On Sunday, 21st February the Malta Canoe Federation organised its Annual General Meeting at the Federation’s boathouse at the Marsamxett Ferries, Valletta. During the meeting a quick review of the positive term 2009-2010 was provided by the President, Peter Borg Costanzi and the Secretary, Ian Busuttil.  This was followed by a brief discussion on the main topics mentioned in the reports.

The Annual General Meeting was concluded by a ballot that elected the members of the new committee for the 2010/2011 term:

Peter Borg Costanzi – President
Albert Gambina – Secretary
Damian Schembri – Treasurer
Nicola Borg Costanzi – Technical Director
Matthew Schembri
Dorian Vassallo
Daniel Cauchi

The members present validated the great work performed by Peter Borg Costanzi by re-electing him as President.  The newcomer from the Malta Sea Kayak club Albert Gambina now takes over the position of Secretary.  Damian Schembri was elected as Treasurer, an MCF post he already held in the past. The new committee is also pleased to hand over the position of Technical Director to Nicola Borg Constanzi and hopes that her position and success in racing competition helps promote canoe sport to the local female population. Matthew Schembri is another newcomer from the racing section juniors and one of the most promising upcoming athletes.  The committee also welcomes Daniel Cauchi from the emergent Canoe Polo club.

The new committee thanks Clark Weissinger, Robert Pullicino, Gerald DeGaetano and Ian Busuttil for their sterling services during the past term.  The MCF also thanks Mr Bertie Muscat for his presence during the AGM as a  representative of Kunsill Malti ghall-iSport.

The 5th International Kayak Regatta in Cyprus yielded excellent results from local athletes who competed in the sprint races last weekend.  The sprint races, held in Yermasogia Dam, attracted athletes from Hungary, Serbia,Czech Repulic, Greece and Malta alongside a number of Cypriot canoeists.

Veteran Gerald Degaetano set the bar for the Maltese team after placing fourth in the senior Mens 1000m sprint race.  Despite only training in an Olympic kayak for 9 months, DeGaetano maintained his pace with a close finish behind Michalis Kyriakou who placed third.  First place went to Manos Manoli (Cyp) whilst Michl Pavel (Cze) placed second. No times were taken for this race.

DeGaetano's spirit spilled over into the women and junior 1000m's and the national records were tumbling the Maltese team consistently putting themselves in the medal zone time and again. Nicola Borg Costanzi stepped up the pace to snatch the silver medal in a personal best time and new national record of 4.56.20 being the first Maltese athlete to capture an international sprint medal behind heavyweight Serbia’s Nikolina Moldovin who crossed the finish line with 4.40.45.  Borg Costanzi provied you can turn a marathon paddler into an effective sprinter and with a little more polish the potential to really rock the ladies podium.

Kayaking is a sport that is growing in Malta and is now practised over a number of disciplines, which include racing disciplines and less competitive activities such as touring.   Each year the Malta Canoe Federation (MCF) experiences a growing interest in the sport and this motivates the committee to organise more events including those intended to help charities by challenging kayakers to meet and tentatively beat their limits.

Most believe that kayaking is a difficult sport and that may discourage them from giving it a go. However, like any sport, once you practice it a few times safely and receive proper instruction, you can quickly get going and experience great improvements.