Rural game hoping to work up a serve

The development of table tennis in the rural area appears to have stalled, even while the urban area players continue to make strides in the sport. This is evident by the fact that hardly a player who lives in a rural parish ever win the men's national senior title. It has also been seven years since a female from a rural parish has taken the women's crown.

The last time a non-Kingston female resident won a national senior table tennis title was in 2003, when Nina Burton of Manchester took the crown. She was also the first left-handed female to do so. Current national men's senior champion Joseph Dibbs, and Peter Moo Young, who is the past champion, are both from Portland but have resided in Kingston for a number of years.

There are currently only five active table tennis associations across the island: Portland, Manchester, Kingston and St Andrew, St James and St Thomas. Samuel Lamount is president of one of the most active associations, the Portland Table Tennis Association. He attributes the migration of his parish's table tennis players to the opportunities available to them in Kingston.

"The economy of Portland can't support some of these guys and most of the table tennis players from out of Portland end up at University."

Lamount and his association members have elaborate plans to develop the sport in Portland and, by extension, Jamaica.

"We have a new centre that we are opening at Port Antonio Primary School and we are expanding the one at Titchfield High School," said Lamount. "We have placed a lot of boards in Portland right now for a major development programme. We hope to make it a model development in the country," he added.

Raising funds

There are already a number of locations in the parish that persons can go to engage in a game of table tennis. These locations include Anchovy Community Club, Titchfiled High School, Port Antonio Primary School, the parish library, the Port Antonio police and fire stations and Hope Bay All-Age. A number of boards have also been given to various primary and high schools in the parish.

Lamount, who is also a musician, has embarked upon a musical project that is geared towards raising funds to establish a table tennis academy.

Lamount said: "I have a CD that we are going to be releasing titled 'Yes, we can rebuild'. This CD has been produced at a cost of US$100,000. We are going to market this CD and other music, so that we can raise funds right around the world to build the centre."

There are further plans to build another centre at Carder Park, as well as one at Port Antonio Primary School.

Peter Kavanaugh, who is public relations officer for the Manchester Table Tennis Association and also a national development officer, has been actively trying to get Manchester's programme back on track.

"As national development officer for Jamaica, I appealed to the national association that I sit on that I want to set up this national table tennis centre of excellence and I needed two additional stag boards," said Kavanaugh. "I got two of those boards along with 20 barriers, so last year I actually activated the centre.

"About three years ago, we brought in some trainers to train some level one coaches and we were able to train over 40 coaches, and from Manchester High we got four of the coaches certified. Then last year when they had the level three training, three of us became certified," he added.

The Manchester association has, however, been faced with challenges as sponsorship has proven hard to come by.

"The challenge is that most of our major sponsors, like Alpart and Windalco, are locked down, so we find that there is not that level of financial support," Lamount explained.

"For the time being, anybody who wants to get a chance to play table tennis, they can pass through Manchester High School," he added.

Despite being a member of the JTTA, he believes more can be done in terms of funding for the various parish associations.

Kavanaugh said: "We don't necessarily get any funding from the JTTA, even though we are affiliated to it and even though they do get a stipend from the Government. That has been part of my challenge even as a development officer, that the association stands alone."

- R.J.