Joe Caruana Curran... experience paying off in his role as ASA president.Joe Caruana Curran... experience paying off in his role as ASA president.

Joe Caruana Curran enjoys a wealth of experience when it comes to sports administration.

After almost two trophy-laden decades as president of Valletta FC, is-Sur Joe became involved in rugby and cue sport before opting for the tough job of replacing veteran Robbie Ebejer at the helm of the Aquatic Sports Association of Malta in 2010.

It is easy to collaborate with the affable and highly-principled Caruana Curran so it was no surprise that he quickly left his mark in his new environs.

Not only did he keep the ASA on a sound footing but the new man in charge also succeeded in consolidating the image of his organisation from a marketing point of view, attracting new initiatives and sponsors to continue with the development of waterpolo, swimming and the fledgling synchronised swimming.

Earlier this month, Caruana Curran received a unanimous vote of approval by club delegates for him to preside over the ASA for another three-year term.

“I’m really pleased with how things evolved in my first tenure as ASA head,” Caruana Curran told The Sunday Times of Malta.

“During the past three years we have introduced a number of changes that continued to strengthen our association from a financial point of view. It was an important step as without the necessary funds it would be difficult for us to invest in our sport.

“We have also agreed on a new format to the waterpolo championship which turned out to be a great success and that is mirrored in the crowds that thronged the National Pool during the summer months.

“There is more work to do but with an all-round effort from those involved we can continue to strengthen our sport and make it more attractive to young people.”

Last week, the ASA received the news that the waterpolo national team had been handed a place in the European Champion-ships semi-final play-offs following Macedonia’s disqualification from the LEN competition.

Karl Izzo’s team will face France in a two-legged play-off in February with a place in the Finals tournament at stake.

“LEN’s decision to have us playing in the play-offs is a fitting reward for the efforts put in by our players and coaches even though it came in odd circumstances,” he said.

“Although the national team failed to secure one of the six qualifying berths on their own merit, they produced some great performances, particularly in our last tournament in Portugal where Malta classified third.

“Facing France in the play-offs will be a massive test but it will be an ideal learning curve for our young players ahead of the Commonwealth Championships in Aberdeen next April.”

The waterpolo team’s encouraging displays added more to Caruana Curran’s resolve to push the sport to higher levels and place the ASA’s youth development high on the agenda.

“We have to lay more emphasis on the physical and technical preparation of our players and swimmers,” the ASA chief said.

“To this end we have embarked on a long-term project aimed at developing the most talented youngsters within our fold.

“In waterpolo, we have selected 35 players, aged between 15 and 18 years and their progress is closely monitored by our coaches – Karl Izzo, Anthony Farrugia and Adrian Cachia. We have to make sure they get enough chance to maximise their potential.

“But that is not all. The ASA is also in a process of announcing a scholarship scheme that will see five players being selected each year to undergo a three-month training camp in Montenegro.

“It’s a huge ask for us, especially from a financial point of view, but if we don’t provide these opportunities to our youths we can never aspire to reach higher levels and achieve our ambitious long-term goal of seeing the national team making more inroads on the international scene.”

Caruana Curran reckons the outlook also looks positive in swimming.

Last week, a Maltese selection competed in the Berlin meet and established a spate of new national and category records.

The ASA sounded satisfied with the swimmers’ progress as they intend to assemble a competitive squad for the 2015 GSSE in Iceland.

“Swimming has seen an increase in numbers in recent years and the results achieved by our juniors fills us with great confidence,” Caruana Curran said.

“Coach Andy Colbourn is doing a great job with the national team and the latest results are testament of the good work undertaken in our bid to have a strong squad for the next GSSE.

“Some might think that the ASA gives more importance to waterpolo but that is not the case. We also appreciate the efforts of our swimmers and their mentors and we are fully committed to ensure they are given all the resources necessary to continue with their training programmes.”

Caruana Curran describes synchronised swimming as the ASA’s ‘new baby’ that is slowly developing into a popular discipline.

The employment of Saho Harada, an Olympic medallist in Athens 2004 and Beijing four years later, has infused new enthusiasm in a group of 70 girls attending training under the charge of the Japanese coach.

“Syncronised swimming is relatively new to us,” Caruana Curran said.

“We are lucky to have someone so experienced like Saho Harada in our fold. Her commitment and dedication are the driving force in the youngsters’ development. This year we took part in two international competitions and the team surpassed expectations.”

“It seems that Saho Harada’s ambitions have no boundaries,” he added.

With an all-round effort we can continue to strengthen our sport and make it more attractive to young people

“She even contends that synchronised swimming could be the first sport to give our country a taste of Olympic glory. That sounds ambitious but she maintains that some of her swimmers have already caught the eye of the foreign juries.”

In recent years, there have been calls for the construction of an indoor pool where training could be held without interruption during the winter months.

Caruana Curran, however, begs to differ.

“At the moment I don’t see that a necessity, really,” he said.

“An indoor pool means a huge investment so I think it would be better to use funds to improve facilities at our clubs. The complex at Tal-Qroqq is in a central location and well run by the managing team.

“In Gozo the situation is different though and I’m of the opinion that an indoor pool is almost a necessity there.”

Caruana Curran says his previous experience has helped him understand more the clubs’ needs.

“Having been involved in sports administration for several years now, it’s easier for me to understand their difficulties,” he said.

“Still, I want to see more communication between the ASA and its members.

“The ASA will only remain strong if all around it is on a sound footing in all aspects, not least the organisation and the nursery development projects at clubs.

“We are grateful that the Maltese Olympic Committee and Kunsill Malti għall-iSport have always been behind us in this regard.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.