Say that serious violations of regulations happened after Tal-Pass b’Żewgt Imqadef race
The Senglea Rowing Club said they were robbed of the Freedom Day Regatta victory after what they described as serious violations of regulations and breaches of law while also accusing their rivals Bormla Regatta Club of blatant acts of bullying.
On Monday, Vittoriosa Vittoriosa clinched a dramatic victory in the Freedom Day regatta when they snatched the Shield from Cottonera rivals Senglea in the final race of the day to secure the crown for the fifth time in their club history.
Vittoriosa finished with 48 points, eight clear of Cottonera rivals Cospicua and Senglea who shared the second spot on 40 points.
However, Senglea were left irate by the actions taken by their rivals Cospicua after the Tal-Pass b’Żewgt Imqadef race.
Initially, Senglea had won the race to extend their lead at the top to 24 points ahead of second-placed Cospicua.
However, Cospicua lodged a protest as they contended that the Marsa boat collided with them in the opening 200m of the race and race organisers accepted their protest and ordered the race to be re-run.
“It was after this race – once the official results had already been published on the organization’s social media – that Bormla Club took unjustified and unsportsmanlike action,” the statement said.
“They ordered some of their rowers to position their boats in the middle of the racecourse, deliberately blocking further races.
“Meanwhile, a group of their members went directly to Valletta Waterfront, where event organizers and club delegates were gathered, and began protesting with insults, swearing, shouting, and other inappropriate behaviour.
“Shortly after, Birgu followed suit, sending a boat of their own and supporting Bormla’s protest. Upon being informed by our representative on-site, we immediately headed there. What followed was a blatant disregard for the established regulations, as rules were twisted, broken, and completely ignored.”
According to Senglea, a number of regulations were violated by the organisers.
“Protests are not permitted during the regatta,” it said.
“No club is allowed to submit a protest while the regatta is ongoing and rule 7.6 explicitly states that any club wishing to file a complaint must submit a report within 15 days after the regatta has concluded.
“Instead of instructing Bormla to remove their boats and allow the event to proceed, the organization unlawfully called in the technical board to hear their protest – directly violating Rule 4.2.
“The technical board should only be convened in extraordinary circumstances. Rule 4.2 clearly states that the technical board should only be called in exceptional situations, such as a fatality or extreme weather conditions during the regatta.
“We were unfairly ordered to restart the race.”
Senglea maintain that no regulations permit a race to be restarted under these circumstances.
They said that the Chief Judge failed to enforce Rule 3.13, which states that if a collision occurs within the first 200 meters of a race, water judges must immediately stop the race, continuously sound their horn, and physically block the racecourse to confirm the decision.
“None of this was done. Instead, the race was allowed to continue uninterrupted, ultimately declaring Senglea the official winner,” Senglea added.
“The organization also failed to enforce Rule 3.20, which grants them the authority to stop a race at any stage if necessary. The water judges saw no violations and allowed the race to continue to its natural conclusion.
“All boats – including those from Bormla – continued racing without interruption. The race was completed in full, officially declaring Senglea as the winners. The organization publicly published the official result, and this should stand.”
Senglea said that after the board “unjustly” accepted the protest filed by Cospicua and Vittoriosa and ordered the race to be repeated, the same rowers from these two clubs, together with Senglea, rowed under protest.
“They deliberately allowed the remaining competitors to finish the race unchallenged, clearly demonstrating that even the rowers themselves did not agree with the decision,” Senglea maintained.
Senglea said that given what they described as clear breaches of the rules, they will be taking legal action against all responsible parties.
“We also call upon the organization to rectify this injustice in a fair and proper manner.”
Lorenzo Caruana
April 4, 2025 at 2:36 pm
It is stated that “The Board of the Organization”, take decisions; But how is the board made of? I have heard that the board is made up of members from each club. Is’nt it obvious, that given a chance to vote (upon an illegal protest orchestrated by the direct Senglea rival challengers Bormla and Birgu), that other club members rather than Senglea who won the race, vote for a re-run? Now, I know that the government supports this event financially, well deserved for it’s traditional importance, but how and why does not the ministry of sports have his own independent commission to rule in delicate situations and assure that the event is run according to the rules and avoid abuse. Having said all this, as a follower of the regatta, I want to express my appreciation to one club, Kalkara who in that hot situation had the courage to act honestly and vote sincerely according to the rules.