Il-Professur Joseph Grima m’għadux President tal-Għaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdief ieħor dan wara li waqt laqgħa li saret il-bieraħ filgħaxija fil-Kumpless Sportiv tal-Kottonera ta’ SportMalta ittieħed vot jekk hu għandux ikompli fil-kariga ta’ President jew le bil-vot jirriżulta f’4 voti kontra u 3 favur. Dan il-vot qed ikun interpretat bħala vot ta’ sfiduċja u wara r-riżultat u rtira mill-kamra u filgħaxija stess ikkonferma permezz ta’ messaġġ twil fuq Facebook li b’effett immedjat hu m’għadux jokkopa l-kariga ta’ President.

TVM Sport jinsab infurmat li fuq l-Aġenda tal-Laqgħa kellu jkun hemm diskussjoni u analiżi dwar kif marret l-aħħar Regatta li saret is-Sibt 7 ta’ April li iżda daret f’laqgħa taħraq hekk kif bdew ikunu ppuntati s-swaba lejn xi individwi fosthom lejn il-President tal-Għaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdief ieħor Joseph Grima.

Fost diversi suġġetti li kien hemm diskussjoni fuqhom kien hemm il-fatt li r-Regatta bdiet tard minħabba problema ta’ loġistika mal-Pulizija fuq fejn kellhom jitpoġġew id-dgħajjes fuq il-moll max-Xatt tal-Belt. Kien hemm diżgwied ukoll fuq id-deċiżjoni li d-dgħajsa ta’ b’erba’ tal-Kalkara ma tħallitx tibda l-aħħar tiġrija għaliex kien skada l-ħin ta’ 20 minuta mit-tmiem tat-tiġrija ta’ qabel u diversi suġġetti oħra li TVM Sport għandu d-dettalji tagħhom iżda mhux etiku li jkunu publikati.

Apparti żewġ rappreżentanti ta’ kull Club il-bieraħ attenda wkoll bħala osservatur ir-rapreżentant tas-Siġġiewi Rowing Club.

Fi tmiem il-laqgħa ġie deċiż li l-Viċi President Franco Scicluna se jassumi r-responsabilita’ li jmexxi l-Għaqda sal-Laqgħa Ġenerali Anwali ta’ din is-sena fejn is-seba’ Clubs qablu li għandha titressaq proposta ta’ struttura ġdida tal-Għaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdief ieħor. Mhux eskluż li Joseph Grima jkun avviċinat sabiex jingħata l-kariga ta’ Viċi President u jmexxi s-sezzjoni tal-Indoor Rowing dixxiplina li hu stess kien ħadem ħafna sabiex tidaħħal fi ħdan l-Għaqda Regatta Nazzjonali.

Il-Kumment kollu fuq il-Facebook ta’ Joseph Grima qed ikun publikat hawn taħt:

Through this notice, it is being confirmed that my term as President of Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor (Malta Rowing Association) has ended today with immediate effect.

During my term in Office, I have had the privilege to be around a sizable number of highly passionate and talented Maltese rowers who have supported me along the way, both with their friendship and their advice. For this; I am truly honoured and grateful.

I also had the pleasure to work with a number of exceptional individuals who, like me, love the sport of rowing and had a genuine desire to see this sport grow and develop further. With their support, I have had the pleasure to enrol Malta within FISA, the international rowing body. Two new Clubs – ‘University of Malta Rowing Club’ and ‘Siggiewi Rowing Club’ have been set up and enrolled in the Association.

With the support of fellow rowers and colleagues in the Association Council, the Malta National Indoor Rowing Championships were set up and are now well established in the Maltese rowing calendar. Year after year, racing times have continued to improve and we have now reached a standard where Maltese rowers are of the level to potentially make it to the top level international indoor and on-water competitions. We have expanded the sport by creating an infrastructure in which female rowers are now able to enrol and compete, and have started to pave the way for Masters Competitions.

In collaboration with V18, we have established an International Regatta using traditional Maltese boats, which event is now scheduled to take place every two years. Through Birzebbuga Local Council, we have also started a new regatta in Birzebbuga; which is expected to become an annual event.

During my term of Office, the Association has taken over the technical responsibility of the National Regatta, a role which had been previously assumed by Government. This meant that the Association became fully responsible in all technical aspects, including the drafting and publishing of regulations and the appointment of judges. I would like to thank all judges who served in the National Regatta, a task which carries with it significant responsibility, as well as the core team within the Association who helped in the logistics. I also thank the sports journalists for their support to our sport.

We have also organised a number of charity events with the Malta Community Chest Fund and Dar tal-Providenza as beneficiaries. These events were most rewarding and I am elated that I was able to not only organise them, but also take part in them as a rower.

Participation in international events did not remain a dream. With the help of MOC and SportMalta, Maltese rowers now routinely compete in all forms of rowing ranging from indoor, coastal, flat-water to traditional rowing in the fixed-seat and Venetian style. Apart from the Indoor Rowing competitions, where Maltese rowers competed and sometimes even placed or won (British Indoor Rowing Championships, European Championships, Sicilian Championships and World Games), Maltese rowers have taken part in flat-water races at Piediluco and Poznan, fixed-seat rowing trough FICSF near Milan, Bisse Regatta at Lago di Garda, Coastal Rowing near the Island of Procida in Italy and also at the highest level in the World Coastal Rowing Championships.

However my greatest reward was to see the quality of rowing in the National Regattas improve and take a turn for the better. Rowers have started to see their sport grow and develop. This encouraged them to invest more in their rowing training and, as a result, their technique and overall approach to sport has improved significantly.

I hope that my successor will be able to continue building on this and wish her or him every success.

Now that I no longer have to carry the weight of being the Association President, I look forward to have more time to enjoy the sport of rowing as an athlete.

Joseph N. Grima
16th April 2018