ONCE again the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), under the stewardship of Commissioner of Police Henry Greene DSS, DSM and his executives, has concluded another successful youth table tennis national schools tournament under the Digicel sponsorship. At a presentation ceremony held at the Police Officers Mess yesterday, Greene expressed his gratitude to the sponsor and his executives in successfully concluding another table tennis tournament in Guyana.
He added that the tournament which was held over the past two weeks had unearthed new talent to the table tennis fraternity. He remarked that the age of the players was surprising and that has shown the need and strides in the development of the sport.
Emphasising that there is new blood in table tennis and that the Association will host a singles tournament in the near future, Greene said there is the need for the youths to get to a table and play the game, get occupied and develop themselves in sport and keep out of trouble.
General Secretary of the Association, Godfrey Munroe, stated that there were a lot of upsets in the traditional schools and that signalled further development for the sport.
He said the GTTA will in 2012, be concentrating on training personnel, making more equipment available and implementing a structural programme which will see additional areas being given the chance to develop the sport.
This year’s tournament has seen over 150 players, both male and female, from as young as 10 years old in competition which gives the Association the drive to organise a national singles tournament soon.
He congratulated the sponsors Digicel for partnering with the Association once again, while making it a success and express thanks while looking forward for their continued support in the future.
The respective winners of the tournament were as follows; Under-10 team – Mae’s A, North Georgetown Primary and Mae’s B. Under-13 Team Queen’s College A, St Rose’s High, Mae’s A and St Stanislaus College.
Under-15 Team New Amsterdam Multilateral A, St Joseph High, Mae’s A and St Rose’s High, Under-18 Team The Business School, Queen’s College, Mae’s A and Bishops’ High School, while Stefan Corlette and Elishaba Johnson won the Fair Play Award.
Most Outstanding Female players were Chelsea Edghill and Akecia Nedd, while Joshua Lallbachan and Bryton Murray were the Most Outstanding Male players.
Aaliyah Giordano and Ambika Ramraj received accolades after being adjudged the Most Improved players in the female category, while Shavin Greene and Scott Garraway received prizes for the same accolade in the male category.
Bartica Secondary School (Most Disciplned) and Queen’s College (Best Dressed) were rewarded while the top eight schools were: Mae’s, Queen’s College, New Amsterdam Multilateral, The Business School, St Rose’s High, North Georgetown Primary, St Stanislaus College and Bishops’ High School.