Double trap shooter William Chetcuti once again stole the show at the 2011 MOC Sports Awards as he received the most prestigious accolade during last night’s ceremony at the Grand Hotel Excelsior.
The awards ceremony was attended by various distinguished personalities, including Parliamentary Secretary for Sport Clyde Puli, and three Italian Olympic champions, namely Pietro Mennea, 200m gold medallist in the 1980 Moscow Games, gymnast Yuri Chechi, winner of the gold medal in the rings event in Atlanta 1996 and multiple rowing champion Antonio Rossi.
The MOC yesterday unveiled a new award, the Platinum and MOC Excellence in Sport, for the most outstanding effort by a Maltese sportsman and it was no surprise that Chetcuti became the first recipient of this honour.
The Manikata-born shooter reached uncharted territory in his career this year after winning a World Cup shoot in Beijing last April to secure qualification for next year’s London Olympics.
Besides, Chetcuti also placed sixth in the European Championships, fifth in the World Championships and eighth in the World Cup finals to wrap up an impressive season. He is currently fifth in the ISSF world rankings.
The Malta Tenpin Bowling Association completed a memorable double yesterday as Sue Abela and Neil Sullivan were presented with the Platinum Award along with the crew of Artie, winners of this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race.
In the past 12 months, Abela continued to confirm her status as one of the most successful Maltese bowlers of all time when she won gold in the singles and all events category at the Mediterranean Championships in Barcelona.
Sullivan also distinguished himself when he won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Championships in Kuala Lumpur.
The Artie crew, co-skippered by Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard, were also rewarded for their stunning overall win in this year’s Rolex Middle Sea Race .
The Gold Award category was dominated by athletes who took gold in this year’s Games of the Small States of Europe in Liechtenstein, namely Diane Borg (200m), Kevin Moore (400m), the women’s 4x100 athletics relay team, the women’s 4x400 athletics quartet, squash players Diane Desira and Brad Hindle Deguara, and the men’s and women’s squash teams.
Bodybuilders Ralph Decelis and Blanche Coppola, Clayton Attard (pool), Massimo Cremona (table football), Tiziana Carrannante and Abela (bowling) and Michael Sultana (horse racing) also received Gold Awards.
Hall of Fame
Four former sportsmen/women were elected to the MOC Hall of Fame during last night’s glamorous ceremony.
These are trap shooter Emmanuel Abela, bronze medallist in the 1993 Med. Games, tennis duo Helen Asciak and Carol Cassar Torregiani, winners of four GSSE gold medals in doubles, and former Malta and Floriana footballer Emmanuel ‘Lolly’ Debattista, the winner of the first MFA Player of the Year award in 1954.
2011 MOC Awards winners
Platinum & MOC Excellence in Sport: W. Chetcuti (shooting).
Platinum award: S. Abela (bowling), N. Sullivan (bowling), Artie (sailing).
Gold award: D. Borg (athletics), K. Moore (athletics), 4x100m women (athletics), 4x400m women (athletics), B. Hindle Deguara (squash), D. Desira (squash), men’s squash team, women’s squash team, R. Decelis/B. Coppola (bodybuilding), C. Attard (pool), M. Cremona (table football), T. Carrannante/S. Abela (bowling), M. Sultana (horse racing).
Silver award: R. Camilleri (athletics), L. Bezzina (athletics), 4x400m men (athletics), 4x100m men (athletics), J. Saywell (judo), B. Law (judo), 4x200m girls (swimming), A. Chetcuti (swimming), D. Bajada/S. Gerada (table tennis), K. Cassar/E. Jetcheva (tennis), Otra Vez crew (sailing), M. Zammit (triathlon).
Bronze award: A. Pace (athletics), N. Gatt (athletics), R. Chouhal (athletics), O. Camilleri (athletics), J. Camilleri (judo), J. Pace/L. Peng Fei (table tennis), M. Asciak/N. Camilleri (tennis), C. Camilleri (canoe), N. Borg Costanzi (canoe), Equestrian girls team, M. Bezzina (judo), D. Conti (table football), S. Bartolo (table football), M. Gauci (table football), M. Spiteri/N. Sullivan (bowling), D. Bonello Spiteri (triathlon), K. Galea (triathlon).
Special award: C.L. Chetcuti (athletics), M. Schembri (canoe), K. Caruana (gymnastics), A. Zammit (gymnastics), girls gymnastics team, K. Bartolo (open water swimming), U-21 pool team, N.L. Xuereb (shooting), A. Micallef (swimming), R. Pulis (weightlifting), N. Farrugia (athletics), D. Vassallo/A. Gambina (canoe), T. Cremona (rowing).
Local council award: Qormi.