At a press conference, held at the Malta Olympic Committee offices this morning, David Azzopardi, President of the Malta School Sports Federation (MSSF) welcomed members of the press, officials, athletes and delegates to the start of the ISF Badminton World Schools Championships. “Notwithstanding all that is happening around the world, we are pleased to welcome all delegates who were scheduled to arrive for this event as we get ready to start the Championship. Two years ago we did not think such an event, of such magnitude would be possible. It is through the involvement and support of Badminton Malta, the Ministry for Education and Employment, and Sport Malta that we are here today. Challenges were encountered especially with regards to venues and setting up the right flooring, however, the hard working stakeholders ensured that Malta is now ready to deliver what it had set out to do”.
Mr. Norbert Kever, Executive Committee Member, International School Sports Federation (ISF), shared his enthusiasm about being in Malta once again. Mr. Kever, explained that the International School Sport Federation was launched in 1972 in Luxembourg, which began organizing small championship events for schools within central Europe. Over the years the Federation grew and is now represented in all continents with over 80 member countries. The priority of the Federation is to provide opportunities to schools as well as giving higher level, international exchange, opportunities to selected teams who show a strong promise for the sport. Mr. Kever commented that although Malta is a small island with the smallest team in the community, it is very competitive and has fully grasped the spirit of the ISF.
Mr. Azzopardi pointed out that Malta will be hosting a record amount of teams – fifty-one in all, the previous record being set at forty-one. Two years ago, the championships were hosted by Chinese Taipei who welcomed thirty-six teams. Malta, Greece and Pakistan will be fielding their first ever participation.
Kevin Azzopardi, representing the Ministry for Education and Employment, on behalf of Minister Evarist Bartolo and Parliamentary Secretary for Research, Innovation, Youth and Sport Hon. Chris Agius, who could not attend due to family mourning. Azzopardi commented that it was a privilege to be involved in such a prestigious event, which is not the first but the fourth of its type to be held in Malta. This showed a strong vote of confidence in the organisation abilities of local organisers as well as tying in with Government vision of investing in sport at school level. The government, Azzopardi continued, recognised obesity as a nationwide problem and is putting a lot of energy into tackling this problem. In fact, twenty-five newly graduated physical education teachers have been allocated in schools across the country thus increasing the amount of lessons in this regard. This event, goes hand in hand with Government’s philosophy to provide more opportunities for our students not only from a sporting perspective but also to provide social and intercultural exchange. Azzopardi concluded by saying that not all would be winners but the greatest achievement for all is to end this week with satisfaction at having given their best and gained substantial experience from it.
The conference came to a close with a brief statement from Stephen Ferrante, Vice President, Badminton Malta. Ferrante enthused about how Badminton Malta, established back in 1971, has come a long way and is ready to get back again on the international scene. These Championships are felt as being the perfect stepping stone to do so. The Federation, ever since it was contacted by the MSSF, has been working hard to meet the challenges that such an event brings with it and the team is grateful to a number of stakeholders who showed commitment towards the success of this event – mainly the Ministry for Education and Employment, SportMalta, volunteers and of course athletes and their families. Athletes have been fully committed for the past two years. Ferrante concluded by saying that this was a proud moment for Badminton Malta, the smallest country to organise an event with the largest participation ever.
The Official opening ceremony of the ISF Badminton 2016 World Schools Championship will take place tomorrow Tuesday 29th March at 8:30am at the University Sports Complex. Matches will start immediately after.
The Maltese teams’ commitments will start at 10:30am on Court 3 when Boys’ school team will take on Scotland. The Girl’s school team will play against France at 12:45pm also on Court three.
A full list of fixtures, teams and venues can be found via this link
https://www.tournamentsoftware.com/sport/matches.aspx?id=29049D84-4E15-4F73-9687-B8CC254200B7
