B, of four teams each.

A single round robin will be played. The final classification of the preliminary round will be determined by placings in the groups as follows: A1 and B1 to determine first and second places, A2 and B2 for third and fourth places, and so on, after which the top five teams will qualify for Division One.

The rest of the teams will comprise the second division.

Points will not be carried forward and teams will commence the final championship phase with bonus points starting from five for the top team and ending with zero points for fifth or bottom team in the first division, with the same system being adopted for the teams making up the second division.

Matches will be played on a double round-robin basis, with the final classification determining the system of play-offs.

In the second division, the top two teams will play a best-of-three series to decide the league winners.

The first division play-offs will be played over two rounds, the semi-finals and the final.

The teams winning the best-of-three semi-final play-offs between the first- and fourth-placed and the second and third-placed teams will contest the final on a best-of-five basis.

The top division play-offs are scheduled to be played between August 26 and September 10.

The season’s programme also envisages a period between June 20 and 26 for national team training and European Championship matches against Turkey (home on June 28) and Poland (away on July 2).

The calendar, expertly presented by new ASA vice-president Alan Bonello, also includes the swimming time-trials, the Easter International Meet, the GSSE and other international events.

The Winter League draws were made by secretary Martin Borg. There will be three matches per day, mostly on Saturdays and Sundays, with some others on weekdays.

ASA president Joe Caruana Curran thanked BOV for their sponsorship and highlighted the new initiatives his association will be taking to boost waterpolo and aquatic sports in Malta.

Winter League

Opening games
March 5 – 4 p.m. Marsascala vs Exiles; 5.15 p.m. San Ġiljan vs Neptunes; 6.30 p.m. Sliema vs ASA U-17.
March 13 – 3 p.m. San Ġiljan vs Sirens; 4.15 p.m. Neptunes vs Sliema; 5.30 p.m. ASA U-17 vs Marsascala.