In the wake of the unanimous vote for Joe Caruana Curran as the new ASA president, aquatic sports in Malta, waterpolo in particular, will again be put under the microscope as new pastures are being faced.

The association has gone through some tough times in recent weeks with the resignation of Austin Sammut after hardly 18 months at the administrative helm, and the vote of no confidence in secretary Remy D’Amato and his subsequent resignation.

While swimming seems to be passing through an encouraging phase thanks to its sound technical running and resultant bright performances by the swimmers, even if in relative terms, synchronised swimming and diving have long gone into a slumber, with the latter discipline never taking off at all.

Open water swimming seems to be nudged into some sort of movement, despite its estrangement from international competitions.

Waterpolo is the discipline mostly indulged in, being traditionally ingrained in our system as the summer sport with the most following.

However, since almost the mid-90s when the game was relocated to its universal habitat, that of a fresh water pool, waterpolo has somehow lost its allure among a more extended section of sympathisers and supporters of various clubs spread around the island. Of course, there are other factors making for this situation.

There are also various theories.

Some argue that since the power base has been limited to a couple of clubs who have won most honours between them especially in recent years, the game has lost much of its aura especially among other clubs, who either had to call it a day, as Valletta United and Birzebbuga did, or are struggling to survive. The upturn is diminishing interest on a wide scale.

It is no open secret that Sliema and Neptunes are the standard bearers in terms of honours won.

However, there are a few who whinge at the idea of having these two teams winning most of the prizes at stake. They go to extremes and say that these rivals wield too much power and sway other clubs in seeking their own interest on the decision-making table.

As an example, the rule regarding the foreign players has been bandied around as being botched or given the go-ahead to suit the whims of these big clubs at particular moments in time. The effect is the thinning coffers of the less affluent clubs who are forced to engage foreign stars in their bid to be as competitive as possible.

Be that as it may, this issue of power and success is also a problem afflicting other countries, particularly in football.

Spain, England, Italy and Germany readily spring to mind on this score. In these countries, the big teams keep wallowing in triumph almost for years on end even at the expense of the none too rare financial maelstroms which befall them.

Meanwhile, the provincial clubs hardly partake of the sumptuous success cake.

Same predicament

Waterpolo in Malta is very much in the same predicament. But should we put the blame on the top clubs for this imbalance? There are certainly other reasons for this lop-sidedness in power and influence.

Why should critics overlook the fact that these two big names have had foresight in planning, consistency of good administration and an awareness that youngsters have to be raised and cared for through the lower ranks.

As a result both of these clubs have unfailingly participated in the cadets’ leagues, winning between them a posse of honours in these categories.

The number of Neptunes and Sliema players who came through these junior categories to the top is a legacy of the two clubs’ sound policy, which their counterparts would do well to follow.

The new ASA president will no doubt look at these and other factors when an appraisal is made of why waterpolo has undergone such changes in recent years, rendering most of the surviving clubs the cinderellas of the game.

It is hoped that with new officials around some sort of restructuring is looked into for the benefit of the game in general. There should be no bickering or accusing fingers in the wrong direction.

The rope has to be pulled by all the stakeholders in the administrative, financial and technical fields. The game must survive and made to look towards new horizons if it is to outlast hard times.