Former Commissioner of Police Henry Greene is being praised for his role in reviving table tennis in Guyana.
Greene, 58, who died yesterday after his SUV was involved in a three-vehicle collision on the Harlem Public Road, West Coast Demerara, was president of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) at the time of his death.
“The executives and General Council of the Guyana Table Tennis Association wishes to express heartfelt condolences to the family and relatives of serving President of the GTTA. Being an ardent fan and a former player his zeal and passion for the sport was truly amazing, many times he would be at tournaments from the commencement to the finish.
“Upon his ascension to the helm of the sport he brought an unprecedented level of enthusiasm, vigour and vibrancy to the sport and truly lifted the profile and propelled the sport to new heights,” the Guyana Table tennis Association stated in a press release yesterday.
“He truly embraced the strategic vision of the sport and worked assiduously to point the association to develop the institutional structures which would lay the foundation for the progression of the sport in the future,” the release added.
“He was passionate about the development of human resource players and structures and this resulted in high level training for our elite athletes which saw Nigel Bryan, Trenace Lowe, Joel Alleyne, Priscilla Greaves and Edinho Lewis benefiting from high level training at the Lily Yip Table Tennis Training Centre in the USA.
The release stated that the late GTTA president was a firm advocate in incentives and rewards for athletes’ efforts and a believer that this was a key driver/motivator for the sport.
“One of his legacy would surely be the drive for the decentralization of the sport which saw several committees being setup across Guyana which has led to many more players participating in tournaments and being able to access the game.
“He was a firm advocate for capacity building with his advocacy for Guyana’s hosting of two International Table Tennis Federation Level One courses which saw over 40 coaches being trained and certified in addition to Three Level Two coaches being accredited and Guyana hosting an international referee and umpires course which realized over 24 trained umpires,” the release added.
Greene, the GTTA noted, was instrumental in Guyana hosting the 53rd Senior Caribbean Table Tennis Championships in 2011 which saw him being recognized by the Caribbean Regional Table Tennis Federation (CRTTF) for his excellent organizing skills.
“This paved the way for Guyana to be given the status to host a Latin American Championships or World Junior circuit event in 2014-2015,” the release pointed out.
“He was a key driver in the association’s revenue generation planning, which committee he chaired as president as he always felt that revenue was key to the realization of the association’s plans and programmes and he worked very hard with members of this committee.”
“He was very methodical in his leadership and would always implore upon his executives and council members to go the extra mile
Undoubtedly the sport made great leaps and bounds under his stewardship and he would have surely left a void to be filled.
“He would be dearly be missed by members of the table tennis fraternity.
Also sending condolences was the Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis Association (TTTTA).
“Please accept our deepest condolences on the passing of the GTTA President. The TTTTA stands with you in this unfortunate moment and our prayers are with you,” stated the message from Vasdev Bob Roopnarine,
General Secretary of the TTTTA.
Director of Sport Neil Kumar also paid tribute to Greene late last night.
“He led by example and motivated his executives to emulate his very high standards. His interest in the players was unquestionable. He encouraged them to be committed, dedicated and to strive for success at the highest levels,” noted Kumar.
The Director of Sport added that Green’s concerns for the development of the players and the game were obvious in the implementation of attractive incentives for players and his regular presence at competitions.
He noted that under Greene’s leadership the GTTA achieved much progress.
Among Green’s accomplishments as president of the GTTA were the decentralizing of the game to many parts of the country including Berbice, Essequibo Coast, Bartica, Linden, West Demerara, Mahdia, East and West Bank Demerara; the distribution of tennis tables to schools in various areas, Regions 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 10, Georgetown and the University of Guyana (Turkeyen and Berbice) and the resuscitation of the annual National schools team tournaments.
Under Green’s leadership Kumar pointed out that the GTTA was awarded
the Most Improved Sports Association and Best Association of the Year awards by the National Sports Commission.
