GTTA, Ministry of Education, launches Nationwide School Championship

Minister of Education (sitting centre) Priya Manickchand posing with other officials of the
unveiling party following the official launch ceremony for the Nationwide Schools Table Tennis Championship
Minister of Education (sitting centre) Priya Manickchand posing with other officials of the unveiling party following the official launch ceremony for the Nationwide Schools Table Tennis Championship

The Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA), in partnership with the Ministry of Education, officially launched its Nationwide Schools Championship yesterday at the auditorium of the National Centre for Education Resource Development, Battery Road, Kingston. The event, which is also being supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport and is slated to commence this month, is being sponsored by CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited (CPGL) to the tune of $4,000,000. It will encompass zonal tournaments in the categories of boys and girls teams, singles and novices, in Regions #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #10, and Georgetown, with novice-level events being conducted primarily in the Hinterland Regions [#1, #8, and #9] to foster development in those environs. The resulting winners in each section will advance to the pinnacle of the programme, which is the National Championship segment, in February 2024.

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, during the feature address, affirmed the importance of the initiative, which builds on the Ministry’s efforts in introducing and exposing students to the rigours of sports before their departure from the secondary school ecosystem, as a means to create rounded athletes.

She further stated that the current administration continues to invest significantly in the sporting sector to ensure that every child has educational and sporting opportunities.

Meanwhile, GTTA President Godfrey Munroe said that the programme will provide an avenue for the identification and subsequent development of talent while expanding the reach and overall growth of the discipline in areas that are not traditional breeding grounds. He further stated that this will create a sustainable platform for the sport’s future. On the other hand, CPGL President Lui Xiao Xiang stated that the company is pleased to support the event, which has developmental value for the nation.

Also, Charge de Affaires of the People’s Republic of China Embassy in Guyana, Counsellor Huang Rui, highlighted the popular nature of the sport in China and that the country has aided and supported the local development of the discipline for several years.