In 1974, a group of youths, members of the Youth Centre in
the Parish of St Joseph the Worker in Birkirkara had big dreams.
Whilst their activities were based solely around football
matches organised by the now defunct Birkirkara Sport Association, their
ambitions were restricted through the regulations youth centres had at the
time. It was then that the decision to form a club was taken.
Following a general meeting, in August 1975, the first
committee was elected, with Frans Borg named as president.
The committee was made up of Joseph Farrugia (secretary
general), Euchar Camilleri (treasurer), Joseph Mallia (assistant secretary
general), Mario Borg, Vince Pisani and Charles Sciberras.
Forty-five years later Camilleri holds the post of secretary
general whilst Farrugia remains as a highly-active member seen working hard at
all club events.
At the time of inception, one of the founding members, Mario
Borg, proposed that the newly set up entity would be referred to as Birkirkara
St Joseph Sports Club – named in honour of the locality but not restricted to
just football – at the time the locality had 14 football teams.
The vision, from the very start, was to be innovative and to
provide education to club members through various sports.
The club’s original colours were orange and black, though
these were changed to yellow and black in 1978 when the club’s logo was
launched. These colours remain
synonymous with the club to this very day.
Since then the club’s sporting activities have evolved.
Although football has been part of the club since its inception, with its
teams participating in amateur football and youth football (giving
birth to the Birkirkara Football Youth Nursery), it was triathlon that really put the
Birkirkara SJ on the local and international sporting scene.
This was followed by the introduction of open water swimming
races – in this sector the club is considered to be the pioneer of such sport
in Malta. BSJ also has strong participation in cycling and athletics.
Birkirkara SJ has produced a number of prestigious results
both in the local and international field, with athletes flying the club’s
colours high and with pride wherever they go.
Two athletes who have consistently flown the club colours
abroad are triathlete Dermot Galea, who was also the first Maltese athlete to
qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Fellow triathlete Rudolph Agius followed’ Galea’s success
and put the club’s name on the World Championships starting list twice.
Meanwhile swimmer Isabelle Zarb has represented Malta far
and wide in open water swimming competitions.
The club is also an organising entity in itself.
Its long running Sprint Triathlon Series, the 5k Road Running League and the Open Water
Swimming Championships are just a few of the events it organises.
Suffice to say that all the club’s events are held under the
auspices of the relative national federations, with whom the club has a strong
working relationship.
Club members occupy administrative posts in various national
associations and federations, thus
widening the club’s experience in the field of event organisation.
Safe to say that the club’s annual racing calendar consists
of approximately 20 events. In addition to these events, the club is associated
with Ocean Lava Malta Triathlon and X-Waters Swimming Championships.
“Birkirkara St Joseph Sports Club does not only cater for
top or elite athletes,” secretary general Camilleri said. “Within its ranks
there is a variety of members coming from all walks of life. New members are
always welcomed with open arms – the only requirement being that of adhering to
the club’s ethics, sportsmanship and fairplay.”
As the club celebrates 45 years of continuous activity, it aims to remain on the forefront of innovation.
Summer calendar
Its investment in equipment is continuous – the main
objective to provide the best possible and safest race experience for
participating athletes in its events. It has also devoted substantial effort in
the training of its pool of race officials and marshals by experts in the
field.
Covid-19 threatened to put paid to the club’s summer of
sport calendar however, it was quick to adapt to the situation. Changes to the
calendar were made to ensure that athletes, who look so much forward to the
club’s events will still be able to enjoy a summer of sport.
In fact, the club is planning to host its athletics,
triathlon and open water swimming events.
The first events will take place on Wednesday, July 15 when the
Eurosport 5k Road Running Series kicks off.
This will be followed by the first triathlon race for the
season on Sunday, July 19, whilst the Open Water Swimming season will launch on
July 22.
As the club prepares to welcome athletes to their events, it will be celebrating its 45th anniversary proving that the ambitions set by the group of young men back in the early seventies were not just dreams.