Primary schools join table tennis competition

Four primary schools, the Belair Government, Gomea Methodist, Brighton Methodist and Layou Government are part of the inaugural Primary Schools Table Tennis Competition.{{more}}

A joint effort by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Tourism, Sports and Culture and the St Vincent and the Grenadines Table Tennis Association (SVGTTA), the schools began their new path for their exposure last Friday at the AVESCO Club House at Arnos Vale.

The schools have emerged from the schools’ programme in partnership with the Division of Physical Education and Sports and the SVGTTA.

The primary institutions are part of the entire effort, which also includes six secondary schools.

In competition are the St Martin’s Secondary, Bishop’s College Kingstown, West St George Secondary, the St Vincent Grammar School, the Dr JP Eustace Memorial and the Girls’ High School.

The Dr JP Eustace Memorial is the defending boys’ teams champion and the West St George Secondary School, the girls’ champion.

Andre Mitchell of the St Vincent Grammar School is the defending male singles champion and Rodika Webb of the West St George Secondary School, the defending female champion.

Meanwhile, president of the SVGTTA Tyrone Jack is optimistic that more schools will be part of the 2016 competition, as more of them have been recipients of table tennis boards in recent times.

Jack said an equipment package, consisting of six additional boards, is part of the development of a National Sports Structure Programme for table tennis.

“… We intend to distribute those boards again so that young people can benefit the most from them mostly in schools and community centres,” the SVGTTA president revealed.

Jack believes that there should be increased interest in the sport with the stint of Swiss national Georg Silberschmidt, who will be in and out of St Vincent and the Grenadines over the next six months, looking at the current structure of table tennis.(RT)