-GTTA given A+ for preparation

ELEVEN countries, including host Guyana, will battle in the 61st Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championship, which officially serves off this morning at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

Included in the mix are a strong Puerto Rican side and The Dominican Republic. The two nations are early favourites to repeat as male and female team champions respectively.
Aruba and Suriname were the only two original teams that were scheduled to travel that did not make the trip. The other teams here are Cuba, Martinique, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and Guadeloupe.

Prior to today’s competition, several of the teams were battling in the Pan American Qualifiers, and President of the Caribbean Region Table Tennis Federation, Teddy Matthews, was quick to point out that the organising body– the Guyana Table Tennis Association– had so far done an excellent job.

A+ FOR PREPARATION
Speaking at the official launch of the Caribbean Championships last evening, Matthews said that he was pleasantly surprised with the efforts of the GTTA and said that without a doubt he would give them an A plus for preparations.

“They (the GTTA) did a fantastic job in just six months, the hotel is great, the food is great, and the transportation is of a high class.”
Matthews added that some of the services are better than what he was exposed to at previous World Championships.

President of the GTTA, Godfrey Munroe, told Chronicle Sport that the tournament is key for the further development of the sport locally.
“This positions us as a table tennis nation, more than the ability for the players to compete for medals, this positions us to be strategically placed in terms of the new direction of the ITTF.”

Last evening the teams were expected to do a draw for the start of this morning’s team battle. The countries will also play in the male doubles, the female doubles, the mixed doubles, the male singles, the female singles, the U-21 female singles, the U-21 male singles and an over-45 open competition from today until March 31.

Guyana has a team of 30 players and Munroe is confident that several players will medal.
The top three male and female nations will qualify for the Pan American Cup, which is scheduled for Paraguay in September. That event would be used as qualifications for the World Championships.

Along with Munroe and Matthews, Latin American TT president Juan Vila, former Caribbean champion Sidney Christophe, and Director of Sport Christopher Jones, were at the opening for remarks and the meeting of the teams.