Several athletes, teams and officials who helped transform 2011 into a remarkable year for Maltese sport are in the running for the 2011 SportMalta Awards L-Għażliet Sportivi Nazzjonali.
The climax of this event, organised jointly by Kunsill Malti għall-iSport (KMS) and Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports (GħĠS), will be reached on January 21 with the awards ceremony at the MFCC but the build-up to the big night will feature several initiatives aimed at promoting sports parti-cipation and awareness for this contest among school children.
A commission from the GħĠS will select the final five contenders in the main categories (sports-man, sportswoman, official, team and young athlete) and the winners will be decided by a vote involving the sportswriters association.
The list of semi-finalists includes some obvious nominees, including William Chetcuti, winner of a World Cup shoot this year, waterpolo player Steve Camilleri, GSSE double gold medallist Diane Borg, Malta U-21 football coach Ray Farrugia, RMYC Commodore Georges Bonello du Puis, Artie crew, the U-21 national football team and the men’s and ladies’ squash national teams.
The finalists in the sportsman and sportswoman of the year categories will be in contention for the special SportMalta Award.
The voting format for this prize, won by table football player Massimo Cremona last year, will be as follows: 40 per cent of the final outcome will be based on the preferences of the GħĠS members, 40 per cent from the real-time voting by the presidents of the various national associations and the remaining 20 per cent from a public vote (sms voting or by visiting website www.sportmaltaawards.org.mt).
The newly-created Memorial Award will honour the memory of an athlete or official who made an outstanding contribution to sports during his/her life.
“We want the 2011 awards to be better and more focused than last year,” Pippo Psaila, the chairman of the organising committee, told a news conference yesterday.
“As I stressed last year, our aim is for this event to be more than just an enjoyable two-hour show, we want the awards to leave a legacy.
“After the positive experience of last year, we have amplified this concept by launching several initiatives aimed at mobilising schools.”
Psaila said the choice of the MFCC as the venue of the awards ceremony reflects the organisers’ plans to make this year’s event bigger.
He then revealed that the giant stage will comprise a basketball court, a clear indication that one of the main performing acts during the night will be a recreation of the famous globe-trotters show.
The SportMalta Awards Road-show will target 60 schools and the mega event, scheduled for January 18 at the Cottonera Sports Complex, is expected to attract the participation of 2,500 students.
The Cottonera SC will also host an exhibition of 60 sports photos over the coming weeks.
Also addressing the news conference yesterday were Bernard Vassallo, the chairman of KMS, and Charles Camenzuli, president of the GħĠS.
Semi-finalists
Sportsman of the year
Clayton Attard (Pool); Etienne Barbara, Roderick Briffa (football); Etienne Bonello (cycling); Chris Camilleri (canoeing); Steve Camilleri (waterpolo); William Chetcuti (shoot-ing); Massimo Cremona (table football); Brad Hindle Deguara (squash); Kevin Arthur Moore (athletics); Jeremy Saywell (judo); Keith Bartolo (open sea swimming).
Sportswoman of the year
Sue Abela (bowling); Eleonor Bezzina (target shooting); Danica Bonello Spiteri (triathlon); Diane Borg, Rebecca Camilleri (athletics); Therese Brousson, Diane Desira (squash); Roberta Caruana (snooker); Davina Mangion (swimming); Jessica Pace (table tennis); Joanna Camilleri (judo).
Team award
Squash ladies national team; squash men’s national team; U-21 national football team; Joe Grech/Simon Zammit (billiards); 4x100m women, 4x400m women (athletics); water-polo national team; Malta U-21 pool; rugby national team; Sebastian Ripard/Benji Borg, Artie crew (sailing); gymnastics national team.
Official of the year
Jimmy Bugeja (shooting); Ray Farrugia (U-21 football coach); Alan Grima (handball); Damien Neil (rugby); Julian Pace Bonello (bowling); Jesmond Caruana (weightlifting); Nello Calleja (volleyball); Dione Buhagiar (archery); Terry Camilleri (referee snooker); Georges Bonello du Puis (Commodore, RMYC).
Youth award
Andrea Agius (swimming); Kirsty Caruana (gymnastics); Gianluca Dingli (karting); Nicole Gatt (weight-lifting, athletics); Rodmar Pulis (weightlifting); Nicola Muscat (swimming); Colette Sultana (squash); Nathan Lee Xuereb (shooting).
Event of the year
Euro Judo Championships for cadets; Rolex Middle Sea Race; IFBB Bodybuilding Med. Championships.