DIRECTOR of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, feels that the just-launched Table Tennis Academy Programme, “Guyana TT Kidz -With the Future in Mind” will produce future star players, some of whom might become Olympians.

The event, which was a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, the National Sports Commission and the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), was officially launched on Saturday at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

The nursery will target youths between the ages of 6-16 and familiarise them with the techniques of the sport at varying levels.

Ninvalle said that the programme’s structure would allow it to “bear fruit”, and is drawing regional attention to be used as a model programme.

He made mention of the strides that the sport has already taken and of the first table tennis Olympian, Chelsea Edghill, setting the stage.

“Through this programme, we may be sitting among other Olympians in the next decade. So, these programmes are very important and I would ask all the young athletes that we have, the coaches that we have, that you give your 110 per cent effort into making this just what the minister wants it to be.”

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr, said that the new initiative required total participation.

He reiterated that sport is very important to the country’s overall development and critical to moulding the lives of young people.

He also charged the participants to take advantage of the opportunity.

“From our end, what really matters to us is consistency, seeing that the space that is being allocated, the time that is being allocated that it is being used at all times. Before it used to be the case that when we wanted to use these facilities, it would come with a fee. We have waived fees for the usage of our facilities for the sports academy.”