St. Vincent and the Grenadines TA making small steps

The Executive of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association (SVGTA) may not be blowing its own trumpet, neither touting its horn, but things are happening.{{more}}

President of the SVGTA Anthony Mc Kenzie told SEARCHLIGHT recently that his organization, though, is “making small steps forward”.

Mc Kenzie, who took over the mantle just over a year ago, but was faced with a heavy debt, then planned to make its reduction his top priority.

Months after, Mc Kenzie said that some progress has been made in this regard.

“The Association’s debt is down from $168,000 to $120,000, which is about 50/50, as we have paid some of the debts and got some debt forgiveness,” Mc Kenzie revealed.

Mc Kenzie said that his Executive, through aggressive membership regulations for court fees, some fund- raising ventures and private donations, was able to bring in some money.

The Tennis chief believes the time has come for them to “revisit new revenue streams”, as the benevolence of the faithful partners of the Association is being exhausted and could soon evaporate.

Determined to continue along the path of circumspect financial management, Mc Kenzie said that the Association has not incurred any debts for some time.

“We have been able to meet all operational costs, pay our staff on time, their NIS, our utilities, water, and so on,” the Tennis boss stated.

“We have been able to complete the audits for 05, 06, and 07, and we are now current with a review of our chequebook by mid-month so that we can reconcile our transactions,” Mc Kenzie said.

He lamented, though, the non co-operation of former executive personnel in getting the financial status of the association ironed out.

Apart from administrative matters, Mc Kenzie said: “We have had two Juniors tournaments, one in December and one at Easter and the Men’s Open in May”.

He said that the Association will host an International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior championship in mid-August, with participation expected from about 20 countries.

Accepting that the task of administrating the sport is indeed a tough one, Mc Kenzie pointed to the growing demands of the prime Tennis facility, the National Tennis Centre.

“Maintenance of the National Tennis Centre is becoming a factor; we had to replace the windscreens and the courts need to be maintained,” he complained.

Mc Kenzie contends that the National Tennis Centre is under utilized and ways must be found to up its usage. “At present it is running at a thirty percent capacity”, he told SEARCHLIGHT.

Looking ahead, Mc Kenzie said that his Executive plans to stage a National Olympic Committee Coaching Programme in the near future and get the association’s draft constitution going, which will form the framework for a General Meeting.

Mc Kenzie and his Executive in June 2008, replaced the Anthony Boyea led team of Tennis administrators.(RT)