With regard to the article of February 25, titled Traditional Boat Plan Would Boost Tourism in Cottonera, I do hope that the powers that be, the Temi Zammit Foundation and the Vittoriosa local council, are mindful of the fact that the Malta Canoe Federation has a long-standing proposal for a riparian club house in the area that will enhance the sports facilities and at the same time generate considerable tourism revenue.
This is by offering both sea kayaking services and, importantly, off season sprint training for athletes in countries where winter training is impracticable. This is, in itself, why the location for such a ‘club house’, with the capacity for dragon boats, sprint and marathon Olympic class racers and surf skis as well as a dedicated gym, changing facilities and social areas, needs to be on a paddleable flat-water site, locations that are fast disappearing to big businesses or encroached by marina pontoons.
The alternative is to construct a purpose built, protected 2km-long Olympic flat water regatta course, facilities and infrastructures. Although this would cost millions of euros, it is demonstrative of what our athletes are missing out on in comparison to other countries. Some ‘third world countries’ actually boast such a regatta course, often value added by facilitating the practice of Olympic rowing disciplines, so our own regatta people could emulate.
Our athletes do however manage to train on the few, yet diminishing flat-water sites that remain, not without difficulty, but we need to be mindful of their needs and sensitive to the dedication and opportunity cost of training to such a high standard.
The federation has sought several other flat-water sites but when it put these on the radar they attracted the attention of going commercial concerns. The effect being that the federation and the sport has, for the past 24 years, missed out on obtaining its own property, offering the most basic of facilities. Other sports have fared otherwise and it is clearly time to play fair.
It is also pertinent to note that such a watersports facility will enhance water and boat handling safety in much the same way that motorsports has added value to a proposal for a motor racing circuit. There is enough reason – the safety of youth on the sea – to give this proposal serious consideration and credibility.