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Sports Fest 2023 Brings BMX, Parkour, Olympic Wrestling And Much More To Buġibba Promenade

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An incredible new festival celebrating all things street has just been announced.

On the 15th July, the St Paul’s Bay Local Council, in collaboration with the Malta Skateboarding Association and Malta Street Sport Association, will be hosting the first ever Sports Fest in the Bugibba Square and along the Promenade.

“We are mostly excited about once again bringing the street sport community together, which was the main reason for creating MSSA,” Karl Naja, co-founder of the MSSA told Lovin Malta.

“Apart from that, we are also excited about sharing our community with the general public through free tryouts anyone can register for, giving us and our partners the chance to share our passion with others and encourage people to start some sort of street sport.”

The event will feature 13 different sporting practices: skateboarding, BMX, scooter, inline rollerblading, 1v1 football, street basketball, volleyball, parkour, street dance, stand up paddle boarding, olympic wrestling, sailing, and a fun run.

“We will be setting up smaller ramps for children, so they can use it as a sort of kids area. All they need to do is register and bring their helmet and BMX, skateboard, scooter or rollerblades.”

The day’s athletic festivities will also include a five kilometre run dedicated to the memory of Victor Calvagna, a doctor who tragically lost his life in early 2022, after being hit by a car while jogging in Qawra.

All proceeds generated through the event will be donated to Puttinu Cares.

The MSA and MSSA have been collaborating recently to organise events which encourage (especially) young people to engage more positively with their physical surroundings, by reinvigorating public spaces and using public infrastructure as much as possible.

Their work encourages physical exercise and engagement in a variety of sporting communities – whilst also campaigning for publicly owned land to be used as well as possible, in the interest of the people who intend to use it.

Though Sports Fest is being held on July 15th, which is likely to be nearing peak summer heat, organisers have prepared for this reality.

“To be honest, the heat is on our mind, and that is why we will start our proper shows and activities after 5pm, and prolong everything until late in the day.”

On top of that, anyone who gets a little warm can add swimming to the long list of sports which will be included on the day, by taking a dip in the sea just a few metres away from the whole event.

The MSSA co-founder also added that the work between the MSA, MSSA and Saint Paul’s Bay local council won’t be finished once Sports Fest comes to a close.

The wood required to build a new St Paul's Bay skatepark, which Naja says has been sitting in a garage since 2020

The wood required to build a new St Paul's Bay skatepark, which Naja says has been sitting in a garage since 2020

“Sports Fest is the first phase to building a skatepark in the north,” Naja told Lovin Malta.

“The St Paul’s Bay Local Council has committed to building a skatepark in an unused area close to the aquarium. The skatepark we are building is part of a Project MSSA had started with Reġjun Tramuntana in 2019.”

There is technically a skatepark in the area, which currently consists of three extremely damaged and unusable ramps, a lot of dust, and more rusted nails than is probably appropriate in a place where falling over is part of the fun.

For all skaters and street sport enthusiasts in the area, news of a new park will be extremely welcome.

“We had to build a new skatepark back then for a street sport festival that got postponed due to COVID.”

“Since then we have been working with Reġjun Tramuntana to find a permanent location for this skatepark. This year, with the help of MSA and the St Paul’s Bay Local Council, we have found a location and the council approved it in one of their meetings this month.”

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Pawlu is a journalist interested in Race, Environmental Issues, Music, Migration and Skate Culture. Pawlu loves to swim everyday and believes that cars are an inadequate solution to our earthly woes. You can get in touch at [email protected]

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