Dear Member,
This newsletter is reaching you as an update to what has been going on in our Club in the last months. The street bar, bar and restaurant are now fully operational. The embellishment of the club premises has been almost completed and the premises are looking bright, clean and functional.
Members will be having their food and drinks served from state of the art facilities that each and every one of our loyal Members deserves.
1. Bar & Restaurant
The whole catering lease will be entrusted once again to Patrick Spiteri and his family who together with their dedicated staff managed and revamped so well the whole catering establishment.
As from this summer the bar and lido complex which have been impressively upgraded will be managed by Kenneth Vella of Giuseppe’s fame. Particular attention is being given to all the different sections in the lower part of the Club where every part will be fulfilling a different role. The changes/upgrades include the following:
– The area below the street bar has been converted into a lounge area which will be open from noon onwards. This part has been rendered very eye-catching with the introduction of very attractive outdoor furniture which will definitely make our premises the place to be this summer.
– The painting of all the walls inside and outside the premises. Works also included the hoisting of poles, railings and of the recently launched lighting system that will light up the Club’s premises.
– A further upgrade of the pizza preparation area which will also be serving a variety of foods. This area is up to state of the art standards and set in the cleanest of atmospheres. Non-gluten menus are also made available. The new management also took care of recruiting some of the best chefs on the island some which even enjoy an international fame while always making sure that prices are kept reasonable and affordable.
– The installation of a series of plasma TV screens now also in the lido part of the premises along the existing screens in the street bar area. Free access to internet for all Members by means of Wi-Fi.
– The installation of CCTV cameras all over the Club premises which will make sure that the whole area of the club premises will be surveyed hence controlling any form of abuse that might have been going on during the last years.
The impact of all this together is likely to make our premises as safe as possible. We can now definitely feel proud of our Club house.
Prices will be monitored while price list for drinks for members is approved by the Club Committee.
Price list for items offered for sale will be posted in a prominent place and so will be done for the price list for Members from the main bar of the lido. Any complaint is to be forwarded to any Committee Member with the least possible delay. This applies to all areas of operation whether it involves standards or pricing. Any discounts will be accorded only on the presentation of a valid membership card which belongs to the member that presents the same card.
2. Waterpolo Pitch and Committee Room
All necessary works on the waterpolo pitch have been carried out. This should be adequate for the conditions of our premises as seen last summer when this pitch was first introduced.
The safety net around the waterpolo pitch intended to keep away the nasty jelly fish will once again been installed. This is an initiative which proved to be a huge success in the last years.
Moreover, the Committee Room has been equipped with an air conditioning system. Due to this the Committee is in a position to hold its meetings in this room and this room is also being used as the venue for players’ meetings prior to matches. In fact the senior squad is always leaving from the Club premises as it heads to the National Pool to play the League matches.
3. Showers, dressing rooms and toilets
These have been refurbished to reflect the expectations of all Members.
The toilets which also include handicapped facilities are of high quality and will be cleaned regularly while the lighting system will be sensor controlled. The same goes for the dressing room which will be accessible to members on the presentation of a valid membership card. The exorbitant costs of water and electricity are known to all and everyone’s collaboration is required for a fluent operation of the showers and dressing room. Unnecessary delay in the dressing rooms will negatively affect another Member.
PLEASE TAKE CARE OF THESE FACILITIES AS IF THEY ARE IN YOUR OWN HOME, KEEP THEM CLEAN. DO NOT ALLOW ANYONE TO MISUSE THEM OR EVEN WORSE VANDALIZE THEM. IF WE LOOK AFTER OUR FACILITIES WE WILL FIND THEM CLEAN WHEN IT WILL BE OUR TURN TO USE THEM.
4. Club Sponsors
The Senior Team will be sponsored by Giuseppe’s while the Junior Team will be sponsored by Dive Deep Blue. We also have a new technical sponsor for swimwear which is the internationally renowned brand Jaked while Puma represented locally by Tuttosport will provide the rest of the technical apparel. From this newsletter we would like to thank the sponsors for opting to associate themselves with our Club.
5. Diving Centre & Beach facilities.
Operators Dive Deep Blue are operating the Centre from the same site occupied in the previous years.
Besides the aforementioned lounge area, they lower Club premises will be consisting of two other parts. One part will be a bar & snack area while the central part which will also see the introduction of attractive outdoor furniture will serve as a restaurant for all those who would like to eat at the Club. This same central area will also serve as the sunbed area during the day. Members will be also granted a 10% discount on the price that is normally paid for the use of sun beds.
Tables, chairs and umbrellas will continue to be provided free of charge to all Members.
Children
We appreciate that the Pitch is a place of relaxation for all. Therefore we appeal to all parents to make sure that their kids do not cause unnecessary disturbance to other Members particularly by running around unattended and damaging sun beds and other equipment
6. Opening hours
The lido facilities including showers and dressing rooms will be operated between 10am and 5pm. Deck area has to be kept free during matches and umbrellas might not be available on very windy days. Kindly note that the Bar Tender will be working under the Committee’s instruction (mainly in maintaining the place clean and in order and any lack of collaboration by Members or others on the Club premises will not be accepted.) Security officers and Police will be asked to intervene in case of indiscipline to orders either from the Committee or from the Bar Tender with the authorization of the Committee. The Club House is not a public place but private for the use of the Club Members.
7. Membership Fees
We encourage all Members to pay up their membership as soon as possible. We trust to provide our Members a new and improved experience when spending time this summer at the Club premises and the payment of this nominal fee € 45 (the cheapest for any waterpolo club in Malta) is the least we can do to help the Club. The section in the Statute that refers to the deadlines of the payments of fees refers to the right to vote during the AGM and not to the right of use of club facilities. Therefore we strongly encourage does who did not pay already to do so on their first visit of the Club. Members apart from the use of facilities in the Club premises will also be granted discounted drinks prices from bar and discounts on the use of sunbeds.
Gold Members
As is now customary we are once again proposing the Gold Membership which involves the payment of € 150. We kindly ask those who are in a position to do so to help the Club beyond the payment of the normal membership which is really a token fee in today’s day and age. Moreover, Gold Members are given extra benefits that include free sunbed upon booking in the newly embellished sunbed area along with discounted drinks and food prices. The Club requires these extra funds to keep on improving its team, its junior sector and its premises.
8. Senior Team
Karl Izzo has been appointed as the new head coach of San Ġiljan ASC. Izzo, who last season was at the helm of Sirens, has signed a two-year contract.
For Izzo this will be his second stint with San Ġiljan as in 2009 he was Risso’s no. 2.
A previous statement issued by the club said: “Karl Izzo brings his knowledge of the game, experience and enthusiasm to San Ġiljan and the club is looking forward to the upcoming season with confidence that good results will be obtained to further consolidate the club’s position among the elite of local waterpolo.”
Anthony Galea has returned to San Ġiljan while the club have also signed Liam Grixti (loan) and Mark Borg Spiteri from Marsascala. Two promising players have alos joined the Club. These are Jean Claude Cutajar and Matthew Fenech.
Paul Fava has been appointed as the new team captain and Karl Galea vice-Captain. Two top foreigners have been recruited for this season. These are Filip Trajkovic from Primorac, Montenegro and Croatian Nikola Sutic who plays for VK JUG Dubrovnik. The rest of the squad is the same as last year with the right blend of young and experienced players.
9. Junior Team
After having revamped the Club’s youth sector during the last two summers, this season will see us compete once again in the national Under 14, Under 16 and Under 19 league. Training went onsince last Autumn with Swimming Coach Monique Mangion while this winter’s waterpolo training was conducted by Santino Micallef. Some of our junior palyers have been picked to train regularly with the Senior Team under the supervision of Head Coach Karl Izzo and most of them debuted in the Winter League while some of them were even chosen in their respective age group national teams. Training will be on a daily basis in Summer at the Pitch while some of junior palyers will be attending some waterpolo classes that will be held at our Club by the Club’s ex senior coach Marco Risso.
Any parents who are interested in enrolling their kids are to contact any Committee Member.
This year’s International Tournament organized in conjunction with the St. Julian’s Local Council will be played from the 18th to the 21st of July and will feature the participation of two Italian teams along with the Club’s female team.
Finally we would like to thank you for your support. We need your help with the nursery where help is required in the recruitment of more boys and in day to day administration.
Participation in the recent fund raising activities has not always been satisfactory however the last activity has boosted our morale and especially that of those hard working Committee and Club Members who work very hard to put up these activities. We will be organizing others in the near future and we look forward to see you there. We invite you to come to the Club, bring over your guests and friends. We trust in your collaboration.
Sincerely,
The Committee