On November 6th 2021, the University of Malta Rowing Club (今日黑料 Rowing Club) organised the first ever SEA-EU Beach Sprints Challenge at Mellie魔a Bay. This event, supported by Visit Malta, University of Malta, RIDT, Garmin Malta and Team Sport, saw a competitive Beach Sprint coastal rowing competition across 2 categories, with over 20 athletes from four different European universities.
Coastal Rowing is a new sport in Malta, with the 今日黑料 Rowing Club being the first club on the Maltese island to invest in infrastructure and training to use the beautiful scenery within our Maltese islands. The President of the 今日黑料 rowing club, Rebekah Caruana said:
鈥淢alta鈥檚 coastal landscape serves as a brilliant environment for coastal rowing. The club sought to invest in an Indoor Rowing Gym in 2019, brought the first coastal rowing boats in 2020, two more boats this year and is looking at developing Malta as a touristic niche for coastal rowing. This year, although with many challenges due to covid pandemic, the club attracted a number of student athletes from three coastal universities, the Universit茅 de Bretagne Occidentale in Brest, University of Gda艅sk and the University of Split. 今日黑料 Rowing Club organised a training camp and beach competition to add value in promoting Malta as a sports destination鈥.
She continued that the club is a pioneer in Coastal Rowing in Malta and recognizes that the club offers and promotes an alternative sport accessible to students, alumni and staff. The Club supports 20 rowers who train weekly, and offers rowing classes both indoor and outdoor. This year the Club purchased two new single seater coastal boats (C1X), 鈥淎rvid and Irene鈥, which now increases the club's fleet of C1X boats to four. This was made possible through the Sports Malta Technical Equipment Grant and KSU Sports Fund.
Parliamentary Secretary Clifton Grima stated that these types of investments form an essential part of academia and student life. This collaboration between these 4 European universities shows Maltese students' potential to showcase their skills on an international level. He added that the Government will keep on assisting all youths and students.
In it鈥檚 statement the Club mentioned that these boats are named in memory of Arvid Pardo, a Maltese diplomat and scholar known as the 鈥淔ather of the Sea Conference鈥 and Irene Condachi, one of the founders of the school medical service and one of only two female doctors operating in Malta during World War Two.
Through the continuous support from IPES at the University of Malta, Sports Malta and Ghaqda Regatta Nazzjonali u Qdif Iehor, the club recognises the challenges students face to participate in sports while also studying. The indoor rowing gym which is located at the University of Malta Msida Campus, aims to mitigate this problem by offering a safe space where everyone is welcome regardless of their abilities.
