General Secretary of the Guyana Table Tennis Association GTTA Godfrey Munroe has denied telling Kaieteur News’ Edison Jefford that he had given him the names of the Guyana representative male, female and under-21 teams to compete at next month’s Caribbean table tennis championships in French Guiana.
What Munroe said he had forwarded to Jefford via e-mail was a list of the players shortlisted to prepare for the games.
Jefford has admitted receiving that list via e-mail but said he had pressed Munroe for the members of the team and had been given specific names.
Only Munroe and Jefford would know what was said in either conversations between the two or correspondences via e-mail.
But let us analyse the situation.
Last Wednesday Stabroek Sport reported that the GTTA had shortlisted a squad to prepare for the championships. This newspaper was the only newspaper to report that fact.
Two days later Kaietuer News reported not the squad shortlisted, but what they claimed were the names of the players on the men’s, women’s and masters’ teams and the under-21 boy and girl selected which they claimed had been given to them by Munroe.
Don’t make sense
A number of things do not make sense in the scenario.
It is unheard of for a team to be selected two days after a squad involving several contenders have been identified for training or for a reporter to request the composition of the team under the circumstances.
It would seem as is if that reporter is basically unaware of the procedures pertaining to team selections.
The normal process is that a squad is shortlisted, then broken down, trials are held and finally the names of the players along with those on the standby lists, the manager and the coaches released but only after ratification by the national association/federation if the team was selected by a panel of selectors.
This would make a mockery of shortlisting a squad in the first place. The only reason why such a scenario would occur is if the organizers requested the names of the team at that stage and the GTTA was forced to comply.
It also does not make sense too for Munroe to name Matthew Khan as one of the four men’s players when Khan is out of the jurisdiction and to date has not put in an appearance at the training sessions which is into its second week.
Those who follow the sport closely are aware of Khan’s whereabouts and also that it is impossible to reach him on his cell phone.
It is not clear at this point whether Khan will eventually join the training party at some stage or will opt to miss the championships altogether so it is not difficult to see Munroe naming him on the squad but not on the final team when his status is uncertain.
Most sports fans would agree that funding (and not communication) is the single most important factor to teams leaving these shores.
Since most national sports teams do not benefit from government funding and since the GTTA is unable to finance the teams’ participation to French Guiana, it means that only those players who would be able to acquire sponsorship or fund their own way will be able to compete in French Guiana.
Munroe who has been responsible for many teams leaving these shores is fully aware that the final composition of the Guyana delegation to French Guiana would depend on finance and certainly it is not logical that he would make any pronouncements on the team at this point when it is not clear who will be able to acquire sponsorship and who will not. Again this does not make sense.
Jefford also said that he was told that the masters’ players on the team to French Guiana would be Colin France and Sydney Christophe.
But the release sent to the media had clearly stipulated one masters’ player per team.
If Munroe was giving the official team why would he name two players? Again this doesn’t make sense.
Another thing that does not make sense is the selection of Nigel Bryan and Trenace Lowe in the U-21 categories.
While Bryan is undoubtedly promising and is a former Caribbean boys’ singles champion, Alleyne recently won the Independence Open men’s tournament beating Bryan himself in the process which speaks volume for his form.
To select Bryan ahead of Alleyne at this point without the benefit of trials and other such forms of assessment would be very unfair to Alleyne not to mention the other players shortlisted.
Finally, Trenace Lowe.
Lowe and Michelle John have had heated battles over the years with John getting the better of Lowe at the final of the 2008 Caribbean championships held in Guyana.
John is very much eligible like Lowe and so to name Lowe ahead of John at this stage would also not be a fair decision.
Munroe is aware of all these factors.
Additionally, one is almost certain that the GTTA might not even name John and Lowe for the U-21 category since they are almost certainties for the women’s division but might give Adielle Rosheuvel, Chelsea Edghill, Ambrose Thomas or Akecia Nedd the opportunity.
The answer
The answer might lie in Jefford’s reaction whenever he feels he has been scooped.
Following an article in Stabroek News headlined $1.4M hurdle tumbles team out of CAC age group championships where it was stated by the manager of the team Faye Naughton that the CAC age group team was unable to travel to the CAC championships in The Bahamas because the AAG did not “get through with the sponsorship,” Jefford responded with his own take.
He asserted in an article headlined. “Acting AAG president in the `dark’ about CAC Age Group participation that”. A public relation and communication breakdown could have been the primary reason for Guyana’s non-attendance at the CAC age group championships rather than the reported financial impediment.
He does not attribute that statement to any official hence one can assume that it is his interpretation and not the acting president who he later goes on to quote.
He gives no evidence to support his reasons for arriving at the decision but goes on to state that the acting AAG president “did not have a clue” as he had been injured and was out of the loop so to speak.
Then, following the article naming the squad by Stabroek Sport Jefford responded with the article stating that the team had been selected. If Munroe gave the team to Kaieteur News and not the Stabroek News then perhaps it is the Kaieteur News who is intimidating Munroe and not the Stabroek News.
