Obvious to all those who take an interest is the domination of certain sporting disciplines when it comes to media coverage and also the level of "big name" sponsorship afforded to them. Our daily TV and radio bulletins, as well as back-pages of the newspapers are full of reports on the few "important" local sports, while precious little space is afforded to the myriad other less popular or not so culturally traditional sports.
This prominence deficit is an understandable one, of course, given the much greater following sports such as football, water polo and others attract. However, it is often the case that extraordinary achievements by Maltese competitors in other less visible sports lose out on headline status in favour of much less important but mainstream results and reports.
There are scores of bona fide sporting associations in Malta and Gozo, and due respect should be given to all in their own right. One such association is the Malta Tenpin Bowling Association which was founded 34 years ago. Without a doubt tenpin bowling in Malta has far surpassed any of the more widely practiced sporting disciplines when it comes to competition in the international arena.
Malta's greatest bowling moment to date has undoubtedly been Sue Abela's winning the outright title of European Champion (Israel, 1999), an incredible feat that no other Maltese athlete or association can boast of. While that formidable achievement tops Ms Abela's long and growing list of personal bowling honours, including the title of Sportswoman of the Year 2008, it is also backed up by an impressive array of others earned by our bowlers in numerous top class international contests both in Malta and abroad, bearing witness to Maltese bowlers' considerable ability in their chosen discipline.
• After 11 editions of the Mediterranean Championships, Malta sits proudly atop the medals table.
• Malta's Philippe Vancell saw off competition from 23 other nations to win the European Gold Cup in 2006.
• Team Malta took Ladies' Doubles silver medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Championships.
• Mark Spiteri and Sue Abela placed second and third in their respective divisions in the 1st European Sports Games.
• More recently, Sue Abela placed third in the 5th European Women's Masters last month.
The above is merely a sample of the higher honours achieved by Maltese tenpin bowlers over the years but many, many other noteworthy accomplishments could also be listed.
The MTBA is greatly appreciative of the efforts of sports journalists in promoting our sport and there are now also admirable efforts from certain quarters in the sports media to highlight the merits of minority sports. Still, it can be frustrating that such high level achievements can sometimes be brushed aside to give way for other, sometimes insignificant sporting results.
Similarly, while gratitude is due to governing bodies such as the MOC and KMS for their continued support and financial backing, the fact remains that resources are so limited that the onus is still on the MTBA and its voluntary board of directors to scrape together funding in order to send our athletes to represent Malta in international competition. Suitable facilities in order for our bowlers to train regularly and prepare for competition is dependent on the cooperation and goodwill of the Eden SuperBowl, without which it would be impossible to financially sustain any kind of coaching structure for our national squads which range from juniors within the government organised SkolaSport scheme, right through to adult level for which employment of a permanent national coach is essential.
Funding is the obvious issue here and one must ask whether priorities are correct when monies are being allotted each year to the applicant associations and federations. Should that allotment be administered in such a way as to reflect the achievements of the disciplines under consideration, then the result would be, I think, a much fairer apportionment for some of the less visible sports taken very seriously by many thousands of Maltese sportsmen and sportswomen. In the particular case of tenpin bowling, I am sure that such a system would bring about further and considerable advancement, resulting in yet greater success for Malta at the very highest levels.