Coaches at the three-week Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) P&P Insurance Tennis Camp implemented the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) “Play or Stay” programme.
According to Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan it was the first time the programme which is configured to better assist the players to adapt to the sport had been implemented.
Shelly Daly Ramdyhan said the programme which promotes the use of slower balls and smaller courts to improve the way the starter players are introduced to the game was used for the beginners and the intermediate players.
Different balls were used for the varying categories – the beginners utilized red and orange balls, which Daly-Ramdyhan stated, carries respectively 75% and 50% less pressure than the official yellow ball while the intermediates used the green ball which is 25% less.
The camp, which was held mainly at the tennis courts of the Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel, ended yesterday.
The camp officially began on July 13 and over the three weeks amassed an ample gathering of 93 participants GLTA secretary Grace McCalmon disclosed at yesterday’s closing ceremony.
The camp had originally been planned to run for a two-week period but it was extended for an additional week to further develop the needs of the potential tennis players.
Since its inception some six years ago, the camp has been sponsored by P & P Insurance Brokers and has been an integral part of the GLTA’s outreach programme which incorporates young individuals into the sport.
The participants of the camp were divided into three categories; beginners, intermediates and advanced players.
The beginners and intermediate divisions were taught by coaches Shelly Daly-Ramdyhan and Nicholas Glasgow, while the advance sessions were taught by Jeremy Miller and Ezra Sue-Ho.
At the end of the camp the participants were given the opportunity to test their capabilities in competitions held yesterday. The winners and runner-ups for the varying categories were then presented with their accolades during the closing ceremony.
In the beginners under-8 category, the winner was Malik Mashall with Nathan Welch the runner-up. Kory Graham won the beginners red ball competition with Janesh Persaud as the runner-up. In a competition held for players who had moved up from red balls to orange, the winner was Desmond Fraser with Kalycia Fraser the runner up. In the beginner’s under-10 competition, John Nelson prevailed with Kwesi Archer as the runner up.
The prizes were presented by the manager of P & P Insurance Brokers, Bishwa Panday.
Panday, addressing the audience yesterday, commended the GLTA’s executives for their efficient execution of the camp.
Describing the association as visionary and dynamic, Panday stated that his company was pleased with the way things were run.
“We at P & P Insurance Brokers are happy over the management of the camp, so I wish to commend the GLTA, its executives and the two coaches, coach Shelly (Daly-Ramdyhan) and Nicholas (Glasgow),” Panday said
“The event brings out the young people into the sport, and this event brought out little children so I’m very, very happy about that, the GLTA is a visionary and dynamic organization, and so I want to congratulate everyone,” Panday added
He also lauded the parents for the support that they have given over the past three weeks and he encouraged them to persist.
“The parents over the past three weeks brought their children here; they displayed commendable resolve in the face of the less than favorable weather on many mornings and they deserve our praise. A lot of the parents have said that this is important to me, this is important to my child, and I would like to encourage the parents to take that attitude as they go forward not only with the tennis but with their child’s education as well,” Panday said.
He also congratulated the winners of the competitions and encouraged the others to use this as a stepping stone to work harder next time around.
