Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/717204
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 AUGUST 2016 11 Feature PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD suitable for such boats. Omar Vella, of the Senglea Regatta Supporters Club, told MaltaToday that sculling was totally different to what Maltese rowers are used to. He said that the club sent a number of rowers to compete abroad every year, albeit not in sliding-seat com- petitions, as they had no training in that discipline. "We would love to have the oppor- tunity to learn and be able to com- pete internationally," Vella said. "The association is already doing a lot to try and get us more exposure abroad; hopefully we will get to a point where we can train and compete in this dis- cipline too." MaltaToday learned that it is not just the regatta clubs that would wel- come the opportunity to train and compete in sculling competitions. In fact, the newly-formed Universi- ty of Malta Rowing Club is currently awaiting delivery of two eight-man sculls from the Oxford College Row- ing Club in the UK. Club president Steve Said told Mal- taToday that he believed this sport would – slowly but surely – gain popularity, "even though the weather has to be extremely calm and rowing in these kinds of boats can only be done in Grand Harbour and other inlets that would offer shelter". "We plan on introducing Olym- pic-style rowing so that in the near future, if Maltese athletes are up to par, Malta would be represented internationally in another sporting discipline. "Our take as to why Maltese ath- letes do not participate in interna- tional rowing competitions like the Olympics is because Malta did not have any boats that are used interna- tionally but rather only train on tra- ditional Maltese boats," he said. Said acknowledged that the young club – set up by him and seven other undergrad students – was still get- ting on its feet, but it planned to im- mediately introduce new university students to the possibility of joining their club for training on sculls. He said the club had received a lot of assistance from the Malta Rowing Association, as well as from FISA, the international rowing governing body. "As of yet, we are still hoping to get more help from the government regarding a clubhouse so that we would be even more independent," Said said. The club has already started train- ing on professional rowing machines known as 'ergs' (short for ergometer), which can accurately measure work output and performance, allowing rowers to record their speed and distance as if they were on the water. But as the regatta draws closer, they are not the only ones training. All the regatta clubs pick up their training in August; after months of gym training and conditioning, the rowers spend the last weeks leading up to 8 September on the water. Cospicua club president Evan Butt- igieg said that everyone got more excited as the hype about the regatta starts building and the rowers get on the water for a couple of weeks of in- tensive training. "These rowers all have full-time jobs, so we train every evening, seven days a week, in the weeks before the regatta," he said. Vella agreed, saying that Senglea rowers would also spend most of the time on the water, rather than in the gym, in these last weeks before the regatta. A member of the Vittoriosa regatta club, answering only to "Fanali", said the club's rowers were already look- ing forward to the regatta. He said they too spent most of the off-season months in the gym and on physical conditioning. "But the regatta is all about the rowers and the boats," he said. And that, for regatta followers all around Malta, is simple gospel truth. Because even if many bemoan Malta's absence in the Olympics, and others speed up preparations to get Maltese rowers there some- day soon, thousands will flock to Grand Harbour come 8 September to watch the seven clubs row their hearts out in a bid to win. This is about their hometown. This is about ingrained rivalry with the neighbouring city. And it is definitely about the shield. But most importantly, this is about the rowers and the boats. Wise words indeed, Fanali, my friend. The boats of the regatta The boats are specially-built racing boats with fixed seats, single thole pins, and no outriggers. There are currently five classes of racing boat, built to strictly-enforced specifications: the dghajsa tal-pass with two oars (one standing rower, one seated); the dghajsa tal-pass with four oars (coxless four, two standing, two seated); the dghajsa tal-midalji with four oars (coxless four, two standing, two seated); the kajjik with two oars (one standing, one seated); and the frejgatina with two oars and coxswain (both seated). Racing and placing in the regatta Racing takes place over a 1,040m long course between Marsa and Customs House in Valletta. There are 10 races, one for each of the five classes of boat in two categories: A (open) and B (reserves and juniors). Prizes are awarded to the first three boats in each race, and points are accrued towards a victor ludorum trophy known as the Aggregate Shield for Category A and a lesser shield for Category B. "We plan on introducing Olympic-style rowing so that in the near future, if Maltese athletes are up to par, Malta would be represented internationally in another sporting discipline" Steve Said PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MANGION