SVGTTA president projects greater participation in schools’ tournament in 2015

The revived Secondary Schools’ Table Tennis Tournament for 2014 saw the participation of five schools, but president of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association (SVGTTA) Tyrone Jack projects a significant multiplication in the 2015 edition.{{more}}

An optimistic Jack made his expectations public last Friday afternoon at the closing ceremony of this year’s tournament, held at the West St George Secondary School.

“With the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, the Department of Sports and funding from our business partners, we intend to multiply this 20-fold by next year,” Jack indicated.

In getting to this end, the SVGTTA president mapped out a plan: “We intend to provide basic table tennis training to physical education teachers and to send ITTF qualified coaches to the schools throughout the country to conduct training sessions, from which both students and the teachers can further benefit.”

Jack noted that the prolonged absence of a vibrant schools’ competition affected St Vincent and the Grenadines’ participation in a recent Cadet tournament in Barbados.

“Only last week, and just next door in Barbados, there was the ITTF World Cadet Challenge…We did not have the competitors, mainly because of the dormancy in this inter-school and inter-club youth championships over the recent past … We could not identify a cadre of approximately eight good cadets to begin the process of qualification,” Jack underscored.

He was, however, confident that in 2015, “this will no longer be the case.”

Jack stated that as part of the SVGTTA’s Strategic Plan, the sport will be used “to empower communities against chronic diseases, youth violence, crime and discrimination, whilst celebrating champions and providing a pathway for young table tennis players to develop life skills necessary to live productive successful lives.”

The 2014 schools teams’ titles were won by the Dr JP Eustace Memorial in the males and the West St George Secondary – females.

Rodika Webb of the West St George Secondary School copped the female singles title and Andre Mitchell of the St Vincent Grammar School was the male champion.(RT)