GTTA continues rollout of programme targeting young girls

Queenstown Community Centre on the Essequibo Coast was a hive of activity with tinkering table tennis balls, paddles and balloons as children from the Queenstown Primary School engaged in orientation sessions in the fundamental aspect of the game of table tennis.
Conducted by expert coach Candacy McKenzie and coordinated by Regional Sports Organizer Debbie Daniels and Sir Vishnu, the programme engaged more than 30 girls between the ages of 6 and 12 years. It came on the heels of a recent 12-hour table tennis coaching programme for physical education teachers in the region, held in December 2021 and conducted by National Coach Linden Johnson.
In that programme, 18 coaches were trained in the ITTF 12-hour coaching programme, a project done with the collaboration of the National Sports Commission; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; Guyana Table Tennis Association, and Regional Education Department of Region 2.
The initiative formed part of the GTTA’s developmental strategy under the umbrella programmes of My Gender My Strength, Guyana TT “Pink Pongsters”, and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport National Sports Commission Nursery Academy, with the Future in Mind TT programme and the GTTA National Hopes Programme geared towards establishing talent identification pods across Guyana.
Coach Candacy McKenzie indicated that it was a pleasure to work with the girls. The programme was well received, she saw a nucleus of talented student athletes, with lots of coordination and psycho-motor skills and great potential. She outlined that it is critical that these students are nurtured and trained in the fundamental and correct elements of the game on a consistent basis, with a view to realising their potential.
Similar programmes are planned for Anna Regina, Charity and Suddie in the region and across Guyana.