The Jamaica Table Tennis Association finds itself in a race against time to raise approximately US$33,000 to fund a 12-member team to the Pan American Youth Championships set to serve off from September 12-19 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Jamaica plans to send U19 and U15 teams to the championships but according to JTTA President Andrew Lue, while the association has a team on paper, they need to raise the funds that will enable them to confirm participation by September 3.
“We have received permission for all players in the team events to also play singles, doubled and mixed doubles so it’s an excellent opportunity for not only the athletes but for Jamaica to gain international ranking points. The US$33,000 (approximately J$5million) will go towards travel, accommodations, entry fees, gear, Covid tests and stipends,” Lue told Sportsmax. TV.
“International competitions are an integral part of our strategic development and Olympic road map for Paris 2024.”
The full team includes Tsenaye Lewis, Kelsey Davidson, national women’s champion Solesha Young, Neveah Scott, Joel Butler, Jon Pierre Daley, Christopher Lyn, Jayden Ebanks, Brian Blake, Matthew Fung, Garu Whyte and Rasheed Clarke.
There are four players to each team, Lue explained, U19 girls, U19 boys and U15 boys. The players who have qualified to play singles are Davidson, Lewis and Alessio Tulloch. However, Tulloch is unable to go and will be replaced by Rasheed Clarke, who won the U19 title at the recent national championships.
However, everything depends on if the JTTA can raise the money required.
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
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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