Newly elected Jamaica Table Tennis Association President Ingrid Graham.
On May 25, 2024, Ingrid Graham made history as the first ever female to be elected as President of the Jamaica Table Tennis Association.
Graham secured 14 votes compared to 10 received by her opponent Colette Palmer at the elections held at the Sports Development Foundation in Kingston.
“It’s really a great honour to be in that capacity,” Graham told Sportsmax.tv in an interview this week.
“It just tells to show our young ladies that the sky is the limit and nothing is unreachable to them as long as the interest is there and they love it and have a passion for it,” she added.
The journey to get to this point was not without its ups and downs according to the President.
“It was a strenuous journey and a tiresome one. Sometimes you think of giving up but when I look back on all the children and young ladies and the development of Table Tennis and where it really has taken them, I decided to continue,” she said.
Graham got right to work after winning the election with her immediate attention going to organizing trials to select Jamaica’s teams to the Caribbean Mini and Pre-Cadet Championships set for July 1-7 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“In the one week that I was in office I was tasked with basically putting on a trial for the Under-11 and Under-13 Pre and Mini Cadets who should be going to the Dominican Republic from June 29.”
Graham says she has also reached out to a number of players and entities to try and send the “excellent” team of youngsters to the tournament.
“The good thing about this set is that we have five children on this team who are from the inner city and they are very talented. They love this sport and they put in their everything they have,” she said.
In addition to planning those trials, which were held at the Excelsior High School, Graham says her and her team are currently planning a one-day rally for Prep and Primary Schools.
“We have not had a proper competition since 2019. Last year, myself, Skills Unlimited Table Tennis Academy (SUTTA), the Kingston and St Andrew Table Tennis Association (KSATTA), and Supersonic Table Tennis Club and the JTTA, we all came together and hosted a one-day rally which was excellent and well supported by the schools. We even had sponsors come on board last minute to assist us,” she said.
“We’re doing the same thing this year. We’re currently planning that and I have to be seeking funding and resources for the team to leave on June 29 for the Pre and Mini cadet,” Graham added.
While admitting that a lot of work needs to be done, she remains confident that her and her team will be able to get the job done.
“It can happen and it will happen. It’s a lot of work but once the structures are in place and persons are dedicated to the cause, we will get there,” she said.
That team consists of First Vice President Andrea Murray, Second Vice President Simon Lei, General Secretary Sean Wallace and Treasurer David White. Wallace will be assisted by Konata Beluchi while White be assisted by Mark Edwards and Errol Howlett.
The Council members include former national champion Simon Tomlinson, current national champion Mark Phillips, Matthew Dawson, Kevin Peterkin and Lisette Wilson.
“We have a diverse team. We have persons in the field of media, accounting, persons who operate their own businesses. We are aiming for positive output, unity, transparency and accountability,” she said.
“We want the entire Jamaica to know that whatever we’re tasked with, we’re going to fulfil it. Each sponsor that comes on board, they will get a report of players participation as well as documentation of hos the resources were spent,” Graham added.
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
JTTA National Junior and Senior Trials set for this weekend at National Arena
The Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) National Junior and Senior Table Tennis trials will take place on November 16 and 17 at the National Arena in Kingston.
This weekend will see players in the Senior Male and Female and Under-15 Boys and Girls categories vying for places on the nation’s team to the 2025 Caribbean Table Tennis Championships.
Action on Saturday’s first day will see play going on from 9:00am-5:00pm with a lunch break at 1:30pm while, on Sunday, play will commence at 9:00am and end at 3:00pm with a lunch break the same time as the day before.
JTTA President Ingrid Graham spoke on what she expects during the weekend’s events.
“I’m expecting some upsets in the senior trials but, overall, I expect some great games throughout,” she said.
Trials for both Under-19 categories will take place in early December.
The 2025 Caribbean Regional Championships are scheduled for March 31-April 7 in Bridgetown, Barbados while the Caribbean Regional Youth Championships are set for April 8-13 in the same place.
Sponsors for this weekend’s trials include Insports, Sports Development Foundation, Jamaica Olympic Association, Western Sports, Mother’s and Auto Channel among others.
Watson, Whyte take singles titles at JTTA National Table Tennis Championships
Kane Watson and Keeara Whyte emerged as the respective Men’s and Women’s open singles champions at the 2024 Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) National Senior and Junior Championships held from September 6-8 at the National Indoor Sports Center in Kingston.
Watson returned from retirement to claim his sixth national title by a score of 4-3 in a seven-game thriller over 2023 champion Mark Phillips.
Watson won the first three sets 11-7, 11-3 and 11-8 before Phillips rallied to win the next three sets 11-6, 11-5 and 11-9, setting up a decisive seventh set.
It was a close contest throughout but Watson held his nerve to emerge victorious by a score of 11 points to nine.
In the women’s singles final, Keara Whyte got the better of defending champion Tsenaye Lewis in a 4-0 straight-sets win.
Whyte won the first set comfortable 11-4 before two hard fought sets (11-9, 11-9) in the second and third.
The fourth set proved to be the most competitive with Lewis fighting to prolong proceedings but Whyte eventually prevailed 12-10 to secure the title.
Watson and singles semi-finalist Paulton Madden combined to win the men’s doubles title while sisters Tsenaye and Gianna Lewis took the women’s double crown.
As far as the juniors are concerned, the following were the respective age-group winners: Kaylor Dyer (U-9 and U-11 Girls), Shacoil Bird (U-9 Boys), Malone Bird (U-11 Boys), Kira Scott (U-13 and U-15 Girls), Ajani Spencer (U-13 Boys), Gmarco Smith (U-15 Boys), Keeara Whyte (U-19 Girls), Azizi Johnson (U-19 Boys).
Andrea Wadsworth and Phillip Drummond won the women’s and men’s Over-40 singles titles.
Kingston took the title as the top women’s parish team while St. Andrew took the men’s crown.
JTTA National Senior and Junior Table Tennis Championships set for September 6-8
From September 6 to September 8, Jamaica’s top table tennis players will descend upon the National Indoor Sports Center in Kingston for the 2024 Jamaica Table Tennis Association (JTTA) National Senior and Junior Table Tennis Championships.
In what promises to be an unforgettable weekend of table tennis excitement, players will be competing in categories ranging from Under-9 Girls and Boys all the way up to the Men’s and Women’s Open categories.
“This will be the largest participation in over 20 years,” according to JTTA President Ingrid Graham.
She also noted that this will be the largest number of participants ever in both the Men’s Open and Under-19 sections.
These championships will also see Jamaican citizens overseas coming to the island to compete for the top spot in their respective categories.
“We have over 10 Jamaican citizens living in London, Canada and the USA coming over to participate,” Graham said.
Sponsors for the championships include OSIL, Western Sports, Graham International Consulting, SDF, JOA, Insport, Virginia Deer, Mother’s, Altamont Court Hotel, Auto Channel, Jamaica Post and GEWO Jamaica.
Doors open at 9:00 am Jamaica Time each day.
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