Tri-News

Official Publication of the Malta Triathlon Association

February 2012, Issue 46

Presidents Message
Individual Highlights:
Sport Malta Award to Danica Bonello Spiteri 2 2011 National Championships Review 3 Tribute to outgoing President & Secretary General 4 2012 Duathlon Championships 4 MOC Sports Awards 5

I am honoured to write this first message as President of the Malta Triathlon Association. I would like to thank all the past members of the Executive Committee and the Council of the Malta Triathlon Association, most importantly my predecessor Manuel, and Faabienne, who are now stepping down but not without promising to continue to help the Association. Heartfelt thanks to those of you who have supported me, expressed their confidence in me and to all of you who have already approached me and my colleagues and offered their assistance. As I already had the opportunity to outline briefly during my acceptance speech minutes after I was offered this role, the main point of my project for the association is to consolidate the sport by giving central role to you the athlete - to each and every one of you. We have already embarked on a number of initiatives, such as beefing up the Council team of the association, improving our networks with the European Triathlon Union and the International Triathlon Union, creating a Technical Team to coordinate the efforts of the National Triathlon Team, establishing better working-relations with Maltese Sports Organisations, mainly the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth and Sport, the Maltese Olympic Committee, the Kunsill Malti gall-iSport. We are also undergoing a re-branding exercise which will lead to an improved website, a new modern logo and a direct involvement with the members via socialnetworking. These are exciting times for our Sport, both locally as well as on the international scene. These are exciting times for the Malta Triathlon Association. We need your help in keeping up the momentum. I firmly believe that each one of us have a very important role to play. Let's get together and work in unison for the improvement of this sport of ours. Yours in sports Cyp

Athletes racing abroad 6 Logo Competition 7

European Triathlon Union Presidents Conference

The President of the Malta Triathlon Association attended the European Triathlon Union Presidents' Conference which was held in Vienna last month. During this Conference the delegates present were briefed on the current situation of the ETU, with a special focus on the current activities and the races planned for 2012, together with the current financial situation of the ETU. The floor was addressed by the ETU President, Mr Philip Schaedler and the ITU President Ms Marisol Casado, amongst others. The theme of the Conference centered on the Age-Group movement and two very interesting presentations were delivered by ITU Sport Director, Gergely Markus and Malcolm Westwood, British Triathlon Board Member and Director of the British Age Group Teams. The MTA managed to make some very good contacts among the various delegates attending as well as other race directors, coaches and other technical personnel which augurs well for future collaboration of the Malta Triathlon Association and its members' endeavours on an international level.

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Danica Bonello Spiteri wins SportMalta Award

The SportMalta Award, which includes the votes of Sport Journalists, Associations and the publics vote was presented to Danica Bonello Spiteri, who garnered 20.08% of the total votes. This award demonstrates that Danicas efforts, throughout 2011 were clearly recognised. Danica had an impressive year throughout 2011, competing not only locally but also in a number of events abroad as can be seen below:National Competitions National Duathlon Championship 29th January 2011 - First BKara St Joseph triathlon Series 1 12th June 2011 - First BKara St Joseph triathlon Series 2 10th July 2011 First Hellfire Extreme triathlon 28th August 2011 First (new course record) BKara St Joseph triathlon Series 3 4th September 2011 First BKara St Joseph triathlon Series 4 18th September 2011 First (new national record) National Triathlon Championship 2nd October 2011 First (10th Time) Triathlete of the year 2011 International Competitions o Triathlon Championships for Small States of Europe Cyprus 28thMarch 2011 o Olympic Triathlon - 1.5km swim, 40km cycle,10km run o Finish time: 2hrs 37min 27 sec o Bronze Medal Wetherby Olympic Triathlon UK -30thMay 2011 5th overall, 1st age group Allerthorpe Sprint Triathlon UK 5th June 2011 6th overall, 1st age group Lake District Half Ironman 26th June 2011 o Middle Distance Triathlon 1.2km swim, 90km cycle , 21.1km run o Finish time: 6hrs 2minutes o Ninth overall, fourth in age group Nottingham Outlaw triathlon 24th July 2011 o 3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42.2km run o Finish time: 11hrs 57min 18 sec o Winner of her age group and new national record Leeds Olympic Triathlon - 11th September 2011 o 1.5km swim, 40km cycle, 10km run o Finish time: 2hrs 26min 50 sec o Winner of her age group & second place overall Winner of Yorkshire & Humbery Triathlon Championship Ilkley Triathlon -18th September 2011 o 500m swim, 15km cycle, 5km run o Finish time: 1hrs 3min 32sec o Winner of age group and second o place overall Mediterranean Friendship Games Siracusa o 23th October 2011 o 750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run o Finish time: 1hrs 11min 42 sec o First Overall .

The Hon. Clyde Puli congratulating Sport Malta Award winner Danica Bonello Spiteri

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Tri-News
Manuel Azzopardi

2011 National Triathlon Championships review

This article was published in The Times of Malta on Thursday 6 October
th

Danica Bonello Spiteri and Dermot Galea have once more proved that they are the ones to beat when it comes to triathlon. Having won the National Championships for the 10th time, the two stalwarts now stand on a level of their own. No other athlete in the history of the championships which now spans almost a quarter of a century has even come close to their achievements. On Sunday 2nd October 2011, no less than 102 triathletes took part in the two races (Olympic and Sprint) which the Malta Triathlon Association organised at Salina Bay with the valuable assistance of Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club and Joseph F. Spiteri & Co. (1927) Ltd.- KEE KLAMP Structural Pipe Fittings Distributors in Malta. This is an absolute entry record although not a completely unexpected one, in view of the constant increase in participation over the past couple of years. Predictably, Mark Zammit exited the water first after having covered the 1,500m swim in 21:32. He was followed by Briton Mark Sykes who, together with Katie Silke, was the guest of the Malta Tourism Authority. In third and fourth places were Dermot Galea and Keith Galea, while Carl Attard exited the water in fifth place. The fastest female swimmer was Michelle Scott in 23:17, followed by Silke just five seconds slower. At this point, Bonello Spiteri was over a minute behind the two female leaders. On the bike, the two Galeas, Sykes and Attard soon chased leader Zammit down, annihilating the two-minute advantage he had gained in the swim in the first two laps. None of these athletes, however, had the fastest cycle time that honour went to Fabio Spiteri who covered 40kms in 1:01:12. Bonello Spiteri powered her way to the front in the bike segment in 1:10:5, with Johanna Calleja having the second fastest time, just eight seconds behind the leader. Silke and Scott, however, remained in contention for podium positions. The run segment is crucial in triathlon no matter how fast an athlete is in the other two segments. On the day, Carl Attard and Keith Galea changed places at the front throughout the first lap, only for Dermot Galea to emerge victorious in the second lap, finishing the race in 2:04:55. The fastest run, however, went surprisingly to Steve Chetcuti who achieved a time of 39:33 for the 10km. Attard, one of the sports emerging talents, was runner-up just six seconds behind, while Keith Galea was third a further 55 seconds adrift. Not content with having the best cycle time, Danica Bonello Spiteri also went on to establish the best run time of the day to win the race in 2:20:12, almost five minutes ahead of Silke. Scott was third in 2:28:09. The second Maltese athlete was Johanna Calleja in 2:30:42 while third in was Donatelle Camilleri in 2:32:12. The Sprint race winners were Wilfred Stelling, 1:09:57, and Hannah Pace, 1:19:12. Mr. Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, Maltese Olympic Committee President, congratulated participants and presented the trophies to the winners in the various categories. The event came to an innovative end with a post race Pasta Lunch Party held at the race venue. This event was the brainchild of Danica Bonello Spiteri and Margaret Seguna, which brought together athletes and their families and supporters together to celebrate the end of another successful season.
Danica Bonello Spiteri during the bike segment at Salina Coast Road. Photos on this page courtesy of Raphael Borg Ellul Vincenti

Dermot Galea (right) who had just won the Triathlon Championship, turns back to congratulate team mate Carl Attard, who placed second

Carl Attard (left) and Keith Galea pacing each in the Run

The Malta Triathlon Association would also like to thank Kristal Water, Gillette and BBB Bike Parts of Elite Cycles who donated a number of cycle accessories which were raffled at the end of the event, helping the MTA to balance the costs of the race.

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Tribute to outgoing President Manuel Azzopardi and Secretary General Faabienne Azzopardi
The husband and wife team who since 1999 put in many long hours towards the sport of Triathlon in Malta
After having spent fourteen years in the presidential hot seat Manuel Azzopardi decided to relinquish his post as President of the Malta Triathlon Association. His hard work has seen the Association develop and build a solid foundation for the future of the sport in Malta. Hereunder are listed a few highlights of Manuel and Faabiennes contribution to Triathlon in Malta. Manuel was a triathlete for a number of year before taking over the hot seat as President of the Association in 1999 from founder Dr. Peter Borg Costanzi who due to professional commitments had to step down from this post Together with Euchar Camilleri, Oswald Spiteri and Mario Bugeja, Manuel was instrumental in organizing the first Triathlon Championships of the Small States of Europe (TCSSE) in May 2000, with the initial participation of Luxembourg and Cyprus. In 2001 Malta was pleased to also host triathletes from Monaco. In 2002 and 2003, the venue remained in Malta, but in 2004 for the first time, the TCSSE moved to Cyprus and in 2005 Luxembourg hosted this Championship, with the first time participation of Liechtenstein. The TCSSE continued to be organized as a yearly event, on roster format between the said countries. Under the presidency of Manuel, Malta always had a podium position during the Championships of the Small States of Europe, but the highlights were in 2006 and 2009 (both held in Malta) when Danica Spiteri claimed the Championships on the Ladies podium, and in 2011 (Cyprus) when Mark Zammit received Gold Medal and declared Champion of the Small States of Europe. Malta Triathlon Association was honoured by the Malta Sports Writers Association who considered the TCSSE as the Best International Event held in Malta in 2006 The 2006 TCSSE held in Malta were also recognized by the International Triathlon Union and by the European Triathlon Union and the event carried qualifying ranking points, apart from the fact that it was presided by the Mr. Enrique Quesada, the ITU Technical Delegate. Through these events it was possible for Malta to build and foster excellent relations with the ETU and ITU. Under the presidency of Manuel, Triathlon regularly featured in the Sportivi Nazzjonali Award nominations. In 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and in 2010, male or female Triathletes featured in the top five finalists, whilst in 2002,Triathlete Maria Mifsud Bonnici was voted Sportswoman of the Year, and last year Triathlete Danica Bonello Spiteri was voted Sportswoman of the Year 2010. The Association also fared well in the Malta Olympic Committee Awards with Keith Galea achieving Gold Award in 2008, Danica Spiteri achieving Gold Award in 2009 and the National Triathlon Team achieving Gold Award in 2010 for their success in Liechtenstein. The increased participation, with over a hundred athletes were on the starting line of the Olympic Distance Championships held in October 2011 Faabienne Azzopardi met Manuel through Triathlon and in 1999 was appointed Secretary General. Integrating immediately with the Association team, Faabienne published the first TriNewsletter in March 2000. She was instrumental in ensuring that contact was held between the Executive committee and member of the Association as well as the Media. In 2001 Faabienne took the mammoth task of launching the MTA website. Despite the limited financial resources of the Association Faabienne managed to regularly update the website, ensuring results were uploaded by the end of the race day. Faabienne also contributed her French linguistic talents to the Maltese Olympic Committee and was always present during each triathlon event, being at the venue as early at 430am, welcoming helpers with a smile, coffee and cakes. The Malta Triathlon community would like to express their gratitude and appreciation to Faabienne and Manuel Azzopardi, for the hard work and the many long hours devoted by this husband and wife team who, since 1999 have input many hours towards the sport of Triathlon in Malta and being catalyst for the development of Triathlon in Malta.

Manuel, with a group of veteran Triathletes celebrating 10 years of Triathlon September 2011

Manuel and Faabienne together with Euchar and Oswald, taking a coffee break just after the National Triathlon Championships in October 2010 came to an end

2012 National Duathlon Championships

The 2012 National Duathlon Championships will be held on Saturday 17th March 2012, at 2pm Distances: Run 5k, Cycle 30k, Run 3k. Event will be held, subject to all necessary permits being issued, in Triq it-Tigrija, Rabat (which is the road parallel to Saqajja Hill, below Tattingers). Start, Transition and Finish will take place on that road. Maps of the route will be published shortly. For regular updates please check the Malta Triathlon Association Facebook page. Registration Form can be found on the Malta Triathlon Association website www.maltatriathlon.org

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Tri-News

MOC Sports Awards 7th December 2011

For another year, members of the Malta Triathlon Association had their fair share of nominations and awards in this annual event. Mark Zammit secured a Silver Award for his very successful participation in the Triathlon Championships of the Small States of Europe, held in Cyprus on 27th March 2011 wherein he finished first in 2:06:02 beating Monaco, Cyprus & Liechtenstein. This race was also part of the Volkswagen Aldian Triathlon and Mark finished 5th overall out of a field of 67 triathletes from the Russian Federation, Denmark, Turkey, Switzerland and Austria.

Mark Zammit wins a Gold medal for Malta in th the 12 edition of the TCSSE in Cyprus with a time of 2:06:02

Mark Zammit crossing the finish line and winning the 12th edition of the TCSSE Team mate Keith Galea finished 3rd in the TCSSE in a time of 2hrs 08:59.4, just 1 minute 2 seconds behind Monacos Nicholas Collet. This result earned Keith a Bronze Award from the MOC. Fabio Spiteri and George Vella finished the TCSSE in 10th and 12th out of a field of 36 male participants.

2011 TCSSE Winners: Champion Mark Zammit -Gold, Nicolas Collet (Monaco) Silver and Keith Galea Bronze.

Danica Bonello Spiteri managed to finish 3rd in the ladies section of the Triathlon Championships of the Small States of Europe. This result has helped Danica to earn a Bronze Award from the MOC. The current TCSSE Champion is now Nicole Klinger from Liechtenstein who finished the race in 2:22:12.9 followed by Emese Meszaros from Cyprus. Marica Micallef came in 4th a good showing for Marica, who represented Maltese Triathlon abroad for the first time. The TCSSE for 2012 are now scheduled to be held in Echternach, Luxembourg around mid July.

National Team Triathletes racing abroad

Athlete BONELLO SPITERI Danica MICALLEF Marica ZAMMIT Mark GALEA Keith SPITERI Fabio ZAMMIT Mark ZAMMIT Mark ZAMMIT Mark BONELLO Spiteri Danica CAMILLERI Donatelle ATTARD Carl GALEA Keith Race TCSSE TCSSE TCSSE TCSSE TCSSE Brasschaat ITU Tri Premium European Cup Cremona ITU Sprint European Cup 5th Military World Championships Sicily-Malta Friendship Games Sicily-Malta Friendship Games Sicily-Malta Friendship Games Sicily-Malta Friendship Games Country Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus Cyprus Belgium Italy Rio, Brazil Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Syracuse Distance Olympic Olympic Olympic Olympic Olympic Olympic Sprint Olympic Sprint Sprint Sprint Sprint Time 02:37:27 02:50:41 02:06:02 02:08:59 02:15:44 01:56:33 01:00:26 01:59:55 01:11:42 01:18:12 01:05:22 01:07:32 Result Category TCSSE 3/5 TCSSE 4/5 TCSSE 1/33 TCSSE 3/33 TCSSE 9/33 58/71 66/70 48/94 1/6 4/6 7/51 10/51

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Tri-News

Triathletes racing abroad

A substantial number of triathletes have participated, out of their own initiative, in a number of races abroad, ranging from Sprint to Ironman distances. The Association encourages such participation as it not only increases motivation but provides athletes with excellent opportunities to race with elite athletes in different terrains and weather conditions. Athlete CALLEJA Johanna GALEA Dermot VELLA George GALEA Dermot GALEA Dermot BONELLO SPITERI Danica CALLEJA Johanna GALEA Dermot CALLEJA Johanna CALLEJA Johanna GALEA Dermot SPITERI Fabio 1. FARRUGIA Nathan BONELLO SPITERI Danica BONELLO SPITERI Danica GALEA Dermot FARRUGIA Barry ZAMMIT Mark BONELLO SPITERI Danica VELLA WOOD Michelle GIORDANO IMBROLL Steve BRYDON William BUGEJA Mario GALEA Keith BONELLO SPITERI Danica ZAMMIT Mark CALLEJA Johanna GALEA Dermot VELLA-GALEA Maria GALEA Dermot GALEA Keith GALEA Dermot + Team GALEA Dermot BONELLO SPITERI Danica SEGUNA Margaret ZAMMIT Mark VELLA-GALEA Maria BONELLO SPITERI Danica SEGUNA Margaret AGIUS Rudolph SPITERI Fabio GIORDANO IMBROLL Steve CASSAR John Race Chester Tri Club Duathlon 2011 British Elite Duathlon Championships TCSSE Ashbourne Duathlon 1485 No Frills Duathlon 3-Peaks Challenge Chirk Triathlon BUCS - British Universities Sprint Tri Champ BUCS - British Universities Sprint Tri Champ Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon Full Boar Super Sprint Triathlon Ironman Lanzarote Ironman Lanzarote Wetherby Triathlon Udo's Choice Allerthorpe Sprint Tri The Full Boar Triathlon - Tri 247 The Full Boar Triathlon - Tri 248 Cremona ITU Sprint European Cup A Day in the Lakes Tri Ironman Austria Ironman Austria Ironman Austria Ironman Austria Bedford Triathlon Classic Nottingham Outlaw 5th Military World Championships British Universities Champs British Universities Champs Antwerp Ironman 70.3 Blithfield Sprint Triathlon Desford Sprint Triathlon British Club Relay Triathlon Champs Derby Sprint Tri Leeds Olympic Triathlon Leeds Olympic Triathlon Leeds Olympic Triathlon The London Duathlon Ilkley Triathlon Sicily-Malta Friendship Games Sicily-Malta Friendship Games K1MAN11(Half Ironman) K1MAN11(Half Ironman) K1MAN11(Half Ironman) Country UK Loughborough, UK Cyprus UK Bosworth, UK UK UK Calne, UK Calne, UK Market Bosworth, UK Market Bosworth, UK Canary Is, Spain Canary Is, Spain Wetherby, UK Allerthorpe, UK Market Bosworth, UK Market Bosworth, UK Cremona, Italy Lake District, UK Krnten, Austria Krnten, Austria Krnten, Austria Krnten, Austria Bedford, UK Nottingham, UK Rio, Brazil Dearne Valley, UK Dearne Valley, UK Antwerp, Holland Blithfield, UK Leicestershire, UK Nottingham, UK Derbyshire, UK Leeds UK Leeds UK Leeds UK London Ilkley, UK Syracuse, Sicily Syracuse, Sicily Akrotiri, Cyprus Akrotiri, Cyprus Akrotiri, Cyprus Distance R:5k; B:15k; R:3k R:5k; B:20k; R:2.5k Olympic R:12k;B:40k;R:4k R:5k;B:21k;R:5k 80k S:400m;B:24k;R:5k S:750m;B:25k;R:5k S:750m;B:25k;R:5k S:500m;B:15k;R:2.5k S:500m;B:15k;R:2.5k Ironman Ironman Olympic Sprint Olympic (Bike:42k) Olympic (Bike:42k) Sprint S:1200m;B:57m;R:12.5m Ironman Ironman Ironman Ironman Olympic Ironman Olympic Olympic Olympic Ironman 70.3 Spring S:400m;B:18k;R:5k 4 X S:500m;B:15k;R:5k Sprint Olympic Olympic Olympic R:10k;B:22k;R:5k S:500m;B:15k;R:5.5k Sprint Sprint S:1.9k;B:90k;R:21k S:1.9k;B:90k;R:21k S:1.9k;B:90k;R:21k

Malta Triathlon Logo Design Competition

The Malta Triathlon Association will be looking into receiving proposals for the design of a new logo for the Association and is hereby inviting all triathletes and their friends to contribute by proposing a design that incorporates all disciplines and the spirit of our chosen sport with particular focus on the Maltese Islands. Suggestions are to be submitted to the Public Relations and Marketing Officer, Maria Vella-Galea by not later than Wednesday February 29th. Guidelines 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Design should include the spirit of our sport as well as the Maltese Islands flavour Design will be for internet/web, print, promotional material and possibly for television in future; Designs should be submitted both in print (hard copy) and electronic (soft copy) version with and without the wording Malta Triathlon Association; Malta Triathlon Association will not pay any royalties for the winning design; Malta Triathlon Association is NOT liable for any damages or expenses incurred by the client in the use of artwork created during this process; Malta Triathlon Association shall own 100% copyrights to the FINAL design that has been chosen by the Council. All other designs and concepts resulting from the logo design process shall remain the exclusive copyright of the designers submitting such designs. Due to the complexities of international copyright and logo trademark law, Malta Triathlon Association will not be held liable should there be any infringing on an already existing copyright or trademarks or service mark relating to the proposed logo; A 1-year Malta Triathlon Association membership and free registration to the National Duathlon and Triathlon Championships will be given to the person submitting the winning design; Any queries and proposed designs are to be submitted by not later than Wednesday 29th February to the Public Relations and Marketing Officer, Maria Vella-Galea either in person or else to PO Box 108, Valletta, VLT 1000 The Association reserves the right to retain existing logo, in the event that the new proposals do not meet the Associations expectations.

Win a 1-Year Malta

Triathlon Association Membership, free registration to National Duathlon and Triathlon Championships

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Malta Triathlon Association

PO Box 108 Valletta, VLT 1000 PHONE: +35679037933 E-MAIL: maltatriathlon@gmail.com

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Tri-News Editor
Maria Vella-Galea

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