THE Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) last Saturday received a donation of equipment from a former junior Caribbean table tennis champion Michael Clarke, in a simple presentation ceremony held at the Guyana Olympic House, High Street.Attended by executives from the GTTA, and a number of table tennis players, Clarke handed over a collection of developmental equipment.
Clarke, noting how difficult procuring equipment was back in his days, stated that he hopes this donation will be the first of many gestures towards giving back to the sport.
“The thing about it is equipment was not easy to get back then, you really had to be proficient and save your money, so when I thought about this gesture I had stuff piling up in my garage and I thought this would be fitting to do.
“I want to make sure Guyana stay competitive because I read about the programmes and they are quite impressive, so this is the first gesture but it doesn’t stop here,” Clarke said.
Representing the GTTA, president Godfrey Munroe expressed his pleasure at the gesture, and gratitude towards Clarke for his benevolence.
“We are quite heartened by your kind gesture and it’s fitting when someone who benefited from the sport can contribute. We know that they might have always been things that you liked, but there were also pluses and it’s that we can rise above that and we appreciate the gesture,” Munroe said.