Interesting year for ‘Ping-Pong’
You can be sucked into being a prisoner of the moment when assessing the performance of an administration. This is across the governance spectrum from nationstates to sport bodies, in this particular instance. And the same can be said about the 2019 modus operandi of the Godfrey Munroe led Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA).
The association, during 2019, operated in a topsy-turvy manner and if it were to be condensed into a novel, surely the title ‘saving the best for last’ would have made it a best seller.
Needless to say, from the preamble, the association ended the year on a high, amid few blemishes during the other quarters. Munroe, to his credit, a few days ago was able to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding with the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China on behalf of the GTTA. There was a lot of fanfare surrounding the signing with representatives of the government and the local Chinese Embassy lauding the initiative. They all expressed optimism that the agreement will enhance the overall development and outlook of Guyana’s table tennis. And to be fair, if properly enforced and matched with success, it does have the capacity to add a bit of glitter to Munroe’s presidency.
Then there was the prized acquisition of a highly rated Cuban coach in Osdain Romero Garcia who, in November, began a two-month stint here, working with the local talents. His impact will be measured based on Guyana’s output in 2020. At the same time the Titans Table Tennis Club which has established itself as the number one club and late in the year conducted a coaching clinic held by Coach Christian Lillieroos.
Munroe, in 2019, also sought to kindle or rekindle the interest of table tennis beyond the geography of Georgetown. He did so with success following the implementation of a schools programme. However, it would be interesting to know what are the follow-up initiatives. Additionally, emphasis on the hosting of the 61st Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships during March cannot be ignored. The association pulled it off and it must be mentioned that our local racquet wielders represented Guyana with valour, emerging second overall behind eventual champions the Dominican Republic. Altogether, they tallied 10 medals; three silver and seven bronze. During all that, Munroe copped a lot of critique for micromanaging certain aspects of the sport. That notion was primarily fuelled by an internal spat between Junior Vice President of the association and former national player Gary Pratt who made a bold step in calling for a financial audit of the operations of the association, among other things. It is unclear whether fences were mended. Another glitch that went against the association in 2019 was their inability to provide enough overseas opportunities for their junior players. This is against the backdrop of the infertile economy. Nevertheless, most would argue that a body is elected to get the job done and not to be too consumed by barriers. Unfortunately, the body was only able to field a team to attend the Caribbean precadet championships while the under – 15 and 18 players for the second year running missed the Caribbean Championships and other Latin America junior tournaments. It is known that international exposure is needed to aid development. The foregoing has therefore placed a damper on producing more junior elite players. Of late, there has been a consortium (Titans table tennis club players) of juniors who have been carrying the torch. This is where the impact of the in schools programme will be measured since a wider pool of players is needed.
Clearer selection criteria must also be in place. Munroe, in particular, was flagged for the not hosting senior nationals in 2019 during a year where several overseas senior tours were made.
The failure of the GTTA to hold Trials for the Caribbean championships led to the resignation of two members of the selection committee.
Affiliates raised questions surrounding the approached used to select those touring teams and whether others were unfairly disqualified in the absence of a clear process.
All in all, it has been a mixed bag for the association and with the body’s elections looming, it will be noteworthy to observe whether the incumbent will be challenged. Munroe’s body of work has been admirable and suggest that he is seeking reelection. However, there are those who demand more structure. The poles in 2020 will be a spectacle.