GTA weighs in on ITF’s representative’s comments on tennis facilities

Feb 13, 2011 Sports

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The Guyana Tennis Association has reacted to comments made on local tennis facilities by visiting International Tennis Federation Development Officer for the English-speaking Caribbean, Anthony Jeremiah.
Here is the full text of the comments made by GTA President Christopher Ram:
“It is with regret and disappointment that our Association notes the actions of the Minister of Sports Dr. Frank Anthony and Director of Sports Mr. Neil Kumar following the report in the Stabroek News of a courtside interview given by Mr. Anthony Jeremiah, International Tennis Federation Development Officer for the English-speaking Caribbean.
Mr. Jeremiah, who is based in Trinidad and Tobago and whose main focus is the identification and development of junior tennis talent, made what in a less politically paranoid environment the innocuous statement that the tennis courts in the National Park require a facelift.
Mr. Jeremiah’s comments ought to have been taken in the spirit in which they were intended, which was to highlight some basic requirements should Guyana want to improve its current standing in tennis regionally. His comments were by no means meant as a personal criticism of anyone or any office.
On the day the statement appeared in the press Dr. Anthony abruptly cancelled an appointment for a courtesy call on him by Mr. Jeremiah and a representative of the
Guyana Tennis Association (formerly the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association). Among the matters to have been discussed were developmental issues including schools tennis, an increase in and enhancement of facilities and the development of coaches.”
“Earlier this year the ITF facilitated the successful participation of two of the country’s tennis coaches at the ITF Level Two, the first time that Guyana has had two level two coaches.  Two days after the Minister’s snub, Mr. Kumar expressed being “very upset” that Mr. Jeremiah “did not meet with the Sports Ministry first to relate his concerns”.
Mr. Kumar ought to know that on the few occasions that Dr. Anthony found it possible to meet with the local tennis body and with Mr. Jeremiah on his biannual visits, the state of the courts and pleas to the Ministry for support by the government to the sport have been staple representations that are consistently ignored.
Mr. Kumar may not be aware that the International Tennis Federation pays the stipend of our National Tennis Coordinator and provides equipment and balls for junior tennis. We are therefore embarrassed at Mr. Kumar’s and his Minister’s response to a representative of the world tennis body who often goes out of his way to squeeze his regional budget to top up their contribution to Guyana.
We note that Mr. Kumar has set a start date of “anytime now” for contractors to commence work on the tennis court at the National Park, the central training facility for our junior players. We trust that this prediction by Mr. Kumar will be more accurate than those for the Non Pariel facilities renovation which are still on-going after four years and expenditure of millions of public funds. It is troubling that after the serial mistakes with the Non Pariel facilities Mr. Kumar could still think that specialist expertise in tennis court construction is not required.”
“In all his comments Mr. Kumar seems unaware that the facilities in the National Park come not under the Department of Sports but under the National Parks Commission
(NPC) with which the GTA has a Memorandum of Understanding for their rehabilitation and management. Of course we welcome any resources the Ministry or Department of
Sports makes available but it would be disastrous and inappropriate for Mr. Kumar to proceed without the benefit of relevant technical expertise and consultation with the two bodies.
The truth of the matter is that both Dr. Anthony and Mr. Kumar have not been supportive of tennis and consistently unresponsive to the Association’s attempts at engagement in strategic dialogue for the development of tennis in Guyana.
Since taking over as Minister of Sports in 2006, Dr. Anthony has never once attended a GLTA activity. This lack of interest extends to our communication with these senior political sports persons as well as the Minister of Education which regularly go unacknowledged let alone addressed.
Last year Dr. Anthony rejected our plea for one-fifth of one percent of the 2010 Sports Budget to be granted to the Association to help it meet the cost of sending a junior squad to participate in the preliminary rounds of a world championship.
We are disappointed that neither the Ministry nor the Department of Sports appreciates the need to have some publicly declared guidelines for allocating the sums under the national sports budget which in 2011 amount to three quarter billion dollars of taxpayers’ money.
We are confident of the natural talent and athletic ability of Guyanese across sporting disciplines, including tennis, to excel. Yet, in order for our people to achieve their potential, we need policy makers who do more than bully-preach about how much money the government spends on sports but rather who understand the role which all sports play in national development.”
Christopher Ram
President, GTA

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