International Tennis Feder-ation (ITF) Development Officer for the English speaking Caribbean, Anthony Jeremiah has lamented the state of Guyana’s lawn tennis facilities especially in light of the talent he is seeing on his visit.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport yesterday at the National Gymnasium where the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) was hosting an under-10 programme, Jeremiah said that the court in the National Park requires a facelift, more particularly, if the nursery is the main focus. In his estimation the National Park court is not “playable” and certainly not “conducive for young players to enhance” their game.
He also added that if the powers that be can construct more courts then there can be an influx of international competitions here as is the case in Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and other Caribbean countries.
He went on to state that with the building of new courts in different regions of the country it helps to ease the perception of the sport being an elitist one.
Jeremiah, who said that he came from a poor background, added that with what he has seen since his visit to the country some of the under-10 players are naturally talented and he has noticed this from some of the children that have come from Corriverton on the Corentyne coast.
Jeremiah’s work as an ITF agent for the Caribbean affords him the opportunity to visit each Caribbean territory annually to monitor progress with programmes and to help with the identification of young talent for development. Therefore, the GLTA took the opportunity to promote some of its top under-10 players from Georgetown and Berbice in a talent identification competition
He said that many Caribbean countries have been able develop the game in this way by improving infrastructure and getting players into developmental programmes.
Jeremiah, 46, intends to make these points, among others, when he meets with Sport Minister Dr. Frank Anthony before he departs on Wednesday.
According to the Trinidadian he will be stressing the need for “urgency” to have proper facilities and he will be making recommendations and outlining what the parent body will be doing to assist. Jeremiah, who first started playing the game at 15, said that if there is emphasis on getting facilities and programmes together then the Olympic body and businesses will also be partners for development.
However, he stated that for such a transformation to come about these developments and promotion of the sport have to start at the national level. He argued that when teams leave to compete they are not representing the ITF or the regional body but rather Guyana.
Meanwhile, when Stabroek Sport spoke with one of the coordinators of the programme, Shelly Daly-Ramdhyan, she said that she was satisfied with what she has seen with the under-10 players. She said that ever since the tournament started in 2004 it has been a progressive one and many participants of the programme have gone on to play at the national level.
She said that this mini tennis programme is also part of some schools with teachers working with the students. One of the goals of this mini programme is to see current participants move on to the C-squad and then to the advanced levels where they represent the country.
