Duo Jake Castaldi and Dielyn Edwards (Blackball), and Mattea Saliba (Squash) are the winners of November’s Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award.

Jake Castaldi, who will turn 15 in January, and Dielyn Edwards, who is 14 years old, secured the U-15 category title at the Blackball World Championships held in Malta in November. In a thrilling final, the Maltese duo faced Marcel Kusa and Riley Patterson from Northern Ireland. Castaldi and Edwards maintained their lead for much of the match, but Kusa and Patterson consistently stayed within striking distance. Ultimately, Castaldi and Edwards triumphed in a tense 6-5 decider, securing the championship title and lifting the trophy as World Champions.

Meanwhile, squash champion Mattea Saliba, 14, has won the Girls Under 15 Irish Junior Open Tournament in Dublin. She sailed through the tournament and reached the final without losing a single game. This is Mattea’s fifth European title this year and it will most certainly push her up to number 7 in the Europe’s Girls Under 15’s ranking.

The Atlas Youth Athlete of the Month Award was presented to the winners by Matthew von Brockdorff, Managing Director and CEO of Atlas Insurance. The Malta Sports Journalists Association was represented by Administrator Stephen Azzopardi. Prior to this presentation, tennis player Alex Degabriele was presented with the trophy for being one of the winners in July.

This award is a joint initiative of the Malta Sports Journalists Association and Atlas Insurance. The adjudicating panel of this award takes note of all the youths’ national and international achievements of the month under review, and at the same time, it invites local sport associations and federations to send in their nominations for consideration if they feel that any of their under-21 athletes have distinguished themselves during that month. All the monthly winners are eligible for the annual award.

Nominations for this award may be sent via email to info@maltasportsjournalists.com. The rules and regulations of this award can be viewed through the link https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/atlas-youth-athlete-of-the-month-rules-and-regulations/

Jake Castaldi u Dielyn Edwards (Blackball) flimkien ma' Mattea Saliba (Squash) huma r-rebbieħa tal-Atlas Atleta Żagħżugħ tax-Xahar ta’ Novembru.

Jack Castaldi li jagħlaq 15-il sena f’Jannar li ġej u Dielyn Edwards li għandu 14-il sena rebħu l-kategorija tad-doubles ta’ taħt il-15-il sena, waqt il-Kampjonati Dinjija tal-Blackball li saru f’pajjiżna fil-bidu ta’ Novembru.

Fil-finali, li kienet waħda ferm eċċitanti, iż-żgħażagħ Maltin affrontaw lil Marcel Kusa u Riley Patterson mill-Irlanda ta’ Fuq. Castaldi u Edwards kienu għal ħafna drabi fil-vantaġġ bl-Irlandiżi pero li baqgħu fil-logħba. Finalment il-Maltin rebħu dan il-konfront 6-5 u għollew t-trofew bħala Champions tad-Dinja.

Min-naħa l-oħra, iċ-champion tal-isquash Mattea Saliba li għandha 14-il sena, rebħet il-Girls Under 15 Irish Junior Open Tournament li sar f’Dublin billi rebħet il-logħbiet kollha. Dan huwa l-ħames titlu Ewropew għal din is-sena u li wisq probabbli se jtellaha fil-post numru 7 fir-ranking Ewropew ta’ taħt il-15-il sena.  

Il-preżentazzjoni tal-unur tal-Atlas Atleta Żagħżugħ tax-Xahar lir-rebbieħa saret minn Matthew von Brockdorff, Direttur Maniġerjali u CEO ta’ Atlas Insurance. F’isem l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports kien hemm preżenti l-Amministratur Stephen Azzopardi. Qabel din il-preżentazzjoni, il-plejer tat-tennis Alex Degabriele ġie ppreżentat bit-trofew bħala wieħed mir-rebbieħa għax-xahar ta' Lulju.

Dan il-premju ta’ kull xahar jingħata b’inizjattiva konġunta bejn l-Għaqda Ġurnalisti Sports flimkien ma’ Atlas Insurance. Il-panel li jiġġudika r-rebbieħa ta’ dan il-premju jieħu nota tas-suċċessi miksuba lokalment u internazzjonalment matul dak ix-xahar u fl-istess ħin jistieden lill-assoċjazzjonijiet u federazzjonijiet sportivi sabiex jibagħtu n-nomini tagħhom. In-nominazzjonijiet iridu jkunu għal atleti ta’ taħt il-21 sena.

In-nominazzjonijiet għandhom jaslu b’email fuq info@maltasportsjournalists.com. Ir-regolamenti ta’ dan l-unur jinsabu f’dan il-link https://www.maltasportsjournalists.com/atlas-youth-athlete-of-the-month-rules-and-regulations/