GTTA Schools’ Programme moves forward

Oct 23, 2010 Sports

By Edison Jefford

The Schools’ Table Tennis Programme received the right fillip yesterday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall as major stakeholders gathered to engineer an unprecedented grassroots spread of a sport that had longed for such support and collaboration.
Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) General Secretary, Godfrey Munroe, who chaired the ceremony, told those present that the occasion marks a significant development for the sport as it meant that table tennis is now challenging for national attention.
Officials from the association as well as from Ministries of Education, Culture Youth and Sport and the National Sports Commission gathered among students and teachers to usher in officially the launch of the Schools’ Table Tennis Programme.
The initiative ensured that a quantity of schools received table tennis boards and equipment that was part of the STAG sponsorship deal with the GTTA. The now equipped schools will now be tasked with producing more players to increase the current pool.
President of the GTTA, Commissioner of Police, Henry Greene said that his association is happy to be associated with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport as they execute the long-awaited table tennis programme in schools.
“We feel that this is the way to go. There are ITTF programmes geared at making children world and Olympic champions, so there are lots of opportunities for young people in table tennis and it is believed that we can improve those lives,” Greene stated.
He said that one of the major thrusts of the table tennis association is to promote table tennis at all levels.
According to Greene, it is hoped that table tennis would be itemised among the basic programmes for Ministry of Education Physical Education plan.
Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh reiterated the support of the GTTA and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for the Table Tennis in Schools Programme. He said that the three agencies are hoping to intensify their collaborative efforts over the next two years.
“We want children to come out of the Education system well rounded. I want to see, for instance, all the secondary schools doing the CXC Physical Education exam. That is one of the ways that we can promote the sport in schools,” Baksh told the audience.
He assured that work has already begun and will be intensified over next few years. “It must not be just talking, talking, they must do concrete things so that there is visibility of our more serious approach to sports,” the Minister of Education continued.
Dr. Frank Anthony, the Minister of Education, urged schools to care the tables that were given to them as part of the development thrust of the schools’ programme.
He said that the initiative was part of the completed National Sports Plan and Policy.

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