Going for Gold – Government looking at developing local potential

Minister for Sport Steven Linares this week has indicated that plans to develop local sports potential
has been tabled as part of an overall strategy for the future. “We are aiming to get medals,” pointed
out Mr Linares as he explained that he had already put the wheels in motion to ensure that local
sports start to look at aiming even higher than it has already achieved.
The move comes as Gibraltar will see new sports facilities due to be opened with increased
resources due to be in place. “They now have the facilities now what we need to do is to make them
work and to start aiming higher,” explained Mr Linares as he highlighted that among one of the
concerns was the “level of dedication” that existed among some sportspeople expressing the belief
that “Gibraltar sports can achieve even higher.”
The Government is understood to have already started tabling plans for the future in which they
hope to have a strategy with the aim at assisting sports people to have resources to achieve more at
international level and start looking at competing at a higher level. A decrease in the number of
medals is understood to have been seen recently even though local sports people have been
achieving high. The latest policy will be combined with the new sports facilities which are already
aimed at providing Gibraltar with additional sporting venues and greater scope to start delving into
the sports tourism industry.
Among some of the key areas which will be looked into will be the level of coaching which is
provided and encouraging greater “dedication” towards achieving more within the sporting field.
Already Gibraltar has seen sports people such as Amanda Carreras in tennis showing how dedication
and determination in trying to break into the elite side of sport is achievable. Her performances at
the Island Games obtaining gold for Gibraltar.
He also expressed concern that their culture of “patting each other on the back” needed to be
rethought. “Sometimes we pat each other on the back but the sportsman should be looking at the
result and comparing. Patting each other on the back doesn’t always help.”