By Tiadi Blair
Guyana will be represented by a 10-member team to the International Lawn Tennis federation (ITF) Junior Coca Cola tournament in St Lucia.
The tournament begins tomorrow and according to Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan, Guyana will be represented by the likes of Anthony Downes and Jeremy Miller.
According to Daly-Ramdyhan one of the ways of raising the standard of tennis in Guyana is through more local tournaments and international meets such as this one.
“Much is not expected of them now but it’s an introduction to international tennis tournaments for them, more so it’s for them to go and see what is expected of them in future.”
Guyana was last represented at the tournament in 2006, missing it in 2007 due to financial constraints.
The challenges the players are expected to face are the windy conditions and court surface which Daly-Ramdyhan explained will affect the speed of the ball. She is unsure how each individual will react to the change but hopes that the day before the competition could be utilized for practice sessions.
There are hopes within the association that through a well executed plan Guyana can be represented at more international tournaments next year.
Daly-Ramdyhan said they were working on this.
Special thanks were expressed to the management and staff of Pegasus Hotel for making their courts available to the GLTA throughout the year for without such assistance they would not have been able to practice for this tournament.
The tournament ends on August 9.
