Around 3,000 people are taking part in this year’s Let’s Move Malta programme, SportMalta’s flagship summer initiative promoting healthier and more active lifestyles across Malta and Gozo.
Minister for Education and Sport Byron Camilleri visited the Cottonera Sports Complex this week together with SportMalta chief executive Mark Cutajar and chairman Matthew Pisani.
During the visit, they met participants, parents, coaches and helpers involved in the programme and observed several of the activities taking place.
Let’s Move Malta runs over eight weeks and offers a broad range of sports, including swimming, athletics, football, gymnastics, fitness, dance, judo and sailing.
The sessions are being held across seven centres in Malta and Gozo, allowing participants to attend activities closer to home and reducing the need for long-distance travel.
More than 180 qualified coaches and helpers are involved in delivering the programme. Their responsibilities include ensuring that sessions remain safe, structured and educational for participants of different ages and abilities.
The variety of disciplines gives children and young people the chance to experience sports they may not normally encounter through schools or clubs. Adults are also offered organised fitness sessions as part of the programme.
Camilleri said the initiative reflects the Government’s commitment to using sport as a tool for improving health, wellbeing and personal development.
“When we invest in sport, we are investing in people,” he said. “Through programmes such as Let’s Move Malta, we are creating more opportunities for children, young people and families to adopt a more active lifestyle, while developing important values such as discipline, teamwork and respect.”
The minister also highlighted the importance of swimming lessons, describing swimming as an essential life skill in an island country.
He said teaching children how to swim also raises awareness of water safety and can help reduce the risk of accidents at sea.
Following the activities, Camilleri, Cutajar and Pisani toured the infrastructural projects currently under way at the Cottonera Sports Complex.
The works form part of wider investment in sports facilities around the country, complementing participation programmes aimed at encouraging more people to remain active.
Cutajar said the involvement of around 3,000 participants demonstrated the continued trust placed by families in SportMalta’s programmes.
