GTTA, Department of Education Region 6 conduct supervisory level training

The Guyana Table Tennis Association, in collaboration with the Unit of Allied Arts and the Regional Education Department of Region 6, conducted a Table Tennis Workshop at the Berbice Educational Institute on Tuesday March 23 with Physical Education Teachers from across the region.
This workshop, the second of two geared at providing schools with COVID-compliant sporting activities for CSEC and CAPE, and for the region’s Physical Education Programme in general, was geared towards laying the foundation for establishment of structured table tennis in schools.
The workshops attracted more than 20 Physical Education and Sport teachers from a total of twelve (12) schools in Region 6.
A key initial output was the monitoring and preparation of students currently preparing for CSEC and CAPE examinations. These students would be undergoing assessment for skills, competition orientation, knowledge of the rules, and other fundamental aspects of the sport.
Linden Johnson, an ITTF certified coach instructor in table tennis attached to the National Sports Commission, and General Secretary of the GTTA, was the main facilitator of the table tennis workshop. Johnson iterated that the GTTA has already provided the region with a number of table tennis tables, racquets and balls acquired through the GTTA’s
partnership and memorandum of understanding with the Government and Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, and other stakeholders. This agreement allowed for the implementation of a key strategic and developmental plan of the GTTA, which entails: the provision of equipment to schools across the country; training of teachers; orientation of students; formation of school teams and clubs; and orientation in inter-house, inter-school, district and regional competitions with the goal of creating a robust, mass-participation, developmental feeder programme through the revitalising of a structured national table tennis programme in schools.
As such he outlined that this workshop will ensure the equipment is put to use with the implementation of structured national table tennis for schools and physical education programmes in the participating schools which form part of the GTTA’s strategic and developmental plan
Nicholas Fraser, Head of the Physical Education Department in the Unit of Allied Arts, was on hand to support Johnson in hosting the workshop. Fraser provided teachers with a measurement tools to be used by teachers nationally to assess the skills of candidates in Table Tennis and will form the basis for a Skills Challenge and competitions which will be executed in the upcoming school term.
Osafa Dos Santos, Head of Department (Allied Arts) of the Berbice Educational Institute, was the local coordinator for the workshops. He expressed his interest in assisting with the promotion of sports that schools could safely implement in the Region during the COVID pandemic and Golf and Table Tennis are easy to learn and safe to do once properly managed. He stated that he was sure that the teachers in the region would be able to safely execute the programmes in their respective schools.
Special thanks are extended to the Regional Education Officer Bhagmattie La Cruz and the District Education Officer (Secondary) Satish Unit for their steadfast support in executing the Physical Education and Sports workshops.
Meanwhile the GTTA President Godfrey Munroe stated that he is pleased with this collaboration which provides the impetus for the Association’s developmental thrust. He was quoted saying “as these programmes become successful it would require champions within the regions and the GTTA has been making an effort to provide the structures necessary to ensure that the sport is developed nationally in a holistic and sustainable manner and it’s great to have the region teachers and Ministry’s support.”
Similar programmes in other regions are will soon be conducted.