Orin `Vege” Hickerson is a table tennis player who is known for having a strong offensive game but the former national junior player has reserved his strongest attack for the current administrators of the sport.
Hickerson yesterday accused the association of poor governance and of not having the interest of the players at heart.
He was extremely critical of the failure of the Guyana Table Tennis Association (GTTA) to participate at this year’s Caribbean TT championships (currently underway in Martinique) after the association had signaled its intention of participating by shortlisting male and female squads.
Hickerson questioned why did the GTTA not make an effort to send a team to the Caribbean championships and why did the association not inform the players that they would no longer attend the championships.
“The players know that the GTTA does not have the funds to support the team going to the championships. However, this is not an excuse for not hosting Trials, selecting a squad for training and organizing meetings to inform players about the tournament,” he said adding…”this is a signal of poor governance and a lack of interest in the players.”
According to Hickerson, several players were willing to invest their own resources to participate in the tournament but the GTTA was “tight-lipped.”
He asked:“When was the last time Guyana participated in a senior Caribbean Championships?
“I know that players are unhappy that the GTTA said nothing about failing to send a team to the last Caribbean championships,” he declared.
Hickerson also pointed out that the GTTA has not been staging tournaments with any degree of regularity which has led to a decrease in participation.
“I find that table tennis is going downhill. Personally I find the level of participation at tournaments is declining. Players are participating in the sport that they love but it seems that the GTTA does not have the interest of the players at heart,” he argued.
Hickerson also slammed the GTTA for continuing to use the 40mm balls instead of using the new plastic balls as stipulated by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).
“I have been playing with the plastic balls for the last couple of months. At the last tournament, it felt alien to play with the `old’ 40mm ball. It seems as though the association is dancing in the past,” said Hickerson adding that players needed to be involved in some of the decisions made by the association. “I find that collective decision making is absent in the current structure of the GTTA. I was appalled by the poor level of attendance at the last tournament and the ones prior. The GTTA is not making an effort to host more tournaments,” said Hickerson who along with current GTTA vice president and former national junior player Jonathan Sankar are the only two players who have sponsored tournaments within the last year.
Hickerson said he was aware of the difficulties in trying to get sponsorship for tournaments and such like.
“Most understand that it is challenging to find sponsorship but players just want to compete. We are training without a purpose. A few trophies will suffice,” he opined. Hickerson thanked the Guyana Olympic Association and GTTA for hosting last weekend’s tournament but said adequate notice should have been given to the players.
He commended the efforts of Linden Johnson, Colin France, Dwayne Dick and Idi Lewis for “keeping the sport and youths active,” and the players who continue to participate in what he termed a “near-dormant” organization.
Finally, Hickerson said he hoped that the criticisms would be viewed “as constructive criticism from a player’s perspective,” adding that he was hopeful “for change that benefits all.”
