Otters

Sabine Cassar-Alpert in Gozo blogs about the attempts by Otters Aquatic Sports Club to have a swimming pool constructed in Gozo:

Water polo is a very healthy sport, and if you consider the enormous amounts of sea surrounding the island you’d think it should be “big” in Gozo! Well, for the Otters and their supporters it is pretty big! The Otters A.S.C. (Aquatic Sports Club) has been in existence for 36 years – and it is the only surviving water polo club from a large number that had sprouted in Gozo in the seventies. Not only that, but since 1981 they have participated uninterruptedly in competitions organised on a National basis by the Aquatic Swimming Association of Malta – which is a record participation at this level for a Gozitan sports organisation!

It is a shame that little recognition and even less help is forthcoming from authorities and ministries, who have been dragging their feet over providing the team with proper training facilities. Top priority for the club right now is a pool which would ensure year-round training for the teams; at present training is possible only during the summer months, which obviously puts the Gozitan club at a huge disadvantage vis-a-vis its Maltese rivals who have continuous access to the National Pool, if not their own! But missing out on many months of training is not the only obstacle: For the past three years the occurrence of ever-growing numbers of jellyfish has been wreaking havoc not only with training sessions, but even league matches have had to be postponed.

This year the Otters’ foreign coach, Saso Christovski from Macedonia, visited Gozitan schools where he showed DVDs about water polo and handed out sign-up forms to students, in a bid to attract new talent to the club. The campaign was a success: 35 kids signed up for its water polo school for kids aged 8 to 12. You could also see it this way: 35 youngsters have been given something meaningful, healthy and educational to do in their free time; isn’t that alone a worthy contribution to society, in this day and age of computer-addicted obese children? Unless the club can provide adequate training facilities, there is a good chance for water polo to die a literally painful death in Marsalforn’s jellyfish infested waters within a few years. If giving support to the Otters’ plea does not generate enough votes, then how about thousands of Gozitans who could and probably would make use of such a facility, too?