Cap. 626 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 626   Cap. 455.   Cap. 490.   Cap. 9.   Cap. 9. Cap. 276. Cap. 373.   Cap. 386. Cap. 9.   Cap. 9. Cap. 593.      Cap. 365.   Cap. 386.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Academy" and, or "Sports School" means an organisation of a commercial nature having the scope of providing training to athletes

*Articles 31 to 37, paragraphs (a), (b) (i) and (ii), (c), (d) (ii), (iv) and (v) and (e) of sub-article (1) of article 76 came into force. under the age of sixteen (16), with the aim of providing an adequate ambience for their development and with the objective of encouraging participation of the aforementioned minors in events organised by the respective national sports organisations;

"Act" means the Sports Governance and Integrity Act, and includes any regulations and rules made, and guidelines issued, thereunder;

"advisory committee" means an advisory committee established in accordance with article 30;

"anti-doping conventions" means the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention and the International Convention Against Doping in Sport of UNESCO;

"Association" or "National Association" means an association of clubs on a national level which group together for the purpose of promoting a particular sport or for organising competitive games in such sport;

"athlete" means any person who competes in sport at the international level as defined by each international federation or at the national level as defined by each national association, and any person who participates in sport under the authority of any country, government, or other sports organisation;

"athlete support person" means coach, trainer, manager, agent, team staff, official, medical or paramedical personnel, parent or any other person working with, treating or assisting an athlete participating in or preparing for a sports competition;

"Authority" means the Authority for Integrity in Maltese Sport established by article 5 and any references in this Act or any other law to the Authority shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as including a reference to any person authorised by the Authority to act for or on its behalf;

"authorisation" shall include all forms of recognition as defined in this article;

"Board" means the Board of Directors of the Authority composed of the Chairperson and members appointed in accordance with the provisions of article 5(3);

"CAS" means the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which serves as an international arbitration and appeals tribunal for matters related to sport, which has its seat in Lausanne, Switzerland;

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority as appointed in accordance with the provisions of article 5; "Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority appointed in accordance with the provisions of article 13(2);

"club" means an association of persons, whether in the form of a civil partnership, or a commercial partnership or otherwise, in which individuals constitute themselves in or form part of an association mainly for the purpose of engaging or organising sport activities;

"decision" includes any directive, determination, direction, condition, measure, requirement or specification, howsoever described, made by the Authority;

"Deputy Chairperson" means the Deputy Chairperson or any other person appointed to act as a Deputy Chairperson in the circumstances mentioned in article 5(5);

"directorate" means any directorate established in accordance with the provisions of article 29;

"employee" means a person employed by the Authority;

"European Federation" means an association of national associations or federations which acts as the governing body of a sporting discipline in Europe and of which the Maltese national association or federation is a member;

"Federation" or "National Federation" means an association being mainly an association of a number of National Associations of the same sport activity or of associated sport activities;

"international federation" means an association of national associations or federations which acts as the governing body of a sporting discipline worldwide and of which the Maltese national association or federation is a member;

"licence" means a permit granted by the Authority to operators, without prejudice to the definition of this term, in order to run and administer a sports facility;

"licence holder" means a person who holds a permit issued in terms of this Act;

"Maltese Olympic Committee" means the Maltese Olympic Committee established on the 9th June 1928;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for sports;

"operator" means any natural or legal person who operates and manages a sports facility. The term "operator", as used in this Act, and unless the context otherwise requires, may mean any of the two kinds of natural or legal persons, as hereunder:

(a) a registered person or government entity who holds an authorisation, permit or licence from the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or

(b) a private entity or person who operates sports facilities who, though not obliged to register with the Authority in accordance with the provisions of this Act, elects to apply for a licence;

"person" includes a body of persons and any other body corporate established by law;

"prohibited substances" means prohibited substances or methods as defined in the WADC;

"recognition" means the formal recognition by the Authority which is sought with reference to the suitability of licence holders and others involved in the operation of sports facilities to continue to be licensed for the relevant period and which the Authority is entitled to grant through or by the provision, issuance, validation, confirmation, certification or otherwise in writing to an applicant and includes any licence, permission, authorisation, approval, confirmation, certification by or registration with the Authority in terms of any special law which the Authority is entitled to administer or enforce and the terms ''authorisation'' or ''authorisation holder'' in the provisions of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the relevant form of recognition, or the holder thereof, as the case may be;

"Register" means the Register of Sport Persons referred to in Part VII;

"registered person" means a person registered in the Register of Sport Persons under Part VII;

"sport" includes all forms of physical or mental activity which, through casual or organised participation or through training activities, aim at expressing or improving physical and mental well-being, forming social relationships or obtaining results in competition at all levels, but excludes those activities held for therapeutic or clinical purposes or are part of the activities of health institutions or health centres, and includes any other activity as the Minister may from time to time and after consultation with SportMalta prescribe;

"SportMalta" means the body established in accordance with article 4 of the Sports Act;

"sports facilities" means enclosed areas of sports pavilions, outdoor stadiums, gymnasiums, fitness centres, boxing arenas, swimming pools and sea-bound waterpolo pitches, snooker and billiard halls, bowling alleys, athletics facilities, artificial or natural turf pitches, and other similar places where athletes and other persons assemble to engage in physical exercise, participate in athletic competition, or witness sporting events;

"sport governance" means the exercise of power, with consideration given to influence, authority, and the nature of decision making in sport at club, national and international level. This includes the creation of policies, the setting up of structures and the administration of sport at grassroot, amateur and professional level from their technical, physical, financial and organisational aspects, whether in or out of competition and in the organisation of sporting competitions and events;

"sport integrity" means the manifestation of the ethics and values which promote the confidence of the public in sport, including fair and honest performances and outcomes by athletes and athlete support persons, unaffected by illegitimate enhancements or external interests, and positive conduct by athletes, administrators, officials, and other athlete support personnel, both in and out of competition, which enhances the reputation and standing of the sporting contest and of sport overall;

"sports school" means an undertaking, organisation or enterprise, by whomsoever owned or managed, the main function of which is to educate on a full-time or part-time basis in any particular sporting discipline or sporting disciplines;

"testing" means the parts of the doping control process involving test distribution planning, the sample collection from an athlete, sample handling, and sample transport to a laboratory;

"Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established by article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act;

"undesirable person" means a person who:

(a) has been convicted of a crime, wherever committed:

(i) against the safety of the Government in terms of articles 55, 56, 57, 58 and 59 of the Criminal

Code; or

(ii) against public safety in terms of articles

311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316 and 317 of the Criminal

Code; or

(iii) specified in the Schedule to the

Extradition Act, and liable to a term of imprisonment of more than three (3) years; or

(iv) against the Prevention of Money

Laundering Act; or

(v) in violation of articles 307, 308, 309, 310,

311, 312, 313, 314, 315 of the Companies Act, or in violation of article 191 of the Criminal Code; or

(vi) against Sub-Titles IVA and B of Title IX

of Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code; or

(vii) against the Prevention of Corruption in Sport Act; or

(viii) against the laws or by the courts of another country with respect to the crimes substantially equivalent to those specified in sub-paragraphs (i), (iv), (v) and (vii);

(b) is the subject of sanctions or restrictions issued by the United Nations, the European Union or other international governmental body of which Malta is a member and which are adopted or applied by the Government in terms of the National Interest (Enabling Powers) Act, and, or any other applicable law, and this for such time as such sanctions remain in force;

(c) is the subject of an international arrest warrant or of a European Arrest Warrant or is otherwise wanted by INTERPOL or by another equivalent trans-national police organisation, and this for such time as he so remains;

(d) is insolvent or bankrupt and unable to pay his debts as they fall due;

(e) being a legal entity, the director, the administrator or other officer or the controlling shareholder of which is:

(i) an undesirable person, or

(ii) in case of a director or officer disqualified to be a director of a company in terms of the

Companies Act or of a similar law of a jurisdiction of which the director or officer is a national or a resident and this for as long as such person remains so disqualified;

"WADA" means the World Anti-Doping Agency, being a foundation constituted under the Swiss Civil Code in Lausanne on 10 November, 1999;

"WADC" or "Code" means the World Anti-Doping Code first adopted by WADA on 5 March, 2003, and any other subsequent amendments;

"whereabouts" means information provided by selected athletes about their location to either the national association or federation, or an international federation governing their practised sporting discipline or the Authority, which has included such athletes in their respective registered testing pool as part of the selected athletes’ responsibilities.

(2) The Minister, acting on the advice of the Authority, may by regulations, and the Authority, with the consent of the Minister, may by guidelines, clarify any definition in sub-article (1) or provide additional definitions in support of the definitions in sub-article (1).